Fun things to do in East Timor

4 more images

To be honest, Maubisse town itself has not much to offer apart from the cool climate. It is the trip going there and the surroundings that are worth the effort. Our guide of Eco_Discovery brought us inland from Maubisse along a dirt road to Suco Liurai.

The landscape could be on another planet and does not look hospitable. Strange rock formations scatter the area, traditonal conical dwellings stand wide apart, so do isolated trees. One admires the hardiness of the people who survive here. They do not see many visitors, to the boys we were as much an attraction as their village to us.

4 more images

Maubisse was the mountain resort where Portuguese residents of Dili spent their weekends. Nowadays expats come here for the same purpose. The only accommodation is the "pousada", a building in typical Portuguese style located on a hilltop with a view over the valley in the direction of Dili.

We could have taken lunch here, but because our guide said: "In the SARA restaurant on the main street you get the same food for a third of the price", we opted for he latter.

3 more images

The most remarkable building of Maubisse is the church. It dominates the view when one approaches Maubisse, and with its half-timbered construction makes the town look like a Swiss village.

The church also provides evidence how much the Roman Catholic religion of the East-Timorese is still mixed up with animist beliefs and practices: the front yard of the church features two "sacred poles".

2 more images

The Timorese who live in the country-side are hardly touched by modernity.
Here are some examples of houses built with local materials: bebak (palm leaf stalks), bamboo, wood, rock, mud, as seen along the road to Maubisse. Only the corrugated iron sheets have replaced the traditional thatched roofing.

4 more images

The favourite garden shrub of Timor-Leste is bougainvillea. We saw them in every village we came through and they always were near a dwelling of some kind. They come in various colours and some had grown the size of trees.

3 more images

Maubisse (also spelled Maubesi) is a mountain resort south of Dili. In colonial times it was favoured by the Portuguese and now it still is for those who can afford leaving town for the weekend - including expats. The town is relatively affluent because it is also a centre of coffee plantations, the prime export commodity of Timor-Leste.

The drive to Maubisse is an attraction by itself. On leaving Dili the road to Maubisse immediately starts climbing, allowing great views of the city. Ever winding it leads through the hills south of Dili, past the historic town of Aileu. On the way one gets to see magnificent vistas of river valleys and hills. Although the distance is only 71 km, the trip may take three hours.

We went to Maubisse with Eco-discovery Timor-Leste, many stops on the way making it a full-day outing, from 8 am to 6 pm. The following tips show the main places of interest of this trip.

2 more images

A short distance past Aileu we encountered a group of Timorese making a living by digging up rock at the roadside. Their tools were quite primitive, a long chisel only. They sell the rock for building purposes.

4 more images

The town of Aileu was a base of Falintil resistance in the first few years after the Indonesian invasion. Later relentless assaults forced the resistance to retreat deeper into the mountains.

A monument in the town square honours local Portuguese citizens massacred by the Japanese after their invasion in 1942. The porch leading to the monument has stairs, making the porch a nice viewpoint for a picture. But beware of the electricity cables close overhead, and we are sorry to say that men seem to use the stairs to take a leak.

A new independence monument stands in a corner of the square.