The lighthouse with its 36-metre-tall (118 ft), pink granite tower was completed in 1849 to a design by Alan Stevenson.

[3] Mains electricity was installed in 1976, the light was automated in 1988 and is now operated remotely by the Northern Lighthouse Board from Edinburgh.

[2][4] The former keepers' cottages and outbuildings are owned by the Ardnamurchan Lighthouse Trust and operated as a visitor centre,[2][5] with a museum called the 'Kingdom of Light' - Rioghachd na Sorcha.

Exhibits detail the history and operations of the lighthouse, including access to the restored engine room and workshop with the original fog horn.

In 2021, the lighthouse was featured in an episode of British motoring television programme Top Gear, where the presenters raced three off-road vehicles to deliver and fit a new light bulb.