Anyer's lighthouse, a vulnerable landmark

Beacon of Light: The Anyer lighthouse stands tall over the small park found at its base, which has a picnic area for visitors to relax in. (JP/Simon Marcus Gower)

Heading out to the west coast of Java from Jakarta is, for the most part, a relatively easy journey.

The toll road that buses and huge trucks take to the port of Merak runs most of the way but then a smaller road needs to be negotiated heading in the direction of Cilegon and the small coastal town of Anyer.

It is this road that proves more of a problem. The heavy industrial plants that initially line the coast here mean that there are many large container trucks to contend with. Recent rains and these heavy trucks have combined to do a lot of damage to the road. So much damage in fact that in parts the journey feels like an off-road adventure.

However, once the sign over the road welcoming travelers to the town of Anyer has been reached, the roadway improves and the industrial plants no longer dominate the surroundings.

The town center of Anyer is little more than a single street with shops, a market area and a mosque. There is not really much to be seen here; better instead to continue through to the coast.

Soon the surroundings become predominantly resorts and hotels along with seafood restaurants that all cater to visitors. Public beaches can be accessed through bamboo gates for a small fee, payments being made to sleepy attendants.

The beaches and the coastline are definite attractions but further ahead is an outstanding and elegant lighthouse some 120 years old.

The road winds and bends, running perhaps 100 to 200 meters from the coast. Coming around one of the bends, the lighthouse at Anyer is almost suddenly revealed. Standing tall and slender, its white color makes it shimmer and shine in the sun. It seems to be a sentinel both for this coastal region and some of the history here.

The lighthouse was erected a relatively short while after the massive explosion of Krakatua in 1883. When Krakatua exploded with such incredible power, it unleashed a huge tsunami which wreaked havoc on Java's west coast. At the time of the explosion there was already a lighthouse in this area, which was then known as Fourth Point.

It seems that that original lighthouse was one of a series of lighthouses that ran along the coast here to ward ships off as they passed through the Sunda Strait. That lighthouse, like so much else in the area, was wiped out by the force of the tsunami that struck following Krakatau's explosion.

Three years later in 1885, a new lighthouse -- the stylish one we still see today -- was completed and opened. It was erected by the Dutch, seemingly at the behest of Dutch Queen Wilhelmina; a plaque above the ground floor entrance doorway notes this.

What we see today is, however, somewhat showing its age. After more than 120 years of standing guard on this coastline, it is perhaps no great surprise that the lighthouse is looking a bit worn and worse for wear. There are patches of rust visible on the exterior walls and within the lighthouse itself there is quite considerable rusting.

As the visitor makes the climb to the top of the lighthouse, there are whole floors that look to be severely rusted. Indeed, one floor has rusted through to its edges, which has left it looking particularly dangerous. However, if one is willing to brave these rusty dangers and has a head for heights, the climb is well worth it.

There are 17 flights of stairs to be climbed each with about 15 steps. Each floor has a window in it that allows for views out as the climb proceeds, but it is the view from the top that is most important.

At the top there is a narrow doorway that leads out to an external gallery. It is here that stunning views can be had.

On the external gallery there is more evidence of rusting; a hole in the floor that allows for a view straight down certainly gets the pulse racing.

Walking around this external gallery it is possible to gain a 360-degree view of the green fields inland, the ins and outs of the coastline, the bending coastal road, the vastness of the sea and distant islands.

The gallery sits just below the lighthouse's large rotating lamp, so visitors are not quite at the pinnacle of the lighthouse. But the view is spectacle and, combined with the climb, amounts to a definite statement that this lighthouse is an important and pleasing part of the Anyer coastline.

The rusting that is evident throughout the lighthouse hopefully will not be left to become so severe that it undermines its very existence or prevents visitors from climbing to its top.

One of the attendants at the foot of the lighthouse suggested that some of the rusting was caused by gunfire. He claimed that during the Japanese occupation in World War II, the Japanese army would take prisoners into the lighthouse to be shot. It is hard to tell whether this is what actually happened, but the rust damage is there for all to see.

The same attendant said that repairs were difficult because of problems "matching the metals" with those that are locally available.

It is clear that the many numbered plates that are joined together throughout to form the lighthouse are massive and quite solid, but floors are under rust attack and patches on the walls show the spread of rust.

For now, though, the lighthouse does continue to stand tall. The massive metal plates that are bolted together to form it make a large cylindrical echo chamber. The foot falls and voices of visitors echo through it and the echoes of time and history also reside here.

Cars entering the small park adjacent to the lighthouse need to pay an entrance fee of Rp 20,000. A small gratuity may also be paid to the attendant that unlocks the lighthouse for visitors.

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