I’ve done many scenic journeys in my time and the drive from Dili to Baucau is up there with some of the best. In two and half hours it offered incredible coastal scenery and plenty of stops of interest along the way.

Heading over the hills of Hera the first stop was at the home of local monkeys, whose habitat was surrounded by barbed wire. Presumably to keep humans out!

Further on was the first taste of the incredible coastal scenery from Dili heading into the Manatuto municipality.

This Timorese naval Jaco Class Patrol Vessel undergoing maintenance was worth stopping to see.

One Dollar Beach is one of the best known in Timor-Leste. During the time of UN peacekeepers in then East Timor this was a popular place for malae (foreigners) to visit. Locals would charge them $1 to access the beach. Entry is now free, but in May 2024 it was closed due to a lack of water and electricity in the toilets. I was able to take a quick look around to take photos though.

The towers are a novel feature, offering good views and shade, but along with the barbed wire topped perimeter wall, makes it feel more like a prison camp than a beachside resort.

Possibly the most impressive piece of road engineering was next, with the road cut into the steep hillside. Hopefully they maintain it better than most infrastructure in Timor-Leste…

Gruta Santo Antonia Bee heda is a shrine fed with natural spring water.

More incredible coastal scenery, though there are almost no parking bays so care needs to be taken to find a safe place to stop and take photos. I was a passenger so took most of these photos from the moving car.

Lovely coastal and inland scenery before passing by the Lamesana Salt Field.

Inland there is some impressive mountain scenery, which I hope to explore on foot at some point.