For the detailed route and logistical information please select this hike below (click top left for the list of hikes).

Day four of a rarely tackled circuit of Atauro Island took me from the coast I’d followed for three days up into the mountains. The southern part of the island is rocky with many cliffs making the coast impassable.

It was another overcast day in the wet season though given that I had over 550m to climb between the villages of Atecru and Anartutu I was happy to avoid the sun. It felt like a battle just getting out of Atecru through the corn crop ready for harvest in a couple of weeks.

Just outside the village main boundary there was a small cave with human skulls. Village predecessors who died from starvation apparently. Although the land looks lush the soil is poor and rocky, and water is a challenge, with too much in the wet season (rotting vegetables) and too little in the dry season.

It was an often steep, rocky and slippery ascent between endless walled fields with large ladders to scale to cross between them. I walked up with my local guide Jhoky and some farmers off to tend their crops.

There were some decent views behind showing how far I’d walked around the coast.

It was an atmospheric landscape to explore.

Higher up bamboo grows, and is used for the fence ladders.

Palm trees also grow and are used to make palm wine, with bamboo ladders tied to the trucks for easy access.

After a sweaty two and a half hours walking I reached Anartutu which felt like the largest village I’d been in since shortly after leaving Beloi.

There was the usual variety of houses surrounded by crops.

Timorese over 60 are eligible for state houses which appear to follow the same design.

There was a large and well populated school filled with excited kids as I walked through.

The church looked like it had seen better days but this shrine was tidy. Atauro Island is almost entirely Protestant, while the rest of Timor-Leste is almost entirely Catholic.

Unlike most of the villages I’d visited Anartutu has road connecting it to Beloi and Vila but it is often impassable in the wet season. The village had more shops than I’d seen in total since leaving Beloi.

It also has a medical centre.

The homestay was the most basic of the hike with bare earth floors and chicken runnings around inside. It was quite cosy in a way though, probably helped by the climate being cooler up here, but the toilet was an experience to minimise. The food was also pretty basic, the bananas were not sweet, nor particularly were the donuts for breakfast!