A relatively straightforward and short hike, but climbing 280m in Timor-Leste’s hot and humid climate is always a challenge. This hike goes from Vila, the capital of Atauro Island, to two shrines to the Lady Mary, with some decent views along the way.

Starting from Vila’s beach I took a shortcut up the hillside.

Which soon gave a decent view of Vila from above. Vila was once a small village, but the Portuguese choose it as their main hub on the island during colonial times and built civic infrastructure there. It is now the largest settlement on the island of 12,000 people, but is still little bigger than a small town.

The shortcut joined onto a rough road, which is lined with Stations of the Cross lead to three crosses representing Jesus’ crucifixion.

Close by is Lady Mary Cave, a man-made cave-like structure built by Catholic and Protestant worshippers on the island.

I continued further up the hillside, past a number of mobile phone towers, to reach a new statue of the Lady Mary under construction to mark the visit of Pope Francis to Timor-Leste in September 2024.

I returned the same way (other than the first shortcut, the road was safer on the descent) to take a quick look around Vila in the fading light. Unusually I hiked at the end of the day rather than in the morning. It was still very hot!

On the Success ferry back to Dili the following day I got an excellent view from the water of the route I took, with the road, mobile phone masts, and Lady Mary Statue all visible.

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