[1] San Cristóbal was commissioned as part of the second maritime lighting plan for the Canaries, and is the oldest and principal lighthouse of La Gomera.

[2] Designed by the engineer by Juan de León y Castillo, it was built in a similar style to other early Canarian lights, consisting of a whitewashed single-storey keeper's house, with dark volcanic rock used for the masonry detailing.

The light was shown from a lantern room at the top of a six-metre-high (20 ft) masonry tower, which was attached to the seaward side of the house, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

[1][3] The new lighthouse became operational in 1978, and consists of a short, 15-metre cylindrical tower, painted white with a distinctive daymark of a wide red band.

[1] The clifftop location of the lighthouse means that it has a focal height of 84 meters above sea level, with a nominal range of 21 nautical miles.