Information about travel to Aileu

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[from lonelyplanet.com - a source of excellent hardcopy guidebooks]

"Heading south is the easiest way to get a quick change of scenery and weather from Dili.
The hills have grand views back over the capital and islands beyond. As you climb, the
temperature falls by the minute. Soon you’ll be sweat-free and loving it.

The scenery is a lush mix of coffee plantations (this is the heart of East Timor’s famed
coffee industry), fruit trees and dense forest mixed with wide valleys. You are often literally
up in the clouds all the way to the south coast, especially in the old colonial town of
Maubisse. You can climb further above the clouds for yet more views at Mt Ramelau, the
highest peak in the country.

The south coast is a mixture of beaches and salt marshes. It’s thinly populated and as rugged
as the roads themselves. In the southwest corner, Suai slumbers on, though constantly
rumoured to be the base of East Timor’s foray into the offshore oil fields.

[Inset] HIGHLIGHTS SOUTH OF DILI
You can easily reach Suai and the south coast from Dili in a day, including a few stops. But most
people will want to pause longer in Maubisse and include a climb of nearby Mt Ramelau. The road splits and goes through Ainaro and Same before rejoining near the coast. If you
are planning to return pretty much the way you came, you can visit both. Otherwise pick one
and create a circle that includes a return over the magnificent road north of Zumalai to Bobonaro. Roads along the south coast can be impassable, so check before you set out. Getting
to Suai is not impossible, although heading east to Natabora often is.

DILI TO AILEU
From the southern outskirts of Dili the road immediately begins to climb. You’ll
pass a rather large pink erection, which is the Chinese-funded and grandiose new
presidential palace. Look for plant vendors all along the road, selling pots brimming
with bougainvillea.

Between the 9km and 10km markers (distance from Dili), at Dare in the Fatunaba Hills,
is an Australian War Memorial. It was built by the 2/2 Independent Company, the Australian
guerrilla unit otherwise known as Sparrow Force (see p75 ), which held out against the
Japanese in 1942–43. It’s easy to miss because there’s only a small plaque at the roadside and
a small shelter. In 1968, surviving members of the Sparrow Force built a school here complete
with that Australian essential: a swimming pool. It was damaged in 1999 and the pool was filled in as there was no money to maintain it, although Sparrow Force alumni money helped rebuild the school. Spurred by the Alola Foundation, there’s now a plan to build a new school and include a memorial and museum to WWII.

Great views abound from here over Dili and across the sea to Atauro Island. The play
of light from storms, clouds and sunny areas is mesmerising. The road continues to climb
through dense eucalyptus forest, which in the morning is shrouded in fog at higher altitudes.
Some of the best viewpoints are 28km to 34km from Dili. A few small villages are spaced out
along the road, and 14km before Aileu there’s a traditional high-peaked house perched above
the road. An unmarked turn-off 7km before Aileu runs west to Ermera (see p68 ). This
road is pretty rugged but it’s popular with hardy mountain bikers who start up here and,
hours of wild riding later, end up on the coast road west of Dili.

AILEU
The road from Dili drops into a fertile highland valley and the town of Aileu, which is
surrounded by rice paddies and garden plots. This reasonably large town, 47km south of Dili, is the capital of the regency of the same name. The circular houses with conical roofs are typical of the Mambai people found all the way from Dili to the south coast.

There are few points of interest in Aileu, apart from a very large monument to a massacre of local Portuguese citizens by the invading Japanese in 1942. Aileu was a centre for Fretilin activity, particularly in the first few years after the Indonesian takeover.

After Aileu the road climbs again and runs through the mountains 25km to Maubisse.

Restaurante Zery (dishes US$2-6) has easily the best vittles you’ll find south of Dili. This
bright and cheery open-air place has clean tablecloths and napkins, amenities not to be taken lightly. The menu has a number of Portuguese classics, a legacy of the UN forces from the country who were stationed here around independence. Caldo verde (a rich soup) leads a menu that includes chicken and French fries (frango no churrasco and batata frita), sweet and sour pork (porco agridoce) or a fine chow mein (chaumin). You can even wash your meal down with a glass of red wine (vinho tinto).

In the same block there are several barebones chicken-and-rice places that don’t come
close to competing.

[Inset] ROAD CONDITIONS
South of Dare, the roads become a very mixed bag. Stretches of well-sealed roads
suddenly change to rough areas where sections have been washed down cliffs and what remains is mostly potholed. As always you’re limited by the lowest common denominator, so although some parts are good, other parts require 4WD. And some parts may not be passable at all.

Dili–Maubisse buses all pass through Aileu; the fare is US$1.50. South of Aileu the road
enters a broad valley carpeted with rice paddies and accented with cacti.

MAUBISSE [south of Aileu (town)]
About 70km south of Dili, the small town of Maubisse sits at more than 1400m in rugged
mountains and is surrounded by spectacular scenery. Apart from long walks, Maubisse has
few attractions, but this old hill town makes a delightful break from the heat of the coast
and is a peaceful, cool spot to relax. In July and August it can actually get quite chilly. The views are stunning from the Pousada Maubisse (see below ), a fine old Portuguese guesthouse, and ruins of the old fort walls terrace the side of the hill.

Maubisse’s large market is at its most active on Sunday, when villagers come from miles
around to sell elaborate displays of carrots, garlic, bananas, beans and more. A few market
traders sell tais (traditional woven articles), but most are from Bobonaro (see p68 ), and
the prices are high.

At the bottom of the hill where the pousada sits is a memorial to victims of the Japanese
occupation in 1943. The road south past the market heads downhill a few kilometres to
some traditional Mambai villages.

Sleeping & Eating
Pousada Maubisse (%724 9567; r US$20-100) This old pousada (inn) was once the governor’s
residence; it has a great location with grand views. It’s on the hill directly above the town
and is impossible to miss. Take the road next to the market, from where it is 800m to the
top; the name ‘Pousada Maubisse’ is arched across the road at the bottom. The eight
rooms have private bathroom with hot water when the power’s on and are clean, although
plain. The cheaper rooms are in two blocks slightly below the main pousada, where the
more expensive and slightly more luxurious rooms are located. There’s a lounge, a restaurant
and bar, while outside, apart from the fine views, there are simple gardens. The restaurant has a Portuguese-influenced menu heavy on steak (mains US$9). This is a popular – even romantic – escape from Dili, although not recommended for affairs as you’re likely to see someone you know. Rates are lowest midweek, climbing high for Saturday night.

Maubisse Parish Church (per person US$15) About 1km north of the market area you’ll see the
town’s grand church. A separate building with broad views of the terraced church grounds and valley beyond has five immaculately clean rooms, each with its own bathroom. The parishioners extend a warm welcome and don’t be surprised if someone hands you a beer.

There are a couple of very plain places around the car park and bus stop area at the front of the market that offer meals for around US$1. The Warung Naroma offers local coffee (kopi) that’s a life-saver on days when the clouds close in and it gets downright cold.

Getting There & Away
As everywhere in East Timor, buses from Dili to Maubisse (US$2, about three hours) tend to
depart early in the morning. Later buses may finish in Aileu, where you should be able to find a mikrolet (minibus) going through to Maubisse. Return buses finish around noon (perhaps later on Sunday and Friday market days), or you could take a mikrolet to Aileu and then another to Dili. Buses and mikrolets also go to Ainaro, Same and Suai.

MT RAMELAU
We’d say that climbing this peak is the high point of many people’s trips to East Timor, but you’d think we were joking. About 10km south of Maubisse by a kilometre marker stone, an unmarked road turns off west to the village of Hatubuilico, 18km from the main road along a fairly rough road. Hatubuilico is the base for climbing 2963m-high Mt Ramelau (Gunung Tatamailau), the highest peak in Timor.

The hike up Mt Ramelau is a steady, long haul to the top, rather than a steep climb, and takes 2½ to three hours if you start right in Hatubuilico village at 1950m. If you have a 4WD you can continue out of the village along a trail that in general is no worse – or better for that matter – than the road all the way into the village. After 2.5km you will reach a meadow at 2280m, from where it’s only a two-hour walk to the top (1½ hours if you’re in a hurry).

The trail is a wide walking path, with plenty of evidence of use by horses, and very easy to
follow. At about 2700m there’s a site where open-air religious services are held."
[end of fragment kindly sourced from lonelyplanet.com ]