Day two of a tough but magical 2 & 1/2 day hike, which included two natural hot springs, the highest waterfall in the country, remote villages, mountain tops, and spectacular scenery throughout. As with all my multi-day hikes in Timor-Leste, this wouldn’t have been possible without excellent support from the team at Eco Discovery.
As usual the day started with a steep ascent, this time from Marobo Hot Springs heading up the road and taking even steeper shortcuts where possible.
We walked to and through the village of Ilat-Laun. It always a pleasure to explore these remote parts of Timor-Leste, and see how the majority oft he population live.
The local church had seen better days.
There were some grand tombstones.
Across the valley could be seen impressive terraces.
It is an impressive if dry landscape.
We headed steeply downhill to Ilat-Laun hot springs.
They are in a beautiful location, surrounded by palm trees and terraced fields. Even at the end of the dry season there was some green in the landscape, this place would be lush in the wet season.
We headed steeply down the terraces to the Loes river, which marks the border between the municipalities of Bobonaro and Ermera.
It was then a steep climb up the other side at the hottest time of day, with little shade, but epic views.
This was an interesting memorial, presumably relating to the 1975 invasion of then East Timor by Indonesia.
This water buffalo had the right idea!
Reaching this shady spot offered a welcome respite from the sun and was visually interesting.
A final climb took us to the Atsabe Market, where we would camp overnight.
There was a rather silty but very refreshing stream nearby for a welcome wash and cool down.
There were wonderful views from the market as the sun set.
