The conical masonry tower, with a lantern and gallery, has a daymark on the seaward side of the lighthouse of horizontal bands of red, white and black.

The management of the lighthouse is undertaken by the Karachi Port Trust and although the site is open to the public the island is itself a restricted zone due to it being surrounded by Pakistan Navy bases.

[1] Manora, a bluff rocky headland, projecting in a south-eastward direction from the mainland, and leaving a space of about two miles between the extreme point and the coast to the east.

Manora is the Brighton of Karachi—or rather will be—where the inhabitants resort for change of air; it is well adapted for bathing, and is cool and pleasant from its vicinity to the sea...Point Manora is a high bluff, on which is the lighthouse, with a good fixed light, visible 16 to 18 miles off; but the whole point is rapidly wasting away, and will in time be only a sandy spit.In 1887 designs were proposed for a new lighthouse tower by the Port Engineer's Office.

This was part of a series of ongoing improvements to the harbour, as the port had taken on a new level of importance and witnessed a substantial increase in sea traffic, with a constant stream of ships transporting goods and troops to and from the sub-continent.

[9][7] The light has retained this characteristic to the present day, and has a nominal range of 26 nmi (48 km; 30 mi), at a height above sea level or focal plane of 48 m (157 ft).

[4] The lighthouse is active, and operated by the Karachi Port Trust where it appears on their logo, and is registered under the international Admiralty number D7750 with an NGA identifier of 112–28472.