One of the oldest lighthouses in South Africa, the Cape Agulhas Lighthouse, was built in the ancient Egyptian style and has stood for over 150 years

Situated at Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa, the Cape Agulhas Lighthouse has stood for over 150 years as a maritime chaperone over the notorious “Cape of Storms.” It was the third lighthouse to be built in South Africa, and the second-oldest still operating. The coastline was once a frequent graveyard for ships straying too close to land. The sea off Cape Agulhas has long been notorious among sailors for winter storms and massive rogue waves, which can even sink large ships. Some of the ships that fell onto these shores include the Zoetendal, Arniston, Meisho Maru and the Birkenhead.

Second oldest lighthouse in South Africa. Photo Credit — Building the lighthouse was an idea suggested by surveyor-general and civil engineer Colonel Charles Collier Michell in 1837 and for good reason. The seas around Cape Agulhas are very treacherous and have caused numerous shipwrecks. Photo Credit1 Photo Credit2

the shipwreck of the Japanese fishing trawler Meisho Maru No. 38, barely a kilometer or two just west of Cape Agulhas lighthouse. Photo Credit — *The shipwreck of the Japanese fishing trawler Meisho Maru No. 38, barely a kilometer or two just west of Cape Agulhas lighthouse. Photo Credit*

The Agulhas bank is a unique geographical formation. The ocean around this area is only 60 fathoms deep for 250 kilometers out to sea and then drops sharply to 180,000 fathoms until it reaches Antarctica.

*Seventy-one steps lead up to the top of what is now the second oldest working lighthouse in southern Africa. Photo Credit*

The site is known as L’Agulhas – the Cape of Needles – and was named by the Portuguese navigator Bartholomew Dias in 1488. When seafaring Portuguese vessels rounded this Cape tip in the 15th century, their compass needles would swing, leaving them unable to determine True North from Magnetic North. It is also said that this is where the Benguela and the Mozambique currents meet.

In 1962, the lighthouse building was deemed to be unsafe, and faced demolition. Photo Credit — *In 1962, the lighthouse building was deemed to be unsafe and faced demolition. Photo Credit*

The lighthouse has a unique design that is based on the Pharos of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Photo Credit — *With a unique design that is based on the Pharos of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Photo Credit*

The lighthouse has some very interesting history as it was modeled on one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Lighthouse of Alexandria in Egypt. It was commissioned on 1 March 1849 but in 1962, the sandstone from which the lighthouse was built started crumbling and the original structure was declared unsafe. In 1968, a new aluminum lighthouse was built nearby, preserving the original lighthouse as a national monument.