Barra Lighthouse () is a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

in southeastern

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

. The lighthouse stands on the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

coast, at Barra Beach on the Ponta da Barra peninsula in

Inhambane Province Inhambane is a province of Mozambique located on the coast in the southern part of the country. It has an area of 68,615 km2 and a population of 1,488,676 (2017 census). The provincial capital is also called Inhambane. The climate is trop ...

, 25 km drive from

Inhambane Inhambane (also known as Terra de Boa Gente (''Land of Good People'')) is a city located in southern Mozambique, lying on Inhambane Bay, 470 km northeast of Maputo. It is the capital of the Inhambane Province and, according to the 2017 cen ...

city. The beach is a major Mozambican tourist destination.

Snorkeling Snorkeling (American and British English spelling differences#Doubled in British English, British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of human swimming, swimming face down on or through a body of water while breathing ...

is popular below the lighthouse at low tide where there is a natural tidal pool. The wreck of the , an Italian-built cargo ship that ran aground in 1949, lies exposed nearby. The Barra and Tofo area is one of the global hotspots for divers to see

whale shark The whale shark (''Rhincodon typus'') is a slow-moving, filter feeder, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known Extant taxon, extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of . The whale shark holds many records for ...

sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerh ...

s and

manta ray Manta rays are large Batoidea, rays belonging to the genus ''Mobula'' (formerly its own genus ''Manta''). The larger species, ''Giant oceanic manta ray, M. birostris'', reaches in width, while the smaller, ''Reef manta ray, M. alfredi'', reac ...

References

{{Authority control Lighthouses in Mozambique Lighthouses completed in 1900 Buildings and structures in Inhambane Province