Kilakkarai Lighthouse is about 17 Km from nearest Railway station Ramanadpuram and is connected by an all weather road.There wasn’t any light existing at this site prior to the present Lighthouse. The coast between Thonithura and Valinokkam point has chain of islets and shoals. The main activity in the region is fishing. A flag mast was the only assistance to the fishermen-mostly. With the increase in activities the region needed to be marked with a powerful light for the caution against the dangers. As such this Lighthouse was planned during 1974-75. The construction of the tower was completed towards the mid 1979 and the PRB – 42 equipment supplied by M/s. Asia Navigation Aids Ltd., New Delhi, was installed on the tower. The Lighthouse was commissioned into service on 2nd October 1979. The `C’ type sealed beam lamps were replaced by `D’ type 30V 200W sealed beam lamps on 30th April 2003.
Position - 090 13.5’N 780 47.0’E
Characteristic - flash White every 15 sec
Tower Colour - Red and white bands
Tower - 30m high Hexagonal concrete tower
Height above MSL - 35m
Range - 19 NM
Optical Equip - PRB-42 equipment (ANA) with ‘D’ type 30V 200W Sealed beam lamps inside 2.4m diameter lantern house
Source of Energy - Mains supply 440V 50 Hz (standby genset provided)
Commensed year - 1979
Subsequent Innovations - 2003