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Capital and largest city of Timor-Leste
Photo: David Stanley from Nanaimo, Canada, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Dili is the capital city of Timor-Leste and its largest city. It is squeezed along the narrow plains between Timor's northern coast and the central mountains which run the length of the island.
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The statue of Jesus that stands on a headland to the east of Dili. Rumour has it that, when the mainly Muslim Indonesians built the statue as a gift to the mainly Christian Timorese, they designed it so that Jesus would be facing towards Jakarta. The statue is about 20 metres tall and stands on a globe of earth. The route from Dili along the beach and up the steps to the Jesus statue is popular with exercising internationals and local fishermen, and passes several niches representing the stations of the cross. The view from the statue across the bay to Dili should be spectacular, but is mostly blocked by trees.
Aka Backside Beach. The beach directly behind the Jesus statue, it's a scenic, inverted c-shaped coastline with near-transparent waters much better than the one at Areia Branca. If driving, head east towards Baucau on the road that crosses the ridge near Ramos-Horta's house and look for the turnoff on the left. Otherwise, you walk up the steps towards Cristo Rei and then, halfway up, go down other steps to the beach.
Learn about the struggle for Timor-Leste's independence and what the people went through in the massive 25-year-long struggle.
A memorial to Sparrow Force, an Australian unit that fought the Japanese in Timor for several years, plus an exhibition on the unit and on the Timorese experience of the war. Good views over Dili and a café open on weekends.
Igreja de Santo António de Motael
The oldest church in Timor-Leste. Originally from around 1800, the current building dates to 1955. The church played an important role in the independence struggle. In 1991, when independence activists demonstrated against the Indonesian occupation, they were offered protection in the church. At night, the Indonesians stormed the church and shot activist Sebastião Gomes. After his memorial service, a demonstration started in front of the church which ended in the Santa Cruz massacre, in which at least 271 people were killed by Indonesian security forces.
Set in a prison used during Portuguese and Indonesian times, you can visit the dark cells in which prisoners were held. There's also an exhibition on the struggle for independence and the persecution of Timorese people during the Indonesian occupation.
Cemitério de Santa Cruz
Site of the Santa Cruz massacre on 12 November 1991 when at least 250 Timorese were murdered after a funeral procession for activist Sebastião Gomes, who was shot in Motael Church. You can see the graves of Sebastião Gomes, as well as of British cameraman Max Stahl who had filmed the massacre and later requested to be buried here.
Good Indonesian warung. Prices have increased since they became popular.
Good Indonesian warung.
Merkadu Hahaan
This is a string of identical BBQs that sets up every evening on the beach, serving excellent chicken, pork and fish skewers for about $1 each (they may try to overcharge foreigners) as well as katapas (rice cooked in coconut milk). Gets very messy but it is surely the best value beach dinner in Dili. The stalls set up low tables and chairs straight on the beach.
Fresly baked French baguettes, develish fillings, mayo "to die for", delicious coffee, evil juices and more!
One of the hippest and most reliable western joints. Good food, good staff, good crowd and views over the water.
Has a food court with western and Asian dishes, at higher prices than elsewhere. Makanan, the Indian-Malay place with roti canai, martabak and briyani, may be the best option (Il Gelato is in the same shop, with the best ice cream in Dili). There is a Gloria Jean's with reliable coffee but terrible breakfasts. Elsewhere in Timor Plaza are some cafes, a donut shop and a rooftop restaurant.
It can't decide on how to spell tandoori (you'll see tundriee, tundaree, tanduree, tondroori and others), but they know how to do it. Excellent tandoori chicken, samosas and daals, plus many other dishes, including great vegetable dishes.
Rendang. It's self-service, so you can pick the best pieces. Also has extensive other offerings.
Also has a branch at Landmark and maybe others. Best Chinese food in town according to many Chinese, reliable place to get duck, but relatively expensive for Dili.
Great for drinks or food on the beach (just find the plastic tables and chairs on the sand, or ask staff to get some for you; the main bar is across the road and under cover). Big menu of mostly-western items that are good value considering the location and quality.
Part of Beachside Hotel, it's the other western place on the Areia Branca. Excellent breakfasts eaten on the sand.
Reliable Chinese restaurant on the beachfront with a big menu of good-value dishes.
Combination Thai/Lebanese restaurant. Not the greatest food but probably the nicest setting of the beachfront restaurants and great for groups.
Upmarket Portuguese restaurant on the beach.
Best Japanese restaurant in town, but be careful about the sashimi.
A good opportunity to savour some of the worst Mexican food in the world. Very bland, poorly-made and quite expensive. Despite being the only Mexican option in town, still doesn't seem to get much business.
Attractive Chinese restaurant in the suburbs with a few interesting "Timorese" dishes, like the saboco fish dish.
Tasty Timorese food made from local ingredients. Several vegetarian options.
The best Italian food in town, but that's not saying much. Due to the high prices, the popular Sunday night specials ($10 pizzas and pastas) are the best bet.
Excellent views over Dili but disappointing food for the price. Just drink at the bar and get some satay sticks instead.
Nice bar on the beach near Cristo Rei. Great pizza. Frequented by NGO staff.
24 jam! This corner store blasts music 24 hours a day. You can buy a beer at shop prices, sit outside and meet locals.
One of the hippest bars in town, it fills up with locals and expats (especially Portuguese) from about 23:00. $5 cover charge includes a drink. It's partly outdoors but still fills with cigarette smoke.
The bar that the UN banned its staff from going to! It must be good then, but can you actually find it?
Promoting local coffee growers in a small hipster cafe. Some of the best coffee in town.
Quiet & friendly hostel in a residential house & neighbourhood. Tables & hammocks available to relax on the front porch. Delicious dinner for $6-10.
Nice new hotel and cafe, with beautiful beach and view (across the street). A short walk to Cristo Rei monument. Closes early (19:00), but Caz Bar is nearby for late food and drinks.
Reliable mid-range hotel downtown.
Formerly the Tropical, this is a well-run Chinese-owned hotel with small and sterile (but clean) rooms, in the middle of downtown.
In the centre of Dili, Hotel Timor has a total of 88 rooms, all having modern facilities with cosy and spacious dimensions.
Well-appointed Korean-run hotel but in an inconvenient location, best if you have a car.
Chain: Hilton International.
The shopping mall in Dili. Good place for ATMs, SIM cards, souvenirs, ice cream, cinema, and Friday after work happy hour. 1.5 km east of the airport.
A Timorese organisation that works on economical empowerment to build better futures. Here you can find beautiful handicrafts and traditional products from Timor-Leste.
Art centre that sells Timorese paintings, often painted directly on Tais. Recurring themes are local symbols and the life and death during the Indonesian occupation.
A central place to pick up Tais, old coins, woodwork, pottery and other curios. Beware the imitation Tais, which are sometimes from Indonesia. There are a lot of stores with mostly identical offerings, so look around and choose a seller at random, or based on who wants to tell you about the regional differences. US$40-60 for a large tais (depending on how fancy it is), $30 for a medium tais. Intensive haggling is not normal, so it's difficult to get 10%-20% off the first price, although discounts for multiple purchases are common.
The shop of Alola Foundation, Timor-Leste's non-governmental organisation for women and children. You can find at Mercado Lama (Mascarenhas) a lot of quality handicrafts produced by weavers from all around Timor-Leste. Bags, wallet, shoes, clothing and various other local handicrafts (all materials made from Tais) and Timorese coffee. A nice souvenir or gift for people at home and you can are supporting women and children throughout Timor-Leste. There is a second shop in Dili's shopping mall Timor Plaza in Comoro. You can be sure of getting genuine quality tais sold for a good cause, however, the prices are 5 times higher than at the tais market.
This area is good for small supermarkets and hardware/household stores. You will need to visit multiple places to find what you want.
This area has a number of electronic and general stores.
Probably the best supermarket for expats, including a lot of household goods.
Good value but a limited range.
Asian-orientated place but a good range and good prices.
Large supermarket but lacking many items.
Portuguese supermarket. Nicely air-conditioned, unlike most supermarkets here. Good for Portuguese goods, e.g., canned fish, cheese, chorizo, wine, beer. However, it's quite expensive.
The best downtown supermarket. A fruit market is directly opposite.
Big supermarket downtown.
Good cheap downtown supermarket but a limited range. Usually has fruit and veg sellers outside.
By car
Dili is well linked by road from the Indonesian border at Mota'ain, near Batugade, which lies about 115 km west.
By bus
Buses fan out from Dili to various parts of the country.
By boat
Dili is no longer a port of call for Indonesia's Pelni ships. There are also no regular boats to Australia.
Fixed-route vans
Mikrolets (vans converted to take passengers) also ply their fixed routes, for example from near the Mercado Municipal to Comoro, Becora and other suburbs of Dili and even further.
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