October 18, 2025 • 11 mins
Exploring the remote municipalities of Covalima, Manufahi and Viqueque.
More information on Covalima - https://exploringtimor.com/covalima/ Manufahi - https://exploringtimor.com/manufahi/ and Viqueque - https://exploringtimor.com/viqueque/
Website - www.exploringtimor.com
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@exploringtimor
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jonty (00:06):
Bondi.
Welcome to exploring Tim Este,the podcast that talks about
Southeast Asia's best kepttravel secret.
I'm your host Jte, and I'llshare firsthand insights, expert
interviews and practical traveltips.
Whether you're a traveler, acultural lover, or just curious
about places rarely covered inthe mainstream.
You're in the right place.
Let's explore two more.
Less day.
(00:32):
Today's episode is the last ofthe episodes where I talk about
specific municipalities.
There are 13 in two more lessday.
So I've talked about likes ofDili and Amira and Za in some
detail.
And in this last episode, I'mgonna cover off Coval Lima.
Mani.
And so I'm doing three in oneepisode as there is relatively
(00:54):
less to see and do in theseareas, or at least they're
relatively less accessible.
These are some of the leastvisited parts of Timor-Leste,
just to put'em on the map.
Coval Lima is to the farsouthwest of Timor on the border
with Indonesian West.
Timor Mani is in the middletowards the south coast, beyond
le and a narrow and is to the.
(01:18):
Southeast, before la te.
To start with Koval Lima, as Isaid, this is well off the
beaten track.
Malay foreigners are a rarityhere, so expect a warm welcome
from locals.
It's the epicenter of TimorLessee's oil and gas industry,
which provides the vast bulk ofthe country's revenues, but
there are a few signs of itother than some oil pumps, the
(01:39):
only expressway in the countryand a huge international grade
airport, which is pretty emptymost of the time.
The regional capital Schwa has afew sites.
You'll like to spend longerrelaxing on the coast at Schwa
lower.
So to start with, schwa is theregional capital feels more like
a collection of villages thanthe town, but it has a few sites
in the center and a tragichistory.
(02:00):
On the 6th of September, 19 99,2 days after the results of the
independence referendum, 245people were killed by Indonesian
militia whilst sheltering insidethe Ave Maria Church, there's
now a Sombering Memorial whichcommemorates those events and
the church was destroyed and amuch larger Ave Maria Cathedral
(02:22):
was built on the site of theoriginal.
Between those two is the coveredMercado DeSay, the local
markets, which is filled withalleyways with all manner of
things to buy.
Schwa is also a great place tovisit if you wanna see
traditional Tim Thatchedbuildings.
About 10 minutes drive south ofSchwa.
Laro, meaning South Rei is hometo a black sand beach backed by
(02:44):
restaurants serving delicious,locally caught fish, and it's a
good place to see and stay asafe distance from crocodiles.
So there's a lot of crocodilesin the south coast.
It would not go anywhere nearthe water, but it is a relaxing
beachside community.
There's also a few wallsremaining of a Portuguese fault
And randomly.
There is also a small model ofthe Eiffel Tower, a long way
(03:05):
from Paris through Valima, runsthe Schwa Expressway.
This four lane road is the onlyhighway in the country.
Phase one was completed in 2018at a cost of half a billion
dollars.
Quite difficult landscapes was10 bridges, four intersections,
20 viaducts, 20 drainage boxes,and 60 hydraulic passengers.
So at the time it was thelargest infrastructure project
(03:27):
in the country.
It's only recently beensuperseded by the New Port in
Tebar.
The long-term plan is for 155kilometer.
Highway.
They've just completed 30kilometers to date, capable of a
hundred kilometer an hourtraffic from basically Schwa to
uh, this is part of a muchlarger project called Tassa
Manet Project, which is anambitious$15 billion program of
(03:50):
oil and gas infrastructure alongthe southwest coast of Leste,
heavily promoted by the CovenantPrime Minister.
Progress has been, stop starts.
It'll be interesting to seewhere things land on this.
It's very much connected towhat's known as the Greater
Sunrise Project, which is alarge untapped gas reserves, but
there's been talk about it foryears and not a huge amount has
(04:11):
happened for it.
It's interesting as the highwaywas new in seven years ago, but
it has fallen into disrepair itis quite surreal to see a
highway in the middle of thisvery remote part of Timor Less
estate.
Also quite surreal is the ShaanaGano International airport named
after the Prime Minister who'sbeen driving this project.
This is a modern airport openedin 2017.
(04:32):
It cost$120 million.
It's international gradeairport.
It's much nicer than the one inDili, but currently it welcomes
two small propeller flights aweek.
So it's a little bit surrealwalking through the terminals
and unused x-ray machines.
I drove down to Valima, which isa long drive from Dili.
You go through Mani, which I'lltalk about next, and then I flew
(04:52):
back from schwa to Dili with oneof the regular math flights, and
that was one of the most scenicflights I took in Timor-Leste
passing by Mount Ramlow, thehighest summit in Timor-Leste
and across the mountain spine ofthe country.
Flight takes 40 minutes.
The driving takes more likeseven hours.
It was quite interesting to doit both ways, to get a different
view of the country and thelandscape so that's Valima
(05:14):
heading towards the center ofthe country mana Fei.
So this is a varied andbeautiful municipality that
stretches from the mountainouscenter of the country down to
the South coast, and it has someof the best scenery in
Timor-Leste.
It is Home to Mount Kaki, whichis one of the most impressive
and scary to climb mountains.
'cause I've been hiking on it inTimor Lesse.
(05:34):
Sam has quite an interestinghistory of resistance against
the Portuguese.
That's the main town in Mani.
And then Batan Beach is whereAustralian troops were evacuated
during World War ii.
So Sam is the largest talentMunicipality is a typically
spread out to Marie's town, butit is home To a few sites of
interest.
In the center of town is astatue of a warrior holding a
spear and shield in honor oflocal leader Dom Bove Tura.
(05:57):
He led a 16 year long campaignagainst the introduction of
taxes and forced labor by thePortuguese in the early 20th
century.
What became known as the ManiWar didn't stop until 1912 when
the Portuguese brought troopsover from Mozambique.
The Sam Protestant Church has aninteresting design looking a bit
like a rocket from the front andto the east of the town center
(06:18):
is the crystal raid des a whitestatue of Jesus on top of the
hill in 1999.
A lot of Timor Esto was heavilydamaged, and Sam in particular
was almost completely destroyedby Indonesian militia.
It was also the site of what wasknown as the Battle of Sam in
2007, which was betweenAustralian Special Forces and
petitioner rebels under thecommander of Alfredo Reo, which
(06:42):
was part of the 2006 East TimorCrisis.
It's a bit complicated to gointo here, but that was the last
time that there was really anykind of unrest in Timor Este,
which is close to 20 years agonow.
And my favorite spot in Mani isthe natural swimming pool, which
is about 15 minutes north ofSam.
So just on the main road, ifyou're driving from Dili to the
South coast, on the left handside, there's this beautiful
(07:06):
springed pool and it's veryrefreshing and you can't miss
it.
And it's just a glorious placeto cool down a little bit
further along the road from thepool is the remains of a World
War II tank.
Dating from the fighting withthe Japanese and nearby is the
park nationality Bon Ventura,which isn't really a national
park in the usual meaning of theword.
(07:27):
It's more a space for a largemonument to the local resistance
hero.
It's also home to a site forheroes and martyrs of the
patriotic movement, similar toother sites around Timor.
And then on the South coastyou've got Batan Beach, and as I
mentioned, this is whereAustralian spar of force gorilla
troops were evacuated by shipand submarine during World War
ii.
The remains of the Australiandestroyer Voyager can still be
(07:49):
seen on the beach.
It became grounded on the 25thof September, 1942, after
unloading Australian troops andwas damaged by Japanese
borrowers and scuttled by hercrew.
The area of Botano is also hometo the largest power station in
the country, providingelectricity to the south coast.
Botano Beach is a black sandbeach with rusting bits of old
ships sticking outta the sand.
(08:11):
It's quite an atmospheric place.
Finally, vicke, which ispossibly the least visited
municipality in Timor-Leste.
So the Keke is a mixture ofsprawling mountains of flat,
dense jungle leading to thecoast.
It's one of the least developedareas of the country, partly due
to its size and lack ofpopulation.
There's about 80,000 peoplethere and quite a large area,
(08:31):
and it was a strong hold of theresistance during the Indonesian
occupation.
It's home to Mundo, Bodo theLost World, which is Timor less
day's largest remainingrainforest, and that offers
excellent hiking opportunities.
The Portuguese called it Mundo.
Bodo, which means the lost worldas the area is so often hidden
and missed.
The best time to visit, to tryand get views is between August
(08:52):
and October.
There are no clear trails andit's easy to get lost.
So a local guide is stronglyrecommended.
The Quek Town is the main townin Quek, and it's home to the
Church of the Imma ClipConception, which is one of the
most impressive churches inTimor-Leste.
It was completed in 2014.
The original church was a siteof a horrific massacre of up to
a thousand Timorese byIndonesian troops in 1983, and
(09:16):
it's now commemorated by amonument containing the remains
of a car in which two nuns weremurdered.
Close to the church is theformal ulu park, which is home
to various monuments in theplayground.
The large Kha river runs throughthe town and crocodiles have
been known to travel tens ofkilometers up the south coast
along this river.
So I wouldn't go in the water,but it is a obvious landmark
(09:37):
when you're traveling throughEkk Town.
Also, if you travel through EkkLookout for 14 stations of the
cross, these are large concretecrosses.
They start at the beginning ofthe town and finish at the
church.
The drive through the KK isquite challenging, although
there is a lot of work toimprove the road, but it's a
very scenic part of Tim Leste.
In osu there's a huge green andred church.
(10:00):
The church was sent Theresa ofthe child.
Jesus, it looks like it could bein Europe or something.
It's very prominent and strikingchurch And close by Lonnie Ho is
home to one of the bestwaterfalls in the country.
It's not huge in terms ofheight, but it's quite wide and
it's just very kind ofphotogenic and interesting to
see.
And nearby there's a Abrigo orReconci Gorilla Hideout.
(10:24):
So here metal ladders have beenattached to the steep terrain to
allow access to lookout marking,where to Timor's.
Independence leaders first metin 1989 and then beyond the KK
heading to the south coast, thatoften can be impossible.
During the wet season.
There's not really any foodoptions, but that is very, if
you wanna go, really get off thebeaten track, you head down to
the south coast of kk.
(10:45):
That will be a real adventure.
Hopefully that's giving you abit of a flavor for what you can
see and do in those threemunicipalities.
As I said they're very much aventure travel destination.
So if that's your thing, pleasego and visit.
Thank you so much for listening to exploring Timor
Less Day.
If you've enjoyed today'sepisode, please consider leaving
a rating or review.
It really helps more peoplediscover the show.
(11:07):
If you have any questions orfeedback, I'd love to hear from
you.
Drop me an email at exploringTimor lessDay@gmail.com.
Until next time, or Bodo ADEs.
Bondi.
Welcome to exploring Tim Este,the podcast that talks about
Southeast Asia's best kepttravel secret.
I'm your host Jte, and I'llshare firsthand insights, expert
interviews and practical traveltips.
Whether you're a traveler, acultural lover, or just curious
about places rarely covered inthe mainstream.
You're in the right place.
Let's explore two more.
Less day.
(00:32):
Today's episode is the last ofthe episodes where I talk about
specific municipalities.
There are 13 in two more lessday.
So I've talked about likes ofDili and Amira and Za in some
detail.
And in this last episode, I'mgonna cover off Coval Lima.
Mani.
And so I'm doing three in oneepisode as there is relatively
(00:54):
less to see and do in theseareas, or at least they're
relatively less accessible.
These are some of the leastvisited parts of Timor-Leste,
just to put'em on the map.
Coval Lima is to the farsouthwest of Timor on the border
with Indonesian West.
Timor Mani is in the middletowards the south coast, beyond
le and a narrow and is to the.
(01:18):
Southeast, before la te.
To start with Koval Lima, as Isaid, this is well off the
beaten track.
Malay foreigners are a rarityhere, so expect a warm welcome
from locals.
It's the epicenter of TimorLessee's oil and gas industry,
which provides the vast bulk ofthe country's revenues, but
there are a few signs of itother than some oil pumps, the
(01:39):
only expressway in the countryand a huge international grade
airport, which is pretty emptymost of the time.
The regional capital Schwa has afew sites.
You'll like to spend longerrelaxing on the coast at Schwa
lower.
So to start with, schwa is theregional capital feels more like
a collection of villages thanthe town, but it has a few sites
in the center and a tragichistory.
(02:00):
On the 6th of September, 19 99,2 days after the results of the
independence referendum, 245people were killed by Indonesian
militia whilst sheltering insidethe Ave Maria Church, there's
now a Sombering Memorial whichcommemorates those events and
the church was destroyed and amuch larger Ave Maria Cathedral
(02:22):
was built on the site of theoriginal.
Between those two is the coveredMercado DeSay, the local
markets, which is filled withalleyways with all manner of
things to buy.
Schwa is also a great place tovisit if you wanna see
traditional Tim Thatchedbuildings.
About 10 minutes drive south ofSchwa.
Laro, meaning South Rei is hometo a black sand beach backed by
(02:44):
restaurants serving delicious,locally caught fish, and it's a
good place to see and stay asafe distance from crocodiles.
So there's a lot of crocodilesin the south coast.
It would not go anywhere nearthe water, but it is a relaxing
beachside community.
There's also a few wallsremaining of a Portuguese fault
And randomly.
There is also a small model ofthe Eiffel Tower, a long way
(03:05):
from Paris through Valima, runsthe Schwa Expressway.
This four lane road is the onlyhighway in the country.
Phase one was completed in 2018at a cost of half a billion
dollars.
Quite difficult landscapes was10 bridges, four intersections,
20 viaducts, 20 drainage boxes,and 60 hydraulic passengers.
So at the time it was thelargest infrastructure project
(03:27):
in the country.
It's only recently beensuperseded by the New Port in
Tebar.
The long-term plan is for 155kilometer.
Highway.
They've just completed 30kilometers to date, capable of a
hundred kilometer an hourtraffic from basically Schwa to
uh, this is part of a muchlarger project called Tassa
Manet Project, which is anambitious$15 billion program of
(03:50):
oil and gas infrastructure alongthe southwest coast of Leste,
heavily promoted by the CovenantPrime Minister.
Progress has been, stop starts.
It'll be interesting to seewhere things land on this.
It's very much connected towhat's known as the Greater
Sunrise Project, which is alarge untapped gas reserves, but
there's been talk about it foryears and not a huge amount has
(04:11):
happened for it.
It's interesting as the highwaywas new in seven years ago, but
it has fallen into disrepair itis quite surreal to see a
highway in the middle of thisvery remote part of Timor Less
estate.
Also quite surreal is the ShaanaGano International airport named
after the Prime Minister who'sbeen driving this project.
This is a modern airport openedin 2017.
(04:32):
It cost$120 million.
It's international gradeairport.
It's much nicer than the one inDili, but currently it welcomes
two small propeller flights aweek.
So it's a little bit surrealwalking through the terminals
and unused x-ray machines.
I drove down to Valima, which isa long drive from Dili.
You go through Mani, which I'lltalk about next, and then I flew
(04:52):
back from schwa to Dili with oneof the regular math flights, and
that was one of the most scenicflights I took in Timor-Leste
passing by Mount Ramlow, thehighest summit in Timor-Leste
and across the mountain spine ofthe country.
Flight takes 40 minutes.
The driving takes more likeseven hours.
It was quite interesting to doit both ways, to get a different
view of the country and thelandscape so that's Valima
(05:14):
heading towards the center ofthe country mana Fei.
So this is a varied andbeautiful municipality that
stretches from the mountainouscenter of the country down to
the South coast, and it has someof the best scenery in
Timor-Leste.
It is Home to Mount Kaki, whichis one of the most impressive
and scary to climb mountains.
'cause I've been hiking on it inTimor Lesse.
(05:34):
Sam has quite an interestinghistory of resistance against
the Portuguese.
That's the main town in Mani.
And then Batan Beach is whereAustralian troops were evacuated
during World War ii.
So Sam is the largest talentMunicipality is a typically
spread out to Marie's town, butit is home To a few sites of
interest.
In the center of town is astatue of a warrior holding a
spear and shield in honor oflocal leader Dom Bove Tura.
(05:57):
He led a 16 year long campaignagainst the introduction of
taxes and forced labor by thePortuguese in the early 20th
century.
What became known as the ManiWar didn't stop until 1912 when
the Portuguese brought troopsover from Mozambique.
The Sam Protestant Church has aninteresting design looking a bit
like a rocket from the front andto the east of the town center
(06:18):
is the crystal raid des a whitestatue of Jesus on top of the
hill in 1999.
A lot of Timor Esto was heavilydamaged, and Sam in particular
was almost completely destroyedby Indonesian militia.
It was also the site of what wasknown as the Battle of Sam in
2007, which was betweenAustralian Special Forces and
petitioner rebels under thecommander of Alfredo Reo, which
(06:42):
was part of the 2006 East TimorCrisis.
It's a bit complicated to gointo here, but that was the last
time that there was really anykind of unrest in Timor Este,
which is close to 20 years agonow.
And my favorite spot in Mani isthe natural swimming pool, which
is about 15 minutes north ofSam.
So just on the main road, ifyou're driving from Dili to the
South coast, on the left handside, there's this beautiful
(07:06):
springed pool and it's veryrefreshing and you can't miss
it.
And it's just a glorious placeto cool down a little bit
further along the road from thepool is the remains of a World
War II tank.
Dating from the fighting withthe Japanese and nearby is the
park nationality Bon Ventura,which isn't really a national
park in the usual meaning of theword.
(07:27):
It's more a space for a largemonument to the local resistance
hero.
It's also home to a site forheroes and martyrs of the
patriotic movement, similar toother sites around Timor.
And then on the South coastyou've got Batan Beach, and as I
mentioned, this is whereAustralian spar of force gorilla
troops were evacuated by shipand submarine during World War
ii.
The remains of the Australiandestroyer Voyager can still be
(07:49):
seen on the beach.
It became grounded on the 25thof September, 1942, after
unloading Australian troops andwas damaged by Japanese
borrowers and scuttled by hercrew.
The area of Botano is also hometo the largest power station in
the country, providingelectricity to the south coast.
Botano Beach is a black sandbeach with rusting bits of old
ships sticking outta the sand.
(08:11):
It's quite an atmospheric place.
Finally, vicke, which ispossibly the least visited
municipality in Timor-Leste.
So the Keke is a mixture ofsprawling mountains of flat,
dense jungle leading to thecoast.
It's one of the least developedareas of the country, partly due
to its size and lack ofpopulation.
There's about 80,000 peoplethere and quite a large area,
(08:31):
and it was a strong hold of theresistance during the Indonesian
occupation.
It's home to Mundo, Bodo theLost World, which is Timor less
day's largest remainingrainforest, and that offers
excellent hiking opportunities.
The Portuguese called it Mundo.
Bodo, which means the lost worldas the area is so often hidden
and missed.
The best time to visit, to tryand get views is between August
(08:52):
and October.
There are no clear trails andit's easy to get lost.
So a local guide is stronglyrecommended.
The Quek Town is the main townin Quek, and it's home to the
Church of the Imma ClipConception, which is one of the
most impressive churches inTimor-Leste.
It was completed in 2014.
The original church was a siteof a horrific massacre of up to
a thousand Timorese byIndonesian troops in 1983, and
(09:16):
it's now commemorated by amonument containing the remains
of a car in which two nuns weremurdered.
Close to the church is theformal ulu park, which is home
to various monuments in theplayground.
The large Kha river runs throughthe town and crocodiles have
been known to travel tens ofkilometers up the south coast
along this river.
So I wouldn't go in the water,but it is a obvious landmark
(09:37):
when you're traveling throughEkk Town.
Also, if you travel through EkkLookout for 14 stations of the
cross, these are large concretecrosses.
They start at the beginning ofthe town and finish at the
church.
The drive through the KK isquite challenging, although
there is a lot of work toimprove the road, but it's a
very scenic part of Tim Leste.
In osu there's a huge green andred church.
(10:00):
The church was sent Theresa ofthe child.
Jesus, it looks like it could bein Europe or something.
It's very prominent and strikingchurch And close by Lonnie Ho is
home to one of the bestwaterfalls in the country.
It's not huge in terms ofheight, but it's quite wide and
it's just very kind ofphotogenic and interesting to
see.
And nearby there's a Abrigo orReconci Gorilla Hideout.
(10:24):
So here metal ladders have beenattached to the steep terrain to
allow access to lookout marking,where to Timor's.
Independence leaders first metin 1989 and then beyond the KK
heading to the south coast, thatoften can be impossible.
During the wet season.
There's not really any foodoptions, but that is very, if
you wanna go, really get off thebeaten track, you head down to
the south coast of kk.
(10:45):
That will be a real adventure.
Hopefully that's giving you abit of a flavor for what you can
see and do in those threemunicipalities.
As I said they're very much aventure travel destination.
So if that's your thing, pleasego and visit.
Thank you so much for listening to exploring Timor
Less Day.
If you've enjoyed today'sepisode, please consider leaving
a rating or review.
It really helps more peoplediscover the show.
(11:07):
If you have any questions orfeedback, I'd love to hear from
you.
Drop me an email at exploringTimor lessDay@gmail.com.
Until next time, or Bodo ADEs.
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