I’ve been up to the Guia Fortress and lighthouse several times in the 4.5+ years I lived in Macao and I couldn’t believe I didn’t have a photo of the UNESCO site landmark! Image above courtesy of MGTO. It’s a pretty easy trek if you plan to walk up, and make a nice walk in the cooler seasons. If not, you have the option to take the cable car up.
Guia Fortress and Lighthouse is situated on the Guia Hill, the highest point on the Macao Peninsula. It was built by the Portuguese in the 1860s to guide ships entering the harbour and provided unobstructed views to warn of any dangers and imminent attacks.
Guia Lighthouse Macao
The octagonal tower is made of white granite and stands at 15m, featuring a latern room at the top to help ships navigate in the night. Located within the Guia Fortress that was built as a defensive structure to protect Macao from invaders. The area is a designated UNESCO heritage site.
Visitors can choose to take a hike up Guia Hill – very manageable and I’m not a hiking person. Or take the cable car – which I highly recommend during the summer heat. The lighthouse spot offers panoramic views of the Macao Peninsula and the South China Sea.
The tourist sites in Macao offer Instagram perfect backdrops with its 17th-18th-century architecture and pops of bright colours on the monuments.
As typhoon season is coming up in the Summer, I thought it’d be nice to revisit. . The 17th-century chapel, unfortunately, was closed during my most recent visit last year, but I got a peek inside the lighthouse.
Even the door has a beautiful symbol. As you can see it was closed but I managed to peek inside. Don’t these symbols look familiar? They are the exact same ones that appear on our weather warning app when typhoon warnings are up. Traditionally they were hung up on the lighthouse so that sailors could see from afar.
I’m not sure how far these symbols date back to, but fascinating how they were put to use in naval maritime navigation.
