An enjoyable day trip by boat from Beloi to Atecru, one of my favourite places in Timor-Leste thanks to its incredible snorkelling, beautiful beach and setting, and being completely devoid of any tourists. Visiting is a great way to put money into the economy of this remote and poor community, and to have a memorable experience.

It was an unusually calm day after heavy rain the previous day, perfect for a boat trip around the northern half of the island. Atecru is probably the furthest place on the island (by water) away from Beloi, with a return boat trip costing $130. This is comparable to hiring a driver and car for the day on the mainland though, and you could fit a large group on one of these boats.

I’ve walked around Atauro Island twice now but haven’t seen it from the water beyond Beloi. It was interesting to see places I know reasonably well from a different perspective.

The northern end of the island is increasingly rocky. A large eagle flew by.

We passed by the remote hamlet of Fata, home to a coastal cemetery.

On the way we came across a huge pod of more than 50 dolphins, some of which I photographed and filmed on my drone (after the Blue Whale footage from the previous day).

More stunning landscapes on the west coast of Atauro Island around Adara.

These drone images hopefully give an idea of why I like Atecru so much.

As hopefully do these from a walk along the coast from the hamlet.

We visited the ‘singing rock’, a hollow rock that can be played with stones, and a cave with 8,000 year old rock art.

Before returning back to Atecru the same way for a yummy lunch at Jhoky’s.

The snorkelling is incredible but my underwater camera can’t do it justice. About 50m off shore is a huge wall drop off, which you can float along with the currents, taking in the beautiful coral and fish below. Afterwards we took the boat back the way we came, along with seemingly half the village, going to Beloi for a big wedding.