One of the first solo hikes I did in Dili was the Tasi Tolu Ridge Hike, which follows the hills surrounding the Tasi Tolu lakes. It was a memorable experience, with near heat stroke, fear of dogs, and I got a bit lost, as this video captures…
A couple of weeks before I left Dili, nearly a year later, I repeated the hike and had a much better experience! It showed how far my Timor-Leste hiking skills had progressed, and how I’d become more accustomed to the heat, humidity, dogs, and terrain. Walking 12km up over 450m with little shade was still a physical challenge, but thankfully less of a mental challenge than it was before.
As before I started from near the statue of Pope John Paul II and soon left the road with a view of where Pelician Paradise, a huge development, may or not may be built.
I soon got views of the Tasi Tolu lakes.
And across toward Tibar and Tibar Port from the ridgeline.
Most of the ridge walking was on wide paths like these, easy walking but no shade.
There were views though.
Looking back I got a real sense of progress as the lakes disappeared into the distance.
The path got a bit rougher for a stretch, with the occasional bit of shade, and stacked firewood.
I then got new views toward the Comoro Valley.
Before crossing onto the other side of the ridge for views of Tasi Tolu.
I was on familiar ground now, having walked this final section close to 10 times.
Past the end of the Stations of the Cross were good views of Tasi Tolu from much closer.
I finished with a stretch of road walking to return to where I started.
