Big Beloi Loop Hike

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

The longest and one of the hardest hikes I did in my first three months in Timor-Leste, little about this morning on Atauro Island went according to plan. I nearly got heat stroke, went completely off the route I was trying to follow, and my legs were eaten by march flies…

The day started well with a lovely sunrise and a walk through the empty Beloi markets. They operate on Saturdays primarily, and Tuesdays and Thursdays to some degree.

Unusually for Timor-Leste there was signage to help direct me to the start of the route to Anartutu that I was trying to follow from the ATKOMA (Atauro Island tourism association) website. They have a Google Map with marked routes, but I learned that this one didn’t seem to exist…

I walked up a dry river bed and then headed along local paths up the hillside, which ran parallel to the marked route on the map. I figured that as long as I was going up I’d reach a similar spot at the top.

After quickly climbing 200m in 30C heat and high humidity I felt light headed and nauseous, more so than on any previous hike. I took a rest and then continued at a slower pace, thinking that if I didn’t improve I would turnaround.

Thankfully after 20 minutes or so I started to feel better, particularly when the path went into the open and I could catch the breeze, and when it flattened out for a while through shady forest.

Some scrambling was required in places, and it was interesting to see houses hidden in the forest along the way.

After rather a lot of effort I emerged into the open with views of Manacoco, the highest point on Atauro, and the company of goats, a familiar sight on the island.

Some bush bashing was required to reach the power lines that lined the road from Anartutu to Beloi. My original plan had been to head south on the road to a church that I’d previously visited, and turn off down local paths to Villa, and then get a tuk-tuk back to Beloi. I wasn’t feeling up to this now though so headed north instead along the road to try and find the ATKOMA marked route, thinking at that point that I’d just missed it. This was probably a mistake in hindsight as it probably took longer and more effort, or at least no shade for 2 hours, to return to Beloi along the road. At least I knew where I was and where I was going though, as unlike most of the routes on the island, the road was marked on the map.

It was a scenic route north though as I walked along the spine of the island, not seeing a single person or house in two hours of walking, due to the lack of water there, a common issue on Atauro.

I took a detour off the road up to one of the mobile phone masts that line the ridge, which offered excellent views of the west coast, including the village of Atecru, where I’d stayed when I walked around the island in March 2024.

It was then back to the road, which offered fast walking but no shade, though there was plenty in the lovely surrounding landscape.

It was here that many march flies decided to join me for the two hours it took to return to Beloi. They like to hike a lift, but they also have quite a bite as my legs the day after demonstrate! If you brush them off they just reattach themselves, and I tried running to escape them without success… Next time long pants are essential.