Lake Maubara Hike

An adventurous couple of hours spent hiking around the hills behind Lake Maubara, about 40km to the west of Dili. There were no tracks or paths. It is a peaceful and quiet place that has been designated an Important Bird Area.

There are surprisingly few lakes in Timor-Leste, and Lake Maubara is one of the more attractive ones. As with all the lakes here, its size varies significantly between the wet and dry seasons. The wet season extent of the lake was clear from the salty perimeter.

I came across, and later returned to, the Jeju Timor-Leste Friendship Forest. This initiative was started in 2017 to help combat climate change and develop eco-tourism, supported by the Jeju Special Self Governing Province of Korea, the United Nations Development Programme, and the Timorese Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. One of the outcomes was the development of biomass fuel for cooking stoves, although the locals I saw on my hike were all out collecting firewood the traditional way.

I headed around the side of the forest, up a gully before committing to a steep climb up to a ridgeline with views of the lake below.

Unexpectedly there was large metal cross on the ridgeline, replacing an identically sized wooden cross that was lying at the base.

The landscape here felt very Australian, with rich red soils, and lots of eucalyptus trees.

The sides of the ridge were too steep to safely descend so I returned through the Jeju Timor-Leste Friendship Forest. They had planted a lot of trees in 2018 and 2019 judging by the signage, and built a pond.

There were a large number of beautifully crafted huts, with great views of the lake below. Unfortunately the whole place look abandoned which is a real shame. It is unclear from what I can find online whether it was ever operational, or if Covid halted progress. Unfortunately I have come across many aid funded programs like this in Timor-Leste, which don’t prove sustainable once the funding has ended and funders attention goes elsewhere.