A challenging hike from sea level to one of the highest points in the Dili region, climbing 550m. One third was straightforward along the ridge road, the other two thirds was challenging, with often unclear or non-existent paths, with a lot of steep, slippery and difficult sections on the way up and way down.

I left my motorbike at the bottom of Horta Road and headed up the nearby road to SK Hotel.

The landscape was a bit of mess beyond here and I failed to follow the GPS route I’d found. This led to a rather tough and unpleasant scramble up and across before I finally found a reasonable path.

It was much easier work from here heading up to a small settlement.

From here over a quarter of the hike was up a much easier, if less interesting, dirt road.

The Fatuahi Repiter tower and Radio Voz FM Antena are landmarks on the hillside, and close by is the start of the route toward Cacusa.

From here it was easy and scenic walking.

Located on top of one of the highest hills in Dili, the Cacusa Monument, also known as “Christ Ascended to Heaven,” was built by the Parish Community of Santa Terezinha do Menino Jesus Bedois. There are Stations of the Cross leading to it, a statue of Jesus on the cross, and an area for ceremonies (and a Hollywood style sign) at the top of the summit.

The views were pretty good as you’d expect, though as I hiked in the middle of the wet season the visibility was the worst of the three times I’ve visited Cacusa.

Getting down was a real challenge. There was an overgrown path but that basically disappeared and I had a steep and slippery descent, ending with some tricky scrambling down crumbly rocks to rejoin Horta Road. It also started to rain part way down so the photos ended as I focused on getting back in one piece!