Located to the east of the Nusa Tenggara islands (that includes Bali,

Komodo and Lombok), and sharing half of the island of Timor with Indonesia,

East Timor (officially Timor-Leste) is a virtually unknown to most travellers.

Timor encompasses the mainland, the Oecussi enclave (separated by Indonesia's Nusa Tenggara) and the islands of Atauro and Jaco.

Savvy travellers will recognise Timor for its rich diving waters of the north coast, with its pristine coral reefs untouched by mass fishing or commercialism, but Timor's interior offers much more for the adventurous traveller.

Despite the country's diminutive size (15.000sq. km.), it houses a variety of landscapes: from the mountain areas of Maubisse, Ermera and Ainaro to the savannah plains of Lautem, from the rice and coffee plantations in Bobonaro and Aileu to the rain forest of Lore, the choices are plenty.

Wherever you go - whether it's to a township or a tiny settlement - the one thing that strikes you is the friendliness of the locals. Smiles and greetings of 'Bom Dia!' can be found anywhere you look; whip out your camera, and you'll find them eagerly posing, but not wanting anything in return.

The country's bustling capital, Dili, suffered immense upheaval in 75', 99' and (to a lesser degree) in 06'. Burnt and crumbled shells of former grand buildings are spread around town, bearing the very gritty scars of those darker days. But, vast amounts of reconstruction aid have poured in, and one by one, many of Dili's historic, Portuguese-era buildings are being given a new lease on life as government offices, courthouses and museums.

Dili today is abuzz with optimism, drawing Timorese from every corner of the nation like an economic magnet. People, animals and scooters are everywhere. Dili's population is a mix of local Timorese as well as a large number of foreign long-term residents, usually belonging to the United Nations or other NGOs from all around the world, giving it a very international flavour. Here amongst local joints and stalls, you can also find pizza parlours, bars, cafes, international restaurants, Chinese supermarkets and more.

Dili traffic picks up by 6:30am, with street hawkers selling everything from fruits and fried rice to live chickens and newspapers.

The most prolific are those touting colourful phone cards. Dili's several impromptu street markets, clustered around Palacio Nacional along the waterfront at Avenida de Portugal, and Bidau, a few blocks inland near the parliament building, are the most boisterous and photogenic. You can also try visiting one of the official refugee camps (before they're dismantled by the end of this year); Dili's 3 main camps have simply evolved into sprawling, tented mini-cities, with their own market areas, bars and businesses.

Dili's famous sites include the often photographed statue of Jesus Christ on the southern end of the city and the newer statue of Pope John Paul II on the northern end (both watching over Dili), the Government Palace Complex, the lighthouse and the surrounding beach promenade which is always bustling with fish and fruit vendors.

Another main draws is the Santa CruzCemetery, marking the place where the

Timorese independence movement gained global recognition, making it one of the most low-key but pivotal sites in the nation.

The Tais Market is where most visitors go to pick up some colourful tais – traditional Timorese woven cloth. It's hard to tell the difference in the weave, or inherent design of Ttais from different districts, but places like Bobinaro, Los Palos and Suai all have distinctive, clan-oriented patterns linked to each area's dominant ethnic group.

At present, within the Dili city limits, residents generally burn their organic rubbish every morning. For early risers, this gives the city a moody feel, and makes for great early morning pictures. By late morning, winds always pick up and blow off the smoke. This wind also keeps Dili cooler, with temperatures hovering just under 30°C year round.

Timor is largely dictated by its 2 major seasons: wet monsoon (Nov-May) and dry (Jun-Oct). The difference is most clearly seen in the northern coast of the island; in the wet season, floods often happen and verdant green rice paddies stretch for miles. In the dry season, riverbeds and paddies are so dried up that the mud is often hard enough to drive over, and the entire coastal area is carpeted in sand. This is when large herds of parched looking water buffalo tend to hang around the few available water holes and small mud pool

NORTH COAST DRIVE

For most of the trip from Dili to Baucau, the road follows the coast, with unbroken picturesque ocean views out your left window, and steep hills climbing immediately to your right. In many places, the thin 1km wide strip between the sea and steep hillsides is home to small settlements, interspersed between the few scattered townships.

Following the undulating winding coastal road for a few hours, it crosses the yoke of a small ridge called the Camel's Hump (a picturesque site) before descending along a route that runs away from the coast. From here, picture perfect views extend up and down the coast, all the way from Dili to Baucau, and on a clear day, all the way to AtauroIsland, 35km off the coast.

While there are few major settlements along this section of the ride, there are numerous places that warrant a stop, including the closest thing East Timor has to a desert.

Thanks to the dry season, the landscape changes from grass and trees to arid scrub which continues for some time, and then after cresting yet another small ridge, you enter a desert landscape. At only a few square kilometres in size, it is covered with extremely fine sand with windblown ripples. The drive continues through the rice paddies of Laleia until reaching Baucau.

BAUCAU-COM

Most Dili-Jaco trips reach Timor's second city, Baucau, in time for a late lunch. At

120km (3 hours) from Dili, this city offers plenty of options for food and some accommodation. Like Dili, many of Baucau's best attractions are it's crumbling

Portuguese-era buildings, including the Mercado Municipal and the Pousada de

Baucau - the very best example of the classic pousada, or traditional Portuguese B&B.

The Mercado is completely abandoned, but open to the public. Inside this open air market, the crumbling roof and pastel coloured walls are worth a look, and there is a small garden in the back. Nearby Pousada de Baucau has the city's only swimming pool.

While there are few major settlements along this section of the ride, there are numerous places that warrant a stop, including the closest thing East Timor has to a desert.

Thanks to the dry season, the landscape changes from grass and trees to arid scrub which continues for some time, and then after cresting yet another small ridge, you enter a desert landscape. At only a few square kilometres in size, it is covered with extremely fine sand with windblown ripples.

The drive continues through the rice paddies of Laleia until reaching Baucau.

Baucau is divided into an upper and lower town; the latter was the centre of things during the Portuguese era. There is an old central plaza, several administrative buildings, and further out at the beach, an abandoned customs house that the colonials used to tax incoming merchants. With the arrival of the Indonesians, action shifted uphill, to what was then known as New Town. Following 24 years of focused urban development (despite the wreckage left in the wake of Indonesia's pull-out in 99'), the upper town is now firmly the heart of modern Baucau, home to most businesses, as well as the local government and NGO offices.

Tough on the feet, but easy on the eyes, Baucau gives a far more dramatic silhouette than Dili, as the town tumbles down into the sea in a series of cliffs and plateaus, connected by narrow, winding lanes.

After Baucau, the road continues east a further 80km, through the towns of Laga and Lautem, all the way to the tiny seaside town of Com, which has a beach resort, as well as several accredited home stays. There are several interesting dive sites around the area of Com is where most visitors stop over before making their way through the Nino Konis Santana National Park to the island of Jaco, off the eastern coast.

Com is literally at the end of the road, and onward travel towards the east coast is on a mix of sealed and unsealed roads.

COM- TUTUALA

From Com, the road to Tutuala passes several large villages, and numerous tombs line the roadside, identified with sacrificial totems of buffalo horns. This soon gives way to the massive, savannah plain of the Lautem region. Fringed at its far edge by mist-clad peaks, it resembles a miniature version of Ngorongoro in East Africa's great rift. With solitary birds of prey circling overhead and distant herds of water buffalo and the occasional wild horse, it's the country's single biggest expanse of open grassland.

Along the way, more villages will pop up in between the greenery. Try and catch a glimpse of a traditional 'spirit house', which is a thatched hut built on stilts to store their harvest from rats. It is also a place where the locals gather and mingle. The landscape changes from open grasslands to thick jungle (and 4WD tracks), passing more villages along the way until eventually reaching Tutuala, perched on a cliff at the edge of the east coast. Between Tutuala and the beach, there are 2 cave systems in the area that you can visit. The trek to LenearaCaves (20 minute trek) and

llikerekereCaves (30 minute Trek) is worth it for the well-preserved cave paintings which date back 3,500 years. Make sure you get a mandatory local guide from the nearby village, as the area belongs to its indigenous land owners.

Head down to Tutuala's beach, where you can spend the night at a simple Cooperativerun eco beach retreat, run by a group of 60- odd local villagers who have banded together, to work every month in 1-week shifts, manning the resort and cooking for guests. They can also arrange cave guides.

Currently the resort's biggest challenge is clean water, which must be carried from the nearest well 1km away. As such, other than for cooking or drinking, water is rationed and seawater is used for non-essential cleaning.

JACOISLAND

Just off the coast of Tutuala, Jaco's a small, circular, sand-fringed patch of tropical jungle.

One of only 2 offshore islands in the country, Jaco's remoteness has kept it pristine and completely undeveloped. Many hardened Dili expats make Jaco a weekend trip, to bask on the island's deserted white sand beaches, snorkel its shoreline reefs or go bushwalking. Jaco is accessible via a short outrigger boat ride, operated by local fishermen. The azure water off the island is home to coral reefs, perfect for snorkelling (and fishing). Fish stocks depend largely on the season, with rainy season being the best time for fishing. You can also organise diving trips here.

South of Dili, the road immediately winds steeply up into the hills and into Timor's coffee country. Tree cover alternates between verdant coffee plantations, shaded by massive ancient trees. The landscape here is dramatically different than that of the coast; the air is cool and crisp, and dense forests are interspersed with traditional villages. Driving to the mountains is best during the dry season, when roads are stable and coffee pickers can easily be seen from the road. The wet season often brings landslides, sometimes washing out entire sections of roads.

MAUBISSE

About 3 hours south of Dili is Maubisse, a bustling hill station that is packed on weekends for its open-air market. High up in the heart of coffee country, Maubisse

(1,840m) was the Timorese hill station of choice amongst the Portuguese colonials who were attracted by its cool weather and endearing scenery. Among the many relics that remain from its colonial heyday are Maubisse's own Mercado Municipal ('town market') which bustles with vegetable sellers and coffee merchants weighing and buying sacks of beans. This is one of Timor's busiest coffee trading towns, where sacks of coffee beans are transported (on foot or on the backs of horses or trucks) and sold.

Another unmissable sight is the Maubisse Church, a large Catholic church with a 3- pointed wooden totem at the entrance - evidence of the way traditional animism have meshed with devout Catholicism. There are large dormitories at the back of the church, which are available as accommodation. From its Acropolis-like location atop a steep hill at the centre of town, the Pousada de Maubisse - a colonial-era villa-turned guesthouse - offers a remarkable 360-degree panorama taking in a sweep of fertile fields and valleys.

Maubisse is a comfortable base from which to hike out along some of the region's most spectacular and least trampled pathways, including Timor's highest and most sacred peak, Mt.Ramelau (a further 2 hours' drive to the trailhead at Hato Bulico). Like the beach resort town of Com, it represents one of Timor's still-fledgling tourism industries, with several 'government-approved' homestays located within town.

The drive out of Maubisse is picturesque; tiny villages pop up on some of the larger ridgelines, with their distinctive circular grass huts, often with a modest vegetable garden around it. Valleys with terraced rice paddies break the chain of deep forests, all hedged by the peaks of misty mountains.

MT.RAMELAU

At 2,986m, Mt.Ramelau's the tallest mountain in East Timor. There are 2 approaches up the mountain; the easier is via the township of Hato Bulico (taking 3.5 hours from trailhead to summit), while the more demanding route from Aimeta can take

6 hours, and requires the use of ropes inparts.

At one stage, the Hato Bulico route was a 4WD track, but erosion has reduced the trail to an undrivable state, but its consistent gradient makes for a very agreeable climb on foot. Generally, climbers leave the former 4WD track at around 1,900m, taking a series of shortcuts through some small but impressive stands of quasi-petrified forest, and the occasional alpine meadow. Ramelau is a sacred peak, and just 200m below the summit is a tiny wooden church - a fusion of animistic and Catholic influences.

It sees a major annual pilgrimage each November, so there's a good set up on the large, open plateau in front of the church, where climbers normally pitch tents and camp. During the pilgrimage, thousands of faithful make the climb in the name of the

, Virgin Mary, and climb to the top of the mountain where her statue is found.

Despite Timor being a tropical country, Ramelau's weather isn't to be underestimated.

Overnight temperatures can drop to near freezing, made colder with the strong, winds that come off the sea. Most visits to the peak are done during the dry season, as the trail can be treacherous during the muddy wet season.

Wildlife on Ramelau is limited to the occasional bird or deer, but there are many herds of 'wild' horses that live on and around Ramelau's slopes. These horses are a local breed, and can be found throughout much of Timor, often tamed by locals for use as transportation.

Local porters can be arranged from the adjacent village of Hato Bulico, and it is entirely possible to arrange (through your guide) for horses to accompany you, whether for portage or for riding up/down the mountain. A half-day horse should costs) around US$15, making for a faster and more enjoyable way to make the trip up or down Ramelau. By horse, its 1.5 hours down to Hato Bulico, while on foot, it's generally 2 to 2.5 hours.

Oecussi

Surrounded by West (Indonesian) Timor, the enclave of Oecussi-Ambeno is a rugged seaside area that's historically been part of Timor Leste since the 16th century. Linked to the rest of the country via the twice-weekly Dili-Pante Macassar ferry (12- hours, 280km), the sleepy town of Oecussi is a collection of colourful houses along a palm-fringed beach. There are no banks or tI- televisions, and there is only 5-hours of electricity per day in the town, but this has led to a virtually crime-free existence for the city's 4,700 residents.

There are some small, local pousadas (homestays) which start from around US$5 per night and a number of small, local restaurants specialising in grilled fish. This 815sq. km. territory boasts sheltered coves and good beaches, along with a network of reefs. Further inland, Oecussi's mountainous interior makes for good (albeit remote) trekking; all treks must be self-sufficient.

The main, 3-day hiking route in Oecussi goes via the village of Cutete, from where the trek's easily organised. The trail heads out of town along the main water course through the neighbouring valleys, paralleling the coast highlands before reaching Cutete to overnight. The following day the trail leads eastward, going into the mountains through the extensive rainforests along the Oecussi- Indonesia border before camping on a ridgeline above the canopy. The trek then heads back out to the coast via the riverbed that forms the actual border, before reaching the beach highway, and main road that leads back into Oecussi town.

AtauruIsland

Located a 4-hour ferry ride north from Dili, AtauroIsland is visible from the capital. The island is dominated by Mt.Manucoco, where the peaks lower slopes and hills form a patchwork of farms where most of the island's few thousand residents are clustered.

There are few vehicles on the island, and no real bus services plying the main (only) east coast road. Most visitors come to Atauro for a taste of the old Timor, with the island's traditional fishing and farming communities being one of the main attractions. While village homestays are possible, most visitors overnight at TuaKoinEcoVillage, the island's well-known eco resort. From here, a number of whale species, including large pods of pilot whales are regularly seen in the deep channel between Dili and Atauru, with boat charters possible from local fishermen.