La Mola Lighthouse is much more than a naval utility building for the island of Formentera. It has been an icon for centuries, a symbol of our horizon and the pillar that represents the eastern end of our precious island. Coming to Formentera and not visiting our lighthouse would be like going to Paris and not visiting the Eiffel Tower.
It was built in 1861, at the time of Isabel II, it is located in the municipality of El Pilar de la Mola and until 1973 it was not electrified (it used to work with wicks and oil vapor). It is located at the highest point of the island (almost 200 meters above sea level), with stunning cliff views, and since its first night has been lit daily to illuminate the magical waters of this area of the Mediterranean. As it is recorded, it only went out twice: during the Philippine War and during the Civil War.
As the legend dictates, this is the lighthouse that Julio Verne never saw but in which he was inspired by his novels ctor Héctor Serdavac ’and‘ The lighthouse of the end of the world ’. A monolith near the lighthouse recalls the writer as “brilliant novelist and prophet of science” since 1978, on the 150th anniversary of his birth.
Here they have lived up to three different families of fareros, a most evocative trade. Javier Pérez de Arévalo is the last lighthouse keeper who has lived in this unique building, which you can know more about if you look for his blog (‘A Farero in the Desert’).
If there is something comparable in spectacularity with the infinite views towards the eastern horizon of Formentera by day, it is to approach this place at night, observing the twelve beams of light that turn on the darkness of the sea, while the night songs of baldritxas are heard and virots, two species of birds that sound at this time as ghostly calls from overseas … A magical moment!
Since 2019, the Consell de Formentera allows a visit to the interior of the Mola Lighthouse allowing us to learn about its history through videos, panels and objects related to the lighthouse itself.
Tres faros hay en Formentera. Dos son los más conocidos, el Faro de la Mola y es Cap de Barbaria. Pero, ¿sabes dónde se encuentra el tercero?
El faro Es Cap de Barbaria es la otra atalaya marítima de la isla. A 78m sobre el mar, te ofrece unos atardeceres impresionantes sobre el Mediterráneo.
El Faro de la Savina, algo más discreto que sus hermanos isleños, se encuentra cerca del Puerto de la Savina, entre las rocas.