Dondra Head 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 ...
located on
Dondra Head, Dondra, the
southernmost point in Sri Lanka and is
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
's tallest lighthouse,
and also one of the tallest in South East Asia. Dondra Head lighthouse is operated and maintained by the
Sri Lanka Ports Authority.
The lighthouse is near the village of Dondra, and is approximately southeast of
Matara. The name Dondra is a synonym for "Devi-Nuwara" in the local Sinhala language, "Devi" meaning "Gods" and "Nuwara" meaning "City". Dondra is therefore derived to mean "City of the Gods".
History
Dondra Head Lighthouse was designed by Sir
James Nicholas Douglass, with construction, by
William Douglass of the
Imperial Lighthouse Service,
commencing in November 1887.
All the building materials including the bricks and steel were imported from England. The granite rock was supplied from quarries at
Dalbeattie in Scotland and
Penryn in Cornwall. The lighthouse was completed and commissioned in March 1890.
The combined cost of erection of the lighthouse and the
Barberyn Lighthouse was £30,000 and was paid for by dues collected at the Basses lighthouses.
Lens
Dondra Head was one of a limited number of lighthouses that were designed to house the large
Hyperradiant Fresnel lenses that became available at the end of the 19th century. Four of these lenses were used in Sri Lankan lights, all made by
Chance Brothers
Chance Brothers and Company was an English glassworks originally based in Spon Lane, Smethwick, West Midlands (county), West Midlands (formerly in Staffordshire), in England. It was a leading glass manufacturer and a pioneer of British glassma ...
in England.
The rotating lens however was removed in 2020 and replaced by a static flashing LED light which has reduced the visibility range of the lighthouse considerably.
Features
The lighthouse is high
and contains 7 floors, 14 two panel yellow colour windows and 196 steps to the top. Dondra Head is also one of four international lighthouse in Sri Lanka. It was modernized in 2000, with the introduction of a
Differential Global Positioning System and is computer linked to the other major lighthouses around the coast.
See also
*
List of lighthouses in Sri Lanka
References
External links
Dondra Head LightDevinuwara Official web site
Sri Lanka Ports Authority
Lighthouses of Sri Lanka
{{authority control
Lighthouses completed in 1889
Lighthouses in Sri Lanka
Buildings and structures in Matara District
ru:Дондра (мыс)