MachiliPatnam Lighthouse

Machilipatnam Lighthouse is situated in between the mouths of Godavari and Krishna rivers. It is approachable by Road from Vijaywada and is also a rail terminus. Machilipatnam is an important port in the region since ancient period. Marcopolo in his travelogue written in 1293, has mentioned about the prosperity of the region and flourishing port of Mottupalli on the mouths of river Krishna during Rudramba’s rule.Machilipatnam and the surrounding region were under Kaktiyas of Warangal in 13th century. Tughlak’s army defeated Kaktiyas. Vijayanagar rulers occupied the region and retained their control for two centuries followed by Muslim rule and then the region became part of Madras presidency in the early 19th century under the British which after independence formed part of Andhra Pradesh. There did not exist any light at the present site. A lighted beacon was first established in 1858 on the coast north of the entrance to Machilipatnam creek. It was a fixed light. In 1903 an occulting light inside a 4th order optic replaced the fixed light. The light was extremely useful to the ships plying between Rangoon and Machilipatnam. The beacon structure was replaced by a 13m high circular masonry tower in 1930. In 1939 the DA gas equipment flashing (3) every 20 Seconds replaced the earlier equipment.The construction of the present Lighthouse tower was taken up in 1982 and completed in 1984. The PRB-21 type lighting equipment supplied by M/s Asia Navigation Aids, New Delhi, was installed on the tower. The light was commissioned on 15th November 1984. The ‘D’ type lamps have been replaced by indigenous head lights with Halogen Lamps in February 1996