First Time Tourists Guide in Dili, East Timor
SIGHTSEEING
Dili's nature offers you the best escape for the hectic city life. Take quality time walking around Largo de Lecidere. This large public park offers you a pedestrian and jogging track with fresh air and beach breeze that will refresh your tired mind. With the view of the waterfront along the park, you can also find the public park is filled with locals and some live street performance and even concerts to witness.
Largo de Lecidere
DOWNTOWN
Discover the seaside downtown Dili. The downtown has fewer places to stay and bars rather than the coastal area, still it is the busiest town of Dili as it is the commercial part of the city. Near to downtown, you can reach many city's popular attractions. You can also find the main Catholic cathedral, Catedral de Díli. This cathedral has a great architecture of the Roman Catholic exterior. There is also a green space garden on the cathedral surrounding.
Catedral de Díli
SHOPPING
Taos Market is more than a shopping market in Dili. This traditional shopping place is also known as Dili's main tourist attraction. You can find plenty of Tais clothes om the market. Tais is a traditional textile cloth and is a must-buy souvenir to bring back home.
Taos Market
FOOD & DRINK
Taste the East Timor cuisines in Dili. Most of the local cuisines in Dili are made of meat or fish produces. One of the food you should taste while in Dili si Ikan Sabuko. It is a kind of mackerel cuisine wrapped in a palm leaf and grilled traditionally. And as for the drink, East Timor is famous for is grown coffee beans. They claim to have the richest taste, dark and delicious coffee beans. A bag of freshly roasted coffee beans is a worthy souvenir to bring home from Dili.
CULTURE
The culture in the city is mostly influenced by Portuguese culture and Indonesian culture. The people are Malay, Polynesian, and Papuan descent as the dominant. They speak in Tetum and Portuguese. Tetum is the locals' Austronesian language influenced by Portuguese. There are also people who can speak in Indonesian. As a developed city, people in DIli are known to be friendly and warm to tourists.
BEST TIME TO VISIT
The best time to visit Dili is in the Dry seasons. If you are looking for the most comfortable temperature to have outdoor activities, time around June to September has the most suitable weather for you.
HOTEL
Where do you want to stay in Dilli? If you are looking for a place to stay with a nice view, Timor Plaza Hotel & Apartments is where you go. This luxury hotel offers rooms with air conditioning, dining set, sofa, desk, cable TV, and the other standard hotel facilities. There is a shopping place located within the hotel that will fulfill your daily needs. But, if you are looking for a hotel with a nice value and affordable price, Timor Lodge Hotel can be one of your options. Located in the city center. This hotel has a standard hotel room facilities and a seating area. There are also a barbecue spot, outdoor pool and fitness center in the hotel.
Timor Plaza Hotel & Apartments
Timor Lodge Hotel
RESTAURANT
Enjoy the authentic taste of some Portuguese and Indonesian foods in Dilicious Timor restaurant. The cuisines in the restaurant are made of fresh local produce and ingredients. If you are a vegetarian, this restaurant also has some vegetarian cuisines for you. But, if you are looking for more than local foods, Agora Food Studio can be the best option for you. This restaurant serves numerous local, vegetarian, and international cuisines in their menus. With a contemporary and simple decoration, this restaurant offers innovative cuisines and some good taste coffee. As the restaurant serving the cuisine from local farmers, the menu can change depending on what the locals can provide.
Dilicious Timor
Agora Food Studio
CAFE
Start your first-day trip drinking a boosting cup of coffee in Cafe Letefoho. This small and simple coffee shop serves coffee with homegrown beans. You can buy the beans for souvenirs as well. Located across Pantai Kelapa beach, this cafe also offers you a drinking coffee experience with a refreshing ocean breeze. But, if you are looking for a more than coffee spot, Kaffe U'ut is one of the top recommendations for you. Decorated in red and black accents and wooden furniture, this cafe serves some cakes and tart to fulfill your sweet craving.
Cafe Letefoho
Kaffe U'ut
BAR AND NIGHTLIFE
How do you want to spend your night in Dili? Caz Bar offers you pleasant drinking overlooking the oceanfront view. This bar is known for craft beer. You can choose outside seating and enjoy the beach breeze while drinking their refreshing beer. But, if you want to have a relaxing drinking experience with the view of Dili's nature, Panorama Restaurant & Sky Bar is where you go. There is also live music performance played that will complete your night in the sky bar. If you come to the bar at sunset time, you can see the beautiful panoramic view of the orange sky and sun sinking in the city side.
Caz Bar
Panorama Restaurant & Sky Bar
INTERESTING PLACE
No journey in Dili is complete without visiting the Cristo Rei statue. This 27 meter statue of Jesus was built on the top of the earth globe. Built-in 1945, this high statue is a monument to remember that East Timor was the 27th province in Indonesia (before separation). This statue is not only a historical mark, but from the statue location, you can see the beautiful view of the oceanfront. Another important historical and cultural place you can visit in Dili is The Archives & Museum of East Timorese Resistance. This museum exhibits Portuguese colonization, Indonesia occupation, and information about the modern history of Timor Leste. With the audiovisual sources, this museum provides brief explanations in Tetum, Portuguese and English.
Cristo Rei
The Archives & Museum of East Timorese Resistance
INSTAGRAMMABLE SPOT
Beach view is a must get captured area while traveling in Dili City. Get prepared to have a shore diving in Dili's beach and don't forget to capture the beauty of sea life in Tasi Tolu Beach. This sandy beach offers you more than a coastline to capture, but also the unique living things like crustaceans, cuttlefish, and seahorses in the coral life. If diving is not your thing, you can just enjoy the breathtaking view of the sandy beach shore. Another beautiful beach to visit in Dili is Cristo Rei Beach. As one of the city's favorite beach, Cristo Rei Beach offers you the great view of sandy beach located in a narrow alley. From the beach area, you can also picture the famous Cristo rei stature from the bottom side.
Tasi Tolu Beach
Cristo Rei Beach
