This epic 4-day expedition is as much about the journey as the destination. Travel the full length of Timor-Leste’s stunning northern coastline from Dili to the country’s remote eastern tip, where sacred Jaco Island sits just 700 meters offshore.
Your adventure passes through historic Baucau and Manatuto, skirts Lake Ira Lalaro, Timor’s largest lake, and explore Lene Hara and Ili Kere Kere caves with 35,000-year-old rock art before reaching your reward: swimming and snorkelling the crystal waters surrounding the uninhabited sacred island.
Venture deep into Nino Konis Santana National Park, 123,600 hectares of pristine wilderness and home to over 200 bird species, sea turtles, deers and monkeys. Remarkably, around 15,000 people in five villages live harmoniously within the park boundaries, continuing 40,000 years of human habitation documented across over 100 archaeological sites.
With overnight stays in Portuguese colonial pousadas and remote coastal guesthouses, this is an authentic adventure travel showcasing the untouched natural beauty of Timor-Leste.
Your hotel in Dili
8.00 am
Eco Discovery was established in 2005. We are 100% Timorese-owned and operated. We have helped thousands of guests explore our beautiful country of Timor-Leste. We are a proud, environmentally responsible company that aims to protect it and help educate people on good preservation practices. We support locally based community projects and businesses.
8am leave Dili for a scenic 6 hour drive along the northern coastline of Timor-Leste, travelling through Manatuto, Baucau and Lautém municipalities. Lunch in Timor-Leste’s second largest city, Baucau, before arriving at Kati guesthouse (or similar) in beautiful Com, a laid back and relaxing place (pictured below).
8.30am leave the beach at Com to travel through the interior of Lautém, along significantly rougher roads. Travel along the northern edge of Lake Ira Lalaro, the largest lake in Timor-Leste. It is a seasonal body of water, whose size expands greatly during the wet season, from 1,000 hectares to 5,500 hectares. Arrive at the dramatically situated Pousada Lautem in Tutuala around lunchtime.
In the afternoon visit ancient rock art at Ili Kere Kere (pictured below) and Lene Hara Caves. The rock paintings portray the livelihoods of the Fataluku people. These paintings are of great anthropological significance, as studies have found them of very similar designs found in other Southeast Asia countries, such as the Philippines where nomadic tribes from the same roots originated from North Asia also settled. Recent findings record the oldest fish hooks made of bone found in a cave nearby, the oldest rock harpoon and a new rock carving in nearby areas of Leneara caves.
8.30am from Tutuala head down to the coast at Valu Beach. From here take a small boat across to Jaco Island for a couple of hours. Jaco is an uninhabited, 10km2 island about 700m off the eastern end of mainland Timor-Leste, home to beautifully clear waters off a white sand beach. There is an impressive set of whale bones to the south of where the boats land, and a thick bush interior with no paths, and it is a quiet and relaxing place. Snorkelling is possible here but you will need to bring your own gear. Jaco Island is considered sacred by Timorese and staying overnight is not allowed.
In the afternoon drive to Baucau, the second largest city of Timor-Leste, set in a hill overlooking the ocean. Fishing and rice farming were once the main activities, though all sort of businesses have thrived here since independence in 2000, as this is a main stop for many on the way to other further districts, making it a very busy city with a lively daily market. There are many historic sights in Old Baucau, easily explored on foot from your hotel, including a famous swimming pool (pictured below).
8.30am leave Baucau to return to Dili by lunchtime. You will pass by the town of Laleia (church pictured below), home town of renowned Timorese Resistance leader Kairala Xanana Gusmao, and the coastal town of Manatuto. Short stops for photos along the way.
I booked a couple of tours with Eco Discovery, and they made my experience of Timor Leste even more enjoyable.
I was in Timor Leste for work and contacted a few local tour companies to ask for suggestions in my off time. Some didn’t bother to respond whilst others were very late with response.
However, Edna from Eco Discovery was one that responded promptly and after some initial emails used Whatsapp for discussions.
My schedule had the challenge of being free around work schedules, but I mentioned to Edna some places or things I would like to visit or see and also took upon her suggestions and feedback.
I found Edna to be very easy to communicate and plan with in that she was very honest and straightforward with her responses, and when I finally had locked in dates, she was very quick and meticulous to organise everything including guides, accommodation and paperwork for border crossings and much more.
Timor Leste is not widely known for tourism worldwide yet but has some hidden gems and I was very happy to get a taste of this in different regions.
The country is not the cheapest for travel and tourism as they use USD, and for me it was added costs of solo travel.
Fortunately, Eco Discovery could accommodate solo travellers, whereas some other organisations would not. Cost plays a part in decision making, but so too does safety and experiences and I felt I would get a good overall combination of these with Eco Travel and I was not disappointed.
I booked a 2-day weekend where I visited Maubisse and climbed Timor Leste’s highest mountain Mt Ramelau. Edna was the guide and Andrew the driver. A local guide joined us for the climb up Mt Ramelau.
I then did a 5-day customised/personalised tour, which went from Dili to Jaco Island, Baucau, Balibo, and across the a few borders and then into Oecusse before returning to back to Dili. It was thought such a schedule in the time available was not possible but Edna who organised all as well as came along as guide put it all together. The driver JP was also excellent and had great local knowledge in Oecusse and West Timor regions.
Edna was also helpful in answering other queries from SIM cards, to souvenirs, to best places to dine, shop, travel in Dili, and even tourist activities in Dili and Atauro Island which I self-did, but she was happy to answer questions and make suggestions, and I must thank her for this.
I have taken away lots of great photos and memories from my time in Timor Leste thanks to Eco Discovery and I highly recommend them for others to have the same.
We had and excellent trip in East Timor with Ecodiscovery, including an exceptional organisation to see the solar eclipse. It was very well organized, adaptable, reliable.
Thank you to Moty our guide and Ironio so very good driver for their kindness and the way they made us discover their country.
This was my second trip to Timor-Leste, my first being in Dec 2018 during Christmas. At that time, when I had sent enquiry emails, they were the first to respond. And over the days, they were quite happy to customise my itinerary to meet my travel dates. The whole trip was planned at short notice in less than a month or so. Luis was my guide and he made sure to show me places and vantage points for some great photographs on the way to Ramalau and back with stops at Aileu and Maubisse. Post Christmas day, he repeated the whole thing during our day trips to Ai Pelo, Liquica, Maubara, Ermera and Gleno, going out of his way at times to make sure that I had a great and memorable experience. He educated me with a lot of details about the history of his land.
My second trip was a just a week ago in Aug 2019. Edna and Maria were very considerate in helping prepare multiple different itineraries from 5 day trip to 8-10 day trip, bearing with my idiosyncracies with immense patience. Serafim was my guide this time as we travelled East from Dili on the scenic coastal road on the North – a 8 day trip covering Bacau, Loihuno with a hike to Mundo Perdido, Baguia for a hike up Matebeanmane, to Com and onto Valu/Jaco. Serafim made sure that I got to eat all the local food that I craved for, making sure that I was a happy person. He took me to some great photospots and view points, and was also more than happy to stop on the way and point out various scenic spots so I could take photos. Oh, and Serafim even detoured to take me to his home village to meet his mother and sister, and his community, and along with that, a side trip to the Ossuary of the resistance fighters in his home village.
And during the trip, I ran into Manny and Xisto. And for a short while, Luis too. They shared a lot of insights and gave me ideas for future trips.
And Edna, as usual, made sure I had a great itinerary.
My heartfelt gratitude to the team at Eco Discovery for a wonderful and memorable 2nd trip.
I will surely go back to them when it is time to visit their land again.
Thank you, Eco Discovery trip.