Dakhla Lighthouse

Dakhla Lighthouse is one of the clearest surviving references to the city’s maritime and Spanish-era history. Marine heritage sources describe it as a ten-meter cylindrical stone tower built in 1916 and attached to one corner of a Spanish fort near Dakhla. Its scale is modest when compared with the monumental architecture of Morocco’s imperial cities, but its meaning is strongly tied to place. The lighthouse speaks to Dakhla’s role as a remote Atlantic station, where navigation, military presence, and coastal geography shaped daily life long before the city became famous for kitesurfing and lagoon resorts. The structure also connects with the former name Villa Cisneros and the broader history of Spanish activity in Río de Oro. Travelers visiting or researching the lighthouse should understand that access, preservation status, and surrounding conditions may vary, and it should not be treated as a heavily curated tourist monument. Its value lies in context: a small stone tower on a windswept coast that reveals the practical maritime needs of a remote peninsula. For photographers and history-minded visitors, it provides a visual link between Dakhla’s Atlantic identity and its colonial past. It is best combined with a wider exploration of the town’s heritage and coastline.