Cape Bojeador Lighthouse – the Philippines

3 min read

2 years ago Nathan

Cape Bojeador Lighthouse, in the Philippines, also known as Burgos Lighthouse, is a cultural heritage structure in Burgos, Ilocos Norte, that was established during the Spanish Colonial period in the Philippines.
It was first lit on March 30, 1892, and is set high on Vigia de Nagpartian Hill overlooking the scenic Cape Bojeador where early galleons used to sail by.
After over 100 years, it still functions and serves ships that enter the Philippine Archipelago from the north and guide them safely away from the rocky coast of the town.

The light marks the northwesternmost point in Luzon.
The 20-meter-tall octagonal stone tower, the most prominent structure in the vicinity, can be seen from Pasuquin town in the south and Bangui on the east on a clear day.
However, contrary to popular belief, it is not the highest-elevated nor tallest lighthouse in the Philippines, but it is the highest elevated still original and active Spanish era lighthouse in the country. Corregidor Lighthouse is higher at over 180 meters and, among the Spanish Colonial lighthouses, the tower of Cape Melville Lighthouse is the tallest at 27 meters even if in Mindoro Strait, the recently erected modern tower at the Apo Reef Light Station rises to a height of 34 meters.
The Cape Bojeador lighthouse was part of the Spanish government’s 1857 master plan of illuminating the Philippine archipelago, Plan General de Alumbrado de Maritimo de las costas del Archipelago de Filipino. The project commenced with the execution of the lighthouses in the northern and western part of the Philippines and those around Iloilo and Cebu.
The lighthouse was first designed by Magin Pers y Perswho in 1887, but was completed by Guillermo Brockman’s Lighthouse Service. It is made with bricks to crowned with a bronze cupola.
It was originally fitted with first-order Fresnel lens, but the intense earthquake of 1990 that hit most of Luzon damaged the lenses and displaced the mechanism alignment of the original first-order apparatus making it inoperable.
The beam now comes from a modern electric lamp that is powered by solar panels.
Cape Bojeador Lighthouse was declared a National Historical Landmark on August 13, 2004 and a National Cultural Treasure on June 20, 2005 by the Philippine Government.

Author’s notes: Burgos is a town about 40km North of Laoag. Coming from Laoag, you can take buses headed to Pagudpud. Passing along Maharlika Highway, you can see a sign to your right, which is the starting point of the winding road that leads to Vigia de Nagpartian Hill. From there, it takes about five minutes to get to the lighthouse.