Tuda Tiris is one of the more impressive waterfalls in the hills behind Dili. It made for an excellent first hike with the Dili Saturday Walkers Facebook group, an institution among malae (Timorese term for foreigners) in Dili (also attracting some locals) which has been running for the best part of a decade.
Interested walkers turn up at usually 7am on Saturday mornings at a central Dili location. From here there amazingly always seems to be enough drivers to car pool to the start of the hike.
This one involved driving for about 45 minutes into the hills behind Dare and stopping in seemingly the middle of nowhere. From which five car loads of malae started to head down a short but steep and slippery (particularly in the wet season) path to the waterfall, walking past a small community.
The early starts are to avoid the heat but also offer great morning light across the hills.
The path (simple to follow with just two left turns at forks) went through bush before the big views reappeared.
This is the last settlement on the path, whose enterprising owners are happy to sell coconuts to visitors. From here the waterfall can be seen in the distance.
It is steep but not far down to a jumble of rocks, which require some care to navigate up toward the waterfall.
It was definitely worth the risk of slipping (coming down) and effort (heading back up) to see this beautiful waterfall.
On the walk back I thought I’d do something useful and collected rubbish along the way, filling a large plastic bag with help from a local kid, though it is really just a symbolic gesture given the amount of plastic waste there is in Timor-Leste.
For the detailed route and logistical information please select this hike below (click top left for the list of hikes).
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