Cape Vilán Lighthouse, Maritime beacon on Costa da Morte, Camariñas, Spain
Cape Vilán Lighthouse is a stone tower standing 25 meters tall on a rocky peninsula along the Galician coast. It features exhibition rooms and an interpretation center describing the shipwreck history of this dangerous coastline.
The current structure was built after the HMS Serpent sank in 1890 and became Spain's first electric lighthouse in 1896. Its light could be seen up to 60 nautical miles away, marking an important shift in navigation technology for this region.
The lighthouse's siren sounds the letter V in Morse code: three short blasts followed by one long blast every 60 seconds. The signal recalls the HMS Serpent, the British training ship wrecked nearby on 8 November 1890 with 172 dead, after which the first-order light was funded.
The lighthouse itself cannot be visited; the former technical building houses a free interpretation centre on shipwrecks, lighthouses and maritime signals, with a shop and café-bar. The tower and lantern are reached by a tunnel of 150 steps, not open to the public. The site is exposed to wind and fog, and the foghorn sounds the letter V in Morse code.
The fog siren emits the letter V in Morse code: three short blasts followed by one long blast every 60 seconds. The signal recalls the HMS Serpent, whose 1890 wreck killed 172 men and prompted the lighthouse's reconstruction. The 1962 lantern measures 3.5 m in diameter and holds a 500 mm focal lens.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,421 contributors worldwide.
