Located on top of 200-foot limestone cliffs overlooking the Caribbean Sea, the Cabo Rojo Lighthouse marks the south-west tip of Puerto Rico. Built in 1881 by the Spanish government, the Cabo Rojo Lighthouse (Faro Los Morrillos de Cabo Rojo and know locally as El Faro) uses the same building design as the Fajardo and Arecibo lighthouses. We have visited both of those other lighthouses, and it was kind of interesting to see how similar they all look.

The Cabo Rojo Lighthouse has been renovated/restored over the years. It is still operational and helps ships navigate safely through the Mona Passage from the Caribbean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.

Unless you are really "into" lighthouses, I think you will be less than impressed with the lighthouse. In itself, it is small in scale. There is a permanent "art" exhibit plastered all over the inside of it that is less than appealing. You can walk up the spiral staircase that leads to the observation deck on the roof of the building, and there are some nice panoramic views of the surrounding area. There are "park rangers" there to welcome you and answer your questions.

More Than a Lighthouse

Though the lighthouse is interesting, the big attractions here are the incredible views from the limestone cliffs this lighthouse is built upon. Walk outside the fence of the lighthouse and you will be amazed at the beauty! Just be careful not to walk too close to the edge, since there is no guard rail and you can see where pieces of the cliff have broken off over time. We spent a lot of time here, just taking a million pictures from all the angles as we walked along the bluff. It is breathtakingly beautiful.

The other great thing about visiting this lighthouse is that you can see (and easily get to) a beautiful coved beach called La Playuela. You need to plan to spend some time on that beach, too. The water there is warm, calm and it is just beautiful.

Getting to this lighthouse is part of the fun. You have to drive past the salt flats on Route 301, at which point the road changes from asphalt to packed dirt. The dirt road is rutted and full of potholes, but it is still passable in a regular vehicle. Just drive around any big, water-filled holes (you never know how deep they are).

We parked at the first "parking-lot-looking" area and walked up the cement driveway to the lighthouse. There are other paths that eventually lead up to the lighthouse, if you are in the mood to do some walking/hiking on rock in the full sun. The parking is a considerable distance from the lighthouse — maybe ½ mile. So wear a hat, bring water and mosquito repellent.

Details

Admission to the lighthouse is free.

The lighthouse is open Wednesday through Sunday from 9:00am to 3:30pm.

You should allow an hour to see the lighthouse and walk around the grounds. Allow more time in the area if you want to visit nearby attractions like La Playuela Beach or the Salt Flats.

You can call 787-255-1560 for more information.

To get there, take Route 301 in the Cabo Rojo area all the way to the end.

If you have a GPS unit handy, punch in these coordinates (17.937497, -67.194477) for the parking area near the lighthouse.

You can locate the Cabo Rojo Lighthouse on our Interactive Island Map