18 of the World's Loneliest Lighthouses

Lighthouses have been a ray of hope for traveling ships for centuries. These beacons vary in structure and style, but they have a shared purpose of helping crews navigate their vessels through the world’s waterways. While plenty of these structures stand in coastal towns and seaside cities, many more can be found in remote and sometimes stomach-churning locations.

Rising out of a rocky spire in the middle of the waters off the coast of Andros, Greece, is the Tourlitis Lighthouse. It looks almost like it was plucked from the pages of a fantasy novel, as natural erosion washed away most of the original column. Perched atop a rock about five miles off the Icelandic coast stands Þrídrangaviti Lighthouse, the “loneliest lighthouse in the world.” Sitting atop a precarious rocky spire, this tower can only be reached via helicopter.

From a lighthouse museum only accessible during low tide to a rock lighthouse isolated in the Pacific Ocean, here are some of the world’s most remote lighthouses.