The white tower
Granite rising above the palms.
Steffen Schmitz (more photos) — CC BY-SA 4.0 · vivali — CC BY 3.0 · Charaka Ranasinghe — CC BY 2.0 · MinugaV — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Charaka Ranasinghe — CC BY 2.0
Dondra Head Lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse in Sri Lanka, standing at the country's southernmost point near the village of Dondra. Its white tower rises above coconut palms and looks out over the Indian Ocean. It was designed by Sir James Nicholas Douglass, and construction began in November 1887 under William Douglass. All the materials came from abroad, with bricks and steel from England and granite from quarries in Scotland and Cornwall. It was completed and commissioned in March 1890. It was one of a limited number of lighthouses designed for the large Hyperradiant Fresnel lenses made by Chance Brothers in England, and its rotating lens was removed in 2020. From below the octagonal tower looks massive, with white granite walls and yellow window frames, topped by a gallery and lamp room. A palm grove lies around it, and waves break on the rocky shore nearby. The name comes from Devi Nuwara, the City of the Gods, the area's Sinhala name. The lighthouse lies about 15.3 km from Mirissa and 43 km from Galle Lighthouse in a straight line. It is a working light run by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, so climbing it is not guaranteed and may need permission from staff, so ask politely. Watch the waves on the rocks, stay off the walls, and treat it as a short stop on the coast road.
Granite rising above the palms.
A shore open to the Indian Ocean.
Shade before you reach the waves.
Dondra, near Matara, Sri Lanka
Not always. It is a working light and may need permission from staff.
By the coast road, about 6 km southeast of Matara.