ATAURO ISLAND local dialects. three clans –theAdade,Humungili andManroni–aswell Tetun, theyspeakthree adjacent IndonesianislandsofAlortothewestandWetareast. The peopleare from up toyou,thenyou’lllove Atauro, where dayscanturnintoweeks. you canstayinasimple,thatchedbeachsidehutandwhere are yourday’sactivities simply only forafew hours. isonlyfoundinthetwomaintowns,Vilaby withwells,andelectricity andBeloi,then orintensivetrekking reading. nothingwhileyouworkuptheenergy forsomeamazingdiving,remoteto dovirtually although it’scleareveryone ispoor,theydon’tseemdesperately so. many ofEastTimor’s tensions ofthelastdecadeaway.The atmosphere isvery relaxed and, there’s justenoughfoodtogoaround.Buttheflipsideisthatisolationhasalsokept on theisland’seastside,where theonlyroadis. Life here ishardand even ingoodtimes tosouthandisvery thinlypopulatednorth by8000peoplewhomostlylive intwovillages andloud. seems justtoosteamy, dirty Enticingly closetoDili,Atauro Island’ssiren songcanespeciallybeheardwhenthecapital Island Atauro 78 © LonelyPlanetPublications Atauro is directly north ofDili,30kmacrosstheWetarStrait.Itslandissimilarto Atauro isdirectly north aplacewhereIf youlike thewater issoclearyoucanseethefishasarrive, where The landisnotdensely wooded,large areas are aridandthere’s littlewater. People get There are twosmallanddelightfulplacestostay on Atauro. At eitheryou’llhave time The 140-sq-kmisland,which canbereached byferry orfishing boat,stretches about25km Comforts are fewComforts onAtauro, but itrewards theself-sufficient. crystal-clear waters. Swimminganddive spotsabound,manyreachable bychartered fishingboat. done outsidethearid afternoons. Sussoutyourunderwater equipment andenjoytimeinthe walks intothehills andalongthecoastawayfromVila andBeloitare rewarding, especiallyif appreciate theplace,staylonger soyoucanenjoyeitherorbothofthetwoplacestostay.The You’ll have aboutfourhourstoseethetwomaintowns andwalkthebeachabit.Buttoreally ofadaytripontheweeklySaturdaysailingferryYou canvisitAtauro aspart ATAURO HIGHLIGHTS Nakroma . ATAURO ISLAND 79 Akrema is one 2 miles 3 km Point North Pala Fatu'u Baroana Hood's Reef , the moun- Makili To Beloi 0 0 Vila Anartutu Tua Koin Adara Bruce's Drop Off (995m). You can climb Makili Two Mile Reef Dugong Bay Berau (995m) W e t a r S t r a i t Cove Clam Mt Manucoco Atekru Mt Manucoco Makar Anartutu near Makili. Frank's Crack Table Top South of Vila, the village of of Vila, the village South of Atauro’s mountainous spine runs the entire Point Shark ATAURO ISLAND ATAURO Rock Big Fish length of the island and reaches its highest island and reaches the length of point at from Vila, hours the mountain three in about both east and west views of are and there coasts from the summit. for its traditional weavers. is noted tain village, also carveThe villagers wooden bowls, play tends most of the way down the east coast and most of tends the west coast. of along the northern stretch sharks, as reef Dugongs, turtles and white-tip reef colourful well as a varied assortment of seen around the often fish and pelagics, are island. It’s not unusual to see dolphins and pilot whales between Atauro and the main . of island Wooden in . the most creative of are carvedstatues and the villagers are here, Walet birds, the also expert basketmakers. for bird’s collected swifts whose nests are the nest soup, nest in the cliffs overlooking at a fine white-sand beach There’s village. Lampia the mountains. There’s fine directly off- fine coral directly the mountains. There’s from Vila and Beloi.shore ex- The Alfonso Alfonso (formerly , a spring in Vila Ekmonu and the ISLAND •• History ATAURO João Roby which would probably have been have would probably which

has the main jetty on the island, and

Beloi The 1999 Indonesian violence that devas-

The Portuguese used Atauro as a prison The HISTORY HISTORY from here you can walk to from here old Portuguese underground prison. The is- old Portuguese underground on Fridays. is held here land’s main market for a good, and make shady are The streets mellow stroll. known as Maumeta), which has a number of has a number of which known as Maumeta), the Portuguese of buildings and is the site one village, Anartutu, high on the slopes of Mt Anartutu, high on the slopes of one village, is village The biggest Manucoco. AROUND THE ISLAND AROUND THE ISLAND the coast with around scattered are Villages people remain conservative This is a people remain here. modestly, except maybe when place to dress the water. in you’re rial records that Antonio Pacheco, the village village the that Antonio Pacheco, rial records was killed on 22 Septemberchief, The 1999. tated the mainland had less effect on Atauro, although closethe jetty at Beloi to a memo- the Indonesians held as many as 3000 prison- and 1986. on the island between 1981 ers a match for any of the Indonesian warships. the Indonesian warships. for any of a match The next day they slunk off to Darwin. Later corvettes, the Cerqueira, were still there when the Indonesians arrived when the Indonesians arrived still there were with two modern on 7 December, complete 450 years of Portuguese colonial history. They of 450 years months before the Indonesian invasion, the the Indonesian before months and his administration Portuguese governor of This was the final chapter fled to Atauro. there’s nothing to be seen. On 27 August there’s civil war 1975, when the UDT versus than three more swept the island, but still of the underground prison they constructed constructed prison they the underground of but out to visitors, in Vila may be pointed island in the late 16th century, not long after 16th century, not long after island in the late The location into Timor. moved they first also tends to be Protestant. to also tends regions of , where the population where Indonesia, of regions was only after WWII that Catholicism ar- was only after first Protestant per- on the island. The large rived is an importantcentage link to the Christian lages (like Beloi) are predominantly Protestant, Protestant, Beloi) predominantly (like are lages mainly Catholic. It Vila) are (like while others Protestants outnumber Catholics,Protestants and the always underlies Eastanimism that Timor’s Some vil- is particularly strong. Christianity lation is predominantly Christian, but it’s but it’s Christian, lation is predominantly else. Here everywhere not 95% Catholic like Like the rest of East Timor, Atauro’s popu- East Timor, of rest the Like lonelyplanet.com ATAURO ISLAND the above - ‘Do the right thing withour content.’ the above -‘Do theright thetermsand conditionsonour siteforalongerway ofsaying you know, orresell it.See everyone site,mass emailitto only. Inotherwords, pleasedon’tuploadthischapterto apeer-to-peer Inreturn, wethinkit’sfair toaskyouuseitforpersonal,non-commercial purposes restricted. © LonelyPlanetPublications. iteasierfor youtouse,accessthischapteris notdigitally Tomake arrangements willhave tobe madesoyoucan advance asfoodontheislandissolimited that from thesurf.Ateitheryoumust bookin bathrooms androomslessthan60 seconds Both are very simple,have shared outdoor almost clichés of theremote beach escape. optionsthatare hastwosleeping Atauro SLEEPING &EATING placescan sleeping help you. take youtodive spotsaround theisland.The andcharter onAtauro stay fishingboatsto appearance. an of months ayear humpbackwhalesmake aroundtheisland,andforacouple seen the large cows,are lumberingsea regularly thanactionhere.talk Dugongs(manatees), likethough thecrocodile,there’s alot more encountered theislandandDili,al- between Schools of dolphinsandpilotwhalesmaybe Dugong Bay south there’s Drop Off principal sites include popular onesare alongthewestcoast.The sites themost allaroundtheisland,although Island.Therelar tripsouttoAtauro are dive Check withtheDilidive shops ( p43 ) forregu- SCUBA DIVING&SNORKELLING its sacred stone‘drum’,and Theyinclude by sea. easier toreach thewestcoast’slonelyhamlets across theislandoraroundcoast,it’s ful andvery isolated. youcanwalk Although beach. white-sand further northto of acrashed where divers maybeabletofindfragments north there’s finecoraloffshore at endsatPala.road fromBeloi Alittletothe of On thesouthcoastof theisland,village knives toolsinasmallfoundry. andmetal traditional musicalinstrumentsandmake 80 where walet birds nest. At thenorthernendof theisland the4WD If youhave yourownequipment,youcan The westcoastof theislandisvery beauti- Berau TUOILN • SuaDvn nreln ATAURO ISLAND••ScubaDiving&Snorkelling tothenorthof thewestcoast.Further sitsonapretty little bay. istowardsthesoutheastpoint. Big Fish Rock WWII Japaneseaircraft Akrema Fatu’u Two Mile Reef Two Mile and , which hasafine , Adara Makar Shark Point , Atekru . Continue near cliffs nearcliffs and Baroana , while Bruce’s , with , Australian named Barry andhisextendedAustralian namedBarry north of Runbyan theferry dockinBeloi. every Saturdayat9amandreturnsevery at4pm, % north of Dili.The The islandof is 30kmdirectly Atauro GETTING THERE&AWAY it’s lobster oneday,riceandbeans the next’. ‘dependingonwhat’sinthemarket says, Barry Thefoodisquitean upperlevel). and,as tasty calls hiswriter’s cabinhasidyllicviewsfrom thatched onthebeach (onehe cabinsright Timorese family,there are foursun-drenched sourceofis afantastic local info. fromMakili. Thewebsite dark-wood carvings games andintoxicating views.Agiftshop sells ing interest. Theopen-air commonarea has add- withminordunesandgrasses setting recycles grey water andhasagreat beachfront Luan, thisecovillage runsonsolarpower, of Vila. NGO,Roman Operated byAtauro’s in thisshady compoundonthebeach north simplethatched-roofEight cabinsare located .com; perpersonSun-Thu &SatUS$15) US$13,perpersonFri find much for here.sale markets before headingover. Don’t expect to ask whatyoucanbringfromtheDilisuper- eat (mealscostfromUS$4).Youcanalways island, otherwise you’ll island, otherwise be trekking. fishing boatstotake youtoplacesaroundthe ens, kidsandbagsof rice. Youcanarrange for beforefirst oneyousee itfills up withchick- US$2. Ifarrivingbyferry, scrambleaboard the tling trucks.Flaganydown,thecost isabout shut- byconstantly 6km bitof is served tarmac are linkedOnly VilaandBeloi byroad.This GETTING AROUND with oneof theaccommodation places. dependingontides.Checkdetails days aweek Vila andDili(US$10,three hours) several soyoucanwalk jetty inBeloi, ashore.right are US$5 each way.There’s agood concrete chargedclass’ (meaningthose toforeigners) twohourstaking each way.Fares in‘business Nemas Tua KóinEco-Village A fishing boatalsomakes therunbetween 728 09638;Av Dili) dePortugal, ( % 723 6084;rperpersonUS$15) Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels Nakroma ferry (

% 723 6085;www.atauroisland departsfromDili

Mp pp36-7; (Map Just