Horta Loop

Possibly the classic Dili hike, which includes Timor-Leste’s most popular attraction (Cristo Rei Jesus statue), two beautiful beaches (Cristo Rei Beach and Back Beach), and stunning views everywhere, plus the odd hill to climb…

This was the hike I was most familiar with before I arrived in Dili as it is one of the most popular and a number of bloggers had described it, particularly the section around Cristo Rei. I therefore had pretty high expectations which were thankfully met.

I caught the #12 microlet (local public buses) from central Dili toward Cristo Rei, getting off where the microlet turns off the main road to the left, at Hera Road. It was a beautifully still morning, with wonderful reflections across the bay looking toward Dili.

Hera Road is home to some of the flashiest houses in Dili, including the well protected home of the President of Timor-Leste, the Nobel Peace Prize winning Jose Ramos-Horta. Nearby is a memorial to the events of 11 February 2008, when rebel soldiers invaded his house (and that of the Prime Minister) and attempted to assassinate him. Ramos-Horta survived the shooting but spent a month in hospital and has suffered long term pain from his injuries.

Climbing up the road (most of the walk is easy but dull road walking) offered increasingly good views.

It doesn’t take long to escape civilisation to peaceful hills seemingly full of goats.

The road hugs the contours of the steep hills which plunge into the warm waters below.

A number of fishing boats were moored or kept on shore.

These hills are quite magnificent, lush and green in the wet season, but I’m expecting them to look quite different by the end of the dry season.

The road winds back down the hillside and an unpaved road leads off from this rather large crack in the (semi) paved main road. This is the turn off to head around the coast to Back Beach and to Cristo Rei.

There was some beautiful coastal scenery here, along with a fisherman bringing in his nets.

Cows were another addition to the wildlife seen. Plenty of birds could be heard but few seen unfortunately.

Back Beach is a quite idyllic looking white sand beach which was almost completely deserted on a Friday morning other than a few local fishermen.

A closer look revealed the amount of plastic pollution that Timor-Leste suffers from, with almost no recycling and huge amounts of rubbish being washed out to sea every time it rains heavily (about every third day it seemed during the wet season).

It was still a wonderful place for a swim though, with warm but refreshing waters safe for swimming, and a reef further out to explore with snorkel gear another day.

There is a small community living close to the beach.

Toward the end of the beach rather a lot of steps lead up toward Cristo Rei.

Which also offer good views back toward Back Beach, and look awaited views of Cristo Rei which is surprisingly hard to see for a huge statue on top of a hill…

The statue was a ‘gift’ from the Indonesian government during it’s occupation of then East Timor between 1975 and 1999. It is 27m high to represent East Timor being the 27th province of Indonesia.

From the platform around Cristo Rei and half way down the steps there are some pretty big views.

Heading down the steps to Cristo Rei Beach are shrine like areas for each of the Stations of the Cross, notable places in Jerusalem relating to Jesus’ path to crucifixion.

At the bottom of the steps is a sizeable carpark with a replica of a traditional Timorese house, built off the ground to improve air flow for cooling, much needed in this climate, as well as to protect from crocodiles! This area also appears to be where coconuts are kept before being loaded onto wagons and sold around Dili.

Across the bay I could see fisherman out at low tide.

It was a longer than expected but easier and scenic walk back around the waterfront toward Beachside, where a much deserved brunch awaited. The skateboard pulling dog was an unexpected sight!