Tubbataha Reefs Lighthouse

Cagayancillo, Palawan

The lighthouse of Tubbataha Reefs, Cagayancillo, Palawan is perhaps the loneliest of all the lonely sentinels of the Philippine seas.

Located in the uninhabited and isolated islet in South Atoll in the vast Sulu Sea, the Tubbataha Reefs light is one the lighthouses built during the American era.

The station was established in 1915 but the original lighthouse was erected only in 1938. What stands now is a concrete tower built by the Philippine Coast Guard in 1980 to replace the original wooden skeletal tower. The lighthouse is still active and in use today and the current structure  has an octagonal concrete keeper’s house with 15-meter octagonal concrete tower that flashes two white lights every 10 seconds.

Tubbataha Reefs lighthouse is one of the only two man-made structures built in Tubbataha Reefs, the other one is the Tubbataha Ranger Station. The islet, where the lighthouse is located, is home to a large number of nesting sea birds and sea turtles, it is highly restricted to general public.