Eluanbi Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on Cape Eluanbi, the southernmost point of Taiwan, which separates Taiwan’s South Bay from Banana Bay and the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea from the Philippine Sea. It is near Eluan Village in the township of Hengchun in Pingtung County, Taiwan. The lighthouse is open to the public all year round.
In the mid-1800s, shipwrecks were common on the coast of Hengchun Peninsula due to the nearby reefs, the strong currents, and frequent typhoons. To prevent these disasters, the Qing Dynasty Court commissioned members of the Royal Geographical Society to prospect for a suitable place to build a lighthouse. Under the supervision of English engineers, the Eluanbi Lighthouse was built in 1882. To prevent foreigners from colluding with aborigines, the lighthouse was equipped with a moat, cannons, and a surrounding wall with loopholes for firing. Soldiers were sent to guard it, making it one of the few fortified lighthouses in the world.
The lighthouse was blown up by retreating Qing soldiers in 1895 and rebuilt by the Japanese in 1898. It was heavily bombed during World War II and was rebuilt again after the restoration of Taiwan. Now it is a well-preserved historical site within Kenting National Park. With a luminosity of 1.8 million candle power, Eluanbi Lighthouse is the most powerful lighthouse in Taiwan, and has been known as the “Beacon of Southeast Asia.”
To find the cache, walk through the Eluanbi Park (鵝鑾鼻公園), and when you reach the lighthouse complex with whitewashed walls, walk to the left side of the building (the North side) and find the small locked entrance gate. (This is at the opposite side of the building as the main entrance gate). The cache is directly opposite the gate on the fence that lines the property. A spoiler photo shows you a view from the cache location.