June 14, 2025 • 10 mins
Exploring the municipality of Baucau, including Timor-Leste's second city, Baucau, and other places worth visiting including Venilale, Baguia, Laga, Vermasse and Gariuai.
More information on Baucau - https://exploringtimor.com/baucau/
Website - www.exploringtimor.com
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@exploringtimor
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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.
(00:31):
Today's episode I am gonna talkabout Val Cal.
Which is both the second largestcity in Timor-Leste, and it's
the name of a beautifulmunicipality, one of the 13
regions within Timor-Leste alsohome to Ali and Bgea, which also
were worth visiting.
So I'll talk to you a little bitabout the city and then some of
(00:52):
the things you can see nearBaal.
Baal was about three hours eastof Dili.
It's a beautiful drive throughManto into Baal.
It is one of the best roads inthe country, both in terms of
infrastructure being relativelynew and well designed, and also
in terms of the incredible viewsas you hug the coast Baal
(01:13):
although it is the second cityin Tim Leste, is about one 15th
the size of Dili's.
It's quite a differentexperience.
Pretty much everything thattourists want to see is in old
Baal, which is the northern endof town.
New Baal is about 10 minutesdrive up the hillside to the
south.
New Boha is a typical Timortown.
(01:34):
There's a large market, there'sa stadium, but there's not a lot
from a tourist perspective, soyou'll probably be spending most
of your time downtown.
There's quite a lot to see.
It's definitely worth at leasthalf a day to walk around and
see the sites.
My favorite site is the oldmarket.
This is a beautiful buildingbuilt by the Portuguese between
1928 and 1934 as part of agrandma master plan for the
(01:57):
town.
Back in Portuguese days, Bal washome to the main airport for
Timor Lester, not the one inDili.
It still exists.
It's still used, but not bycommercial flights.
The market was partiallydestroyed during World War ii,
before being rebuilt in theseventies.
It then fell into disrepair, butwithin the last 10 years, it's
been renovated.
It has some lovely formalgardens around the back, and
(02:19):
it's just a very colorful andinteresting building to explore
that may not always be open, butit's worth walking all the way
around to checking if the gatesare open as often at least one
is open.
A bit of a hidden spot that Ifound by accident is calve.
This is a collection of shrineson the hillside.
About 10 minutes walk from thecenter of old Bau.
So if you head out up the roadto the east and then take a
(02:41):
little turn off, it is marked onGoogle Maps.
Now this is interesting both forthe collection of Catholic
shrines.
It's a beautiful statue with theVirgin Mary and it also offers
probably the best views.
Of the town and of thecoastline.
So you get spectacular viewsthere looking out towards
Waterbury Beach and you can seeback towards the city center of
Auo.
So I highly recommend visitingthere Back in old Auo sent
(03:04):
Anthony Cathedral is relativelynew, but it's quite a nice
cathedral
Balco
is famous, if I can use that word for its swimming pool.
It's probably one of the best inthe country, although there's
not a huge amount ofcompetition.
But it is a beautiful Portugueseera pool that was built by the
nearby Posada which is quite artmarket accommodation.
Famous for its pastel, pinkcolor that was built in the
(03:27):
1950s.
And so they built the posadawhere you can stay now.
And they built the swimmingpool, the bassal.
It's open five days a week, andit only costs 50 cents to go and
swim in this beautiful naturalspring fed pool.
Just bear in mind that onMondays and Thursdays they drain
the pool, which is quiteinteresting just to see an empty
(03:48):
concrete pool.
But you can't swim those days.
So best to go on the other days.
Now from be cow, if you headnorth towards the coast, the
road is quite winding butreasonable a prominent landmark
on the way is, fat Domine, whichis an unusual rock arch with a
tree growing on top.
It's quite photogenic.
It's not very well marked, butif you're heading towards water
bouch, you will drive past it onthe right Water.
(04:11):
Bo Beach is a very picture risk,palm lined beach, but it's best
to stay on the beach, not gointo the waters as crocodiles
are often seen there on my.
First visit there, there was afour or five meter crocodile
happily swam by, and so I'd stayout of the water, but it's
definitely worth visiting.
Waterbury Beach is a beautifulplace.
(04:32):
Heading out to the east ofBacao, there is a large military
cemetery, which is one of twoIndonesian military cemeteries
in Timor-Leste.
Originally there were 15, butthey've consolidated them down
to two to make them easier tomaintain.
So there's about 300 gravesthere.
Quite a lot of those wererelocated from other sites
around Timor, and it's very.
(04:54):
Different to a standard TimorEast Cemetery.
It's very orderly, lots of whitecrosses, quite atmospheric,
heading south inland from Bacao.
You head towards VE on the way.
There are some Japanese tunnels.
So during World War ii, theJapanese invaded Timor.
There was a series of tunnelsdug here, probably more likely
by the Timorese locals ratherthan the Japanese.
(05:16):
But they're interconnected andthey're called either Japanese
tunnels or the seven cavesbecause there are seven
interconnected tunnels which areworth an explore.
Ali itself is a pleasant smalltown, about an hour's drive
south of Baal that also has somenice Portuguese colonial
architecture, and there are somevery photogenic rice fields and
terraces nearby.
(05:36):
During the Portuguese era, venwas a popular place for
Portuguese to escape the heat ofthe coast.
And there was an old royalschool, the Escal do Reno which
was one of only two publicschools in the country when it
opened in the 1930s and duringthe Indonesia occupation, it was
turned into an orphanage.
The school is now a school.
The building's seen better days,but it is quite atmospheric and
(05:56):
definitely worth a visit.
Opposite.
It is the main Catholiccathedral and there are large
local markets held in town onWednesdays and Saturdays.
There's actually quite a lot todo in Seaga around ve There's an
interesting lake.
There's some natural hotsprings.
It's a natural bridge.
So it is worth some time thereif you're having an extended
stay in Timor.
Couple other towns worth notingin Baal.
(06:18):
So Ver Massi is the first townyou will enter when you cross
into Baal from Manto.
That has two main sites.
There's quite an attractivechurch, which has seen better
days.
And then on the hillside abovetown, other remains of a
Portuguese era of fault.
There's not much left of thefort itself, but it does offer
great views across thesurrounding landscape of the
Massi River.
(06:39):
Also on the way to Ven is asmall town called Gar Ear, which
is easy to drive through but itis home to a giant colony of
fruit bats, which is about fiveminutes walk behind the dark
yellow church, which is quite anunusual design compared to most
TIMOs churches, and it also ishome to a vast cemetery, which
is probably the most cynicallylocated in the country with
(07:00):
great views of matter.
BN in the distance matter.
BN is the second highest peak inTimor.
A bit of an unknown gem.
And again, one that's easy tomiss if you're just driving
through.
But the town of lagger, which isto the east of Baal, actually
has quite a lot to do if youhead off the main road.
On the main road you will seethe local church built in the
seventies, which is very blue,and that's quite an obvious
(07:22):
landmark.
Across the road from
it is a monument depicting.
Tim's being introduced to Catholicism by Portuguese Friar.
Now if you take the parallelroad up the hillside, there's
the Portuguese era Lagger Fault,which is quite well-preserved
with a standard square designwith two round towers on
opposite corners.
Then if you head up the roadtowards Bgea inland, there's a
(07:43):
series of 14 white crossesmarking the stations of the
cross, and you get beautifulviews from that short walk.
And if you continue up thatroad, there's a site with many
Luli, a sacred Timorese houses,and it's probably the best
places I've seen in the countryto see them because there are,
it's probably half a dozen luliand they range in design from
traditional style thatch roof tomore modern corrugated roofs.
(08:06):
So it's quite interesting todifferent architecture over
time.
And if you continue up that roadtowards bigge, there's a huge
and very impressive cemeterydedicated to the martyrs of the
struggle for timor'sindependence from Indonesia.
Heading up to Bagge is a veryscenic, but quite a challenging
drive.
(08:26):
Now, when I last visited in late2024, there was a lot of work
going on the road, which willimprove things, but certainly as
you head further in land, theroad gets increasingly rough.
You will need a decent fourwheel drive or a motorbike with
the skills to.
Driving motorbike across somevery challenging stretches of
road, but there's a number ofinteresting villages you'll pass
(08:47):
through on the way And there arevery atmospheric ruins of Na
Banda Portuguese School, whichis about a kilometer before bag
year.
BGE is quite a challenge toreach, but it is the hub for
those who are interested inhiking up mat bien and is also
home to one the best faults inthe country, which was built by
the Portuguese at the end of the19th century, so relatively new
(09:09):
as a double perimeter wall andas an inner wall home to two
round corner towers and in 2014,it was turned into hotels.
It's quite an atmospheric placeto stay.
There were beautiful views allaround.
The fault came to prominence in1959 when there was a rebellion
and least a hundred insurgents.
Attempted to take the fault fromthe Portuguese, but they were
repelled by the soldiers, butthe fault was badly damaged at
(09:32):
the time.
So that's a bit of an overviewof what you can do in Bacao.
It is one of my favorite placesin Timor Le State for the
variety of historical sites andalso the beautiful landscapes.
Thank you so much for listeningto exploring Timor Less Day.
If you've enjoyed today'sepisode, please consider leaving
a rating or review.
It really helps more peoplediscover the show.
(09:53):
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.
(00:31):
Today's episode I am gonna talkabout Val Cal.
Which is both the second largestcity in Timor-Leste, and it's
the name of a beautifulmunicipality, one of the 13
regions within Timor-Leste alsohome to Ali and Bgea, which also
were worth visiting.
So I'll talk to you a little bitabout the city and then some of
(00:52):
the things you can see nearBaal.
Baal was about three hours eastof Dili.
It's a beautiful drive throughManto into Baal.
It is one of the best roads inthe country, both in terms of
infrastructure being relativelynew and well designed, and also
in terms of the incredible viewsas you hug the coast Baal
(01:13):
although it is the second cityin Tim Leste, is about one 15th
the size of Dili's.
It's quite a differentexperience.
Pretty much everything thattourists want to see is in old
Baal, which is the northern endof town.
New Baal is about 10 minutesdrive up the hillside to the
south.
New Boha is a typical Timortown.
(01:34):
There's a large market, there'sa stadium, but there's not a lot
from a tourist perspective, soyou'll probably be spending most
of your time downtown.
There's quite a lot to see.
It's definitely worth at leasthalf a day to walk around and
see the sites.
My favorite site is the oldmarket.
This is a beautiful buildingbuilt by the Portuguese between
1928 and 1934 as part of agrandma master plan for the
(01:57):
town.
Back in Portuguese days, Bal washome to the main airport for
Timor Lester, not the one inDili.
It still exists.
It's still used, but not bycommercial flights.
The market was partiallydestroyed during World War ii,
before being rebuilt in theseventies.
It then fell into disrepair, butwithin the last 10 years, it's
been renovated.
It has some lovely formalgardens around the back, and
(02:19):
it's just a very colorful andinteresting building to explore
that may not always be open, butit's worth walking all the way
around to checking if the gatesare open as often at least one
is open.
A bit of a hidden spot that Ifound by accident is calve.
This is a collection of shrineson the hillside.
About 10 minutes walk from thecenter of old Bau.
So if you head out up the roadto the east and then take a
(02:41):
little turn off, it is marked onGoogle Maps.
Now this is interesting both forthe collection of Catholic
shrines.
It's a beautiful statue with theVirgin Mary and it also offers
probably the best views.
Of the town and of thecoastline.
So you get spectacular viewsthere looking out towards
Waterbury Beach and you can seeback towards the city center of
Auo.
So I highly recommend visitingthere Back in old Auo sent
(03:04):
Anthony Cathedral is relativelynew, but it's quite a nice
cathedral
Balco
is famous, if I can use that word for its swimming pool.
It's probably one of the best inthe country, although there's
not a huge amount ofcompetition.
But it is a beautiful Portugueseera pool that was built by the
nearby Posada which is quite artmarket accommodation.
Famous for its pastel, pinkcolor that was built in the
(03:27):
1950s.
And so they built the posadawhere you can stay now.
And they built the swimmingpool, the bassal.
It's open five days a week, andit only costs 50 cents to go and
swim in this beautiful naturalspring fed pool.
Just bear in mind that onMondays and Thursdays they drain
the pool, which is quiteinteresting just to see an empty
(03:48):
concrete pool.
But you can't swim those days.
So best to go on the other days.
Now from be cow, if you headnorth towards the coast, the
road is quite winding butreasonable a prominent landmark
on the way is, fat Domine, whichis an unusual rock arch with a
tree growing on top.
It's quite photogenic.
It's not very well marked, butif you're heading towards water
bouch, you will drive past it onthe right Water.
(04:11):
Bo Beach is a very picture risk,palm lined beach, but it's best
to stay on the beach, not gointo the waters as crocodiles
are often seen there on my.
First visit there, there was afour or five meter crocodile
happily swam by, and so I'd stayout of the water, but it's
definitely worth visiting.
Waterbury Beach is a beautifulplace.
(04:32):
Heading out to the east ofBacao, there is a large military
cemetery, which is one of twoIndonesian military cemeteries
in Timor-Leste.
Originally there were 15, butthey've consolidated them down
to two to make them easier tomaintain.
So there's about 300 gravesthere.
Quite a lot of those wererelocated from other sites
around Timor, and it's very.
(04:54):
Different to a standard TimorEast Cemetery.
It's very orderly, lots of whitecrosses, quite atmospheric,
heading south inland from Bacao.
You head towards VE on the way.
There are some Japanese tunnels.
So during World War ii, theJapanese invaded Timor.
There was a series of tunnelsdug here, probably more likely
by the Timorese locals ratherthan the Japanese.
(05:16):
But they're interconnected andthey're called either Japanese
tunnels or the seven cavesbecause there are seven
interconnected tunnels which areworth an explore.
Ali itself is a pleasant smalltown, about an hour's drive
south of Baal that also has somenice Portuguese colonial
architecture, and there are somevery photogenic rice fields and
terraces nearby.
(05:36):
During the Portuguese era, venwas a popular place for
Portuguese to escape the heat ofthe coast.
And there was an old royalschool, the Escal do Reno which
was one of only two publicschools in the country when it
opened in the 1930s and duringthe Indonesia occupation, it was
turned into an orphanage.
The school is now a school.
The building's seen better days,but it is quite atmospheric and
(05:56):
definitely worth a visit.
Opposite.
It is the main Catholiccathedral and there are large
local markets held in town onWednesdays and Saturdays.
There's actually quite a lot todo in Seaga around ve There's an
interesting lake.
There's some natural hotsprings.
It's a natural bridge.
So it is worth some time thereif you're having an extended
stay in Timor.
Couple other towns worth notingin Baal.
(06:18):
So Ver Massi is the first townyou will enter when you cross
into Baal from Manto.
That has two main sites.
There's quite an attractivechurch, which has seen better
days.
And then on the hillside abovetown, other remains of a
Portuguese era of fault.
There's not much left of thefort itself, but it does offer
great views across thesurrounding landscape of the
Massi River.
(06:39):
Also on the way to Ven is asmall town called Gar Ear, which
is easy to drive through but itis home to a giant colony of
fruit bats, which is about fiveminutes walk behind the dark
yellow church, which is quite anunusual design compared to most
TIMOs churches, and it also ishome to a vast cemetery, which
is probably the most cynicallylocated in the country with
(07:00):
great views of matter.
BN in the distance matter.
BN is the second highest peak inTimor.
A bit of an unknown gem.
And again, one that's easy tomiss if you're just driving
through.
But the town of lagger, which isto the east of Baal, actually
has quite a lot to do if youhead off the main road.
On the main road you will seethe local church built in the
seventies, which is very blue,and that's quite an obvious
(07:22):
landmark.
Across the road from
it is a monument depicting.
Tim's being introduced to Catholicism by Portuguese Friar.
Now if you take the parallelroad up the hillside, there's
the Portuguese era Lagger Fault,which is quite well-preserved
with a standard square designwith two round towers on
opposite corners.
Then if you head up the roadtowards Bgea inland, there's a
(07:43):
series of 14 white crossesmarking the stations of the
cross, and you get beautifulviews from that short walk.
And if you continue up thatroad, there's a site with many
Luli, a sacred Timorese houses,and it's probably the best
places I've seen in the countryto see them because there are,
it's probably half a dozen luliand they range in design from
traditional style thatch roof tomore modern corrugated roofs.
(08:06):
So it's quite interesting todifferent architecture over
time.
And if you continue up that roadtowards bigge, there's a huge
and very impressive cemeterydedicated to the martyrs of the
struggle for timor'sindependence from Indonesia.
Heading up to Bagge is a veryscenic, but quite a challenging
drive.
(08:26):
Now, when I last visited in late2024, there was a lot of work
going on the road, which willimprove things, but certainly as
you head further in land, theroad gets increasingly rough.
You will need a decent fourwheel drive or a motorbike with
the skills to.
Driving motorbike across somevery challenging stretches of
road, but there's a number ofinteresting villages you'll pass
(08:47):
through on the way And there arevery atmospheric ruins of Na
Banda Portuguese School, whichis about a kilometer before bag
year.
BGE is quite a challenge toreach, but it is the hub for
those who are interested inhiking up mat bien and is also
home to one the best faults inthe country, which was built by
the Portuguese at the end of the19th century, so relatively new
(09:09):
as a double perimeter wall andas an inner wall home to two
round corner towers and in 2014,it was turned into hotels.
It's quite an atmospheric placeto stay.
There were beautiful views allaround.
The fault came to prominence in1959 when there was a rebellion
and least a hundred insurgents.
Attempted to take the fault fromthe Portuguese, but they were
repelled by the soldiers, butthe fault was badly damaged at
(09:32):
the time.
So that's a bit of an overviewof what you can do in Bacao.
It is one of my favorite placesin Timor Le State for the
variety of historical sites andalso the beautiful landscapes.
Thank you so much for listeningto exploring Timor Less Day.
If you've enjoyed today'sepisode, please consider leaving
a rating or review.
It really helps more peoplediscover the show.
(09:53):
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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