Welcome to the Heaven Called East Timor

The Republic of East Timor is located on the Eastern part of Asia and is the largest of the Lesser Sunda Islands. Overall this country is not that large, occupying only 15,000 square kilometers. Some would think that is good enough for a beach country, but in reality the country has breathtakingly high mountains. Only the southern part of the island is occupied with a plain territory. This is why the island has a great amount of forests, on some parts of which they turn into tropical rainforests. Thus when visiting East Timor you get a chance to have an ideal mixture of beach party, mountain hiking and forest explorations. Previously the place was known for its sandalwood forests. However, those were cut by the later inhabitants in late 20th century.

The wildlife of East Timor might not be as various, but the animals are of interest especially for those, who wish to have wildlife photoshoot sessions. Here you can see deer, mountain goats and even wild boars. The colorful birds will join the list with their beautiful songs.

The capital and the largest city of East Timor is Dili. The city is proud of the large luxurious villas located alongside the entire coast of the ocean. There are even old buildings, including the Palacio Do Governo dating back to 1627, which used to be the governmental building by that time. Most of the city was destroyed during the armed conflict with Indonesia in 1999. You can still see some signs of devastation in the city. Dili is rather religious. This is obvious not only due to the abundance of the Catholic churches, but also the statue of Jesus Christ. The statue is located on the top of Cape Fatucama. The appearance of it ideally resembles the statue in Rio de Janeiro, and let’s say that it doesn’t lose the fight with the Rio battle.

The coastline of Dili is full of interesting beach areas, bars and restaurants. It’s just awesome to have a walk alongside the coastline during the nighttime and enjoy the shimmering lights coming from around the villas and hotels. When climbing to the top of Fatucama, you might want to have a visit to the caves as well.

The second largest city of East Timor is Baucau. It’s located not that far from the capital of the country. Though the place is considered to be the coolest city of the country, it’s definitively worth a visit. Here you can get an overall idea about the colonial architecture and admire some samples of the Portuguese architecture. In addition, the shores are pretty clean here and ideal for water sports. The worst time to visit the place is the wet season, when the roads are closed with mud. Among the other attractions of the city are the large forests with the protected sandalwood trees.

If you’re interested in the history of East Timor, then you should not miss the chance to have a visit to the village of Liquica. This is the place, where the bloody events of 1999 started. The church of the place served as a place for the start of the massacres. As for now the place is reconstructed. Its black sand beaches are ready to receive more visitors at the moment.

Atauro Island is located not far from the capital of the country and is considered to be part of the country. It hosts a few villages with not that large population and nice beaches. Getting here can be easily done by boats coming from the capital of the country, which will not cost that much (around $10 per person). The place has interesting wildlife and untouched nature. Atauro Island is mostly popular as a snorkeling destination. Here you can swim with dolphins and find most of the fish that are used as the main meal in the local cuisine.