The Old Talaimannar Lighthouse (Urumalai Lighthouse) is located at the south of the island at the start of the Adams Bridge, the natural sandbank which stretches all the way to India. This area is called Urumalai, thus this is also known as Urumalai Lighthouse.
This is an Iron Structure where fire was used as the navigation light at the top. It is said to have been constructed in the colonial era, especially between the 1850-1900 period. In 1931 Sailing Directions for the West Coast of India notes that the lighthouse was a black skeleton steel tower 113 feet (34.4 meters) in height.
Currently, only the iron Structure built on 7 long steel pipes stands tall with no indication of it being a lighthouse.
This structure today lies inside a Naval Base and you cannot go to this structure. Yet you can get a good view of this lighthouse from the camp entrance.
References
- අසංග, එම්. වී. පී. කේ. සහ නිශාන්ත, අයි. පී. ඇස්., 2018. මන්නාරම දිස්ත්රික්කය – පුරාවිද්යා දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව. 1වන සංස්කරණය. කොළඹ: රජයේ මුද්රණ දෙපාර්තුමේන්තුව,පිටු .80-81
- Sailing Directions for the West Coast of India From Point Calimere to Cape Moze Including Ceylon, Pamban Pass, and Palk Gulf. 2nd edn (1931). Washington: Secretary of the Navy.
Also See
- Lighthouses of Sri Lanka
- Attractions of Sri Lanka
- Heritage of Sri Lanka
- Other Places of Interest Within Close Proximity
Old Talaimannar Lighthouse (Urumalai Lighthouse) Map
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Driving Directions of Old Talaimannar Lighthouse (Urumalai Lighthouse)
From Colombo to Urumalai Lighthouse | From Anuradhapura to Urumalai Lighthouse |
Through : Chilaw – Puttalam – Mannar Distance : 290 km Travel time : 6.5 hours Time to Spend : about 30 mins Driving Directions : See Google Maps here | Through : Medawachchiya – Mannar Distance : 145 km Travel time : 3 hours Time to Spend : about 30 mins Driving Directions : See Google Maps here |