Construction brick tower Characteristic Fl W 5s. Opened 1890 Focal height 47 m Year first constructed 1890 | Light source mains power Height 49 m Range 51,856 m Phone +94 41 2 222595 | |
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Location Dondra HeadSouthern ProvinceSri Lanka Tower shape octagonal prism tower with balcony and lantern Markings / pattern white tower, yellow windows Similar Matara fort, Polhena Beach, Star fort - Matara, Mulkirigala Raja Maha Vihara, Barberyn Lighthouse | ||
View from the dondra head lighthouse sri lanka
Dondra Head Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on Dondra Head near the southernmost point in Sri Lanka and is the tallest lighthouse in Sri Lanka and also one of the tallest in South East Asia. Dondra Head lighthouse is operated and maintained by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.
Contents
The lighthouse is near the village of Dondra, and is approximately 6 km (3.7 mi) 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 in England.
Features
The lighthouse is 49 m (161 ft) 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.