This historic beacon is seen by many but visited by few
One of the first things shipboard visitors to the capital of the Bahamas see upon arriving at the port is the iconic profile of the Paradise Island Lighthouse. The oldest light tower in the Bahamas, it has guided mariners into Nassau for 200 years. This 69-foot-high brick structure sits on a small spit of land on the western tip of today’s Paradise Island, which went by the decidedly less glamorous name of Hog Island at the time.
Over the centuries, the tower has withstood batterings by at least 25 major hurricanes, and seen the island transformed into one of the poshest tropical destinations in the western hemisphere. The light is now unattended, but remains open to visitors, who can climb the tower after making a half-hour hike across sand and rocks.
