Punta Doncella Lighthouse

The lighthouse is owned and managed by the Malaga Port Authority. It is not open to the public. It is automated, although the lighthouse keeper, who lives in the building next door, looks after the tower. He is one of only two lighthouse keepers left on the Malaga coast.

This lighthouse is located at Punta de la Doncella, half a mile southwest of Estepona, and is used by ships sailing from the Mediterranean towards the Atlantic to concentrate on the Strait of Gibraltar with the lighthouse at Punta Almina. Studies for raising it began in November 1853 with the acquisition of the rotating optical device, which had to wait for the construction of the tower in 1861. In 1863 the 4th order lighthouse was turned on, which gave the characteristic of white flashes of 4' in 4' and a common time range of 12 miles. It had an olive oil wick lamp, which was changed to a kerosene lamp in 1882, which became oil from 1904. In 1918 the current characteristic of a group of 1 + 2 white light flashes was introduced and the need for more range. In 1919, a new tower project was undertaken, which ended in 1922 with the installation of a new rotating apparatus, a new lantern and an oil steam system. Electrification in 1932 allowed the range to be increased to up to 30 miles. In 1958, the lantern, badly damaged by storms, was replaced with another air-maritime one. SOURCE: Faros de Spain website

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