Skip to content
Mixroutes
Dili
Capital and largest city of Timor-Leste

Dili

Dili is the capital and largest city of Timor-Leste.

Plan a trip to Dili→From Oecussi-Ambeno

It lies on the northern coast of the island of Timor, in a small area of flat land hemmed in by mountains. The climate is tropical with distinct wet and dry seasons.

Get in

Getting to Dili

  1. 01
    Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport
See

Worth seeing

  1. 01
    Cristo Rei

    The statue of Jesus that stands on a headland to the east of Dili.

  2. 02
    Cape Fatucama

    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.

  3. 03
    Resistance Museum

    Rua Universidade (next to the university).

  4. 04
    Dare War Memorial
  5. 05
    Motael Church
  6. 06
    Chega! Exhibition

    Avenida de Balide (Microlets #1 & #4), chegainfo.cnc@gmail.com.

Do

Things to do

There are good beaches near Dili. The ones near the centre of town are popular with kids but are polluted. The most accessible beaches are at Areia Branca near Christo Rei and they also have several bars and restaurants.

Eat

Where to eat

There are plenty of restaurants in Dili, from local, Italian, Portuguese to Australian. Most popular in the evenings are the seafood BBQ places east of Dili on the beach. Timorese and Indonesian warungs, where you pick your food from the window, are everywhere and cost $1.50-3.00 for a typical meal.

  1. 01
    New Lili's

    Prices have increased since they became popular.

  2. 02
    Starco Cafe

    Rue Presidente Nicolau Lobato.

  3. 03
    Bebonuk beach BBQs
  4. 04
    Castaway

    Avenida de Portugal (western beach road).

  5. 05
    Timor Plaza

    Has a food court with western and Asian dishes, at higher prices than elsewhere.

How locals move

Getting around Dili the local way

  • Go nextYou will need a 4WD to get there but it is well worth the trip.
  • Go nextAtauro has a public ferry every Saturday for $4 each way, leaving 09:00 and returning 15:00.
  • Go nextThe journey takes three hours, meaning a Saturday day trip leaves you with only three hours on the island, which is enough to explore around the port area and complete the single available activity which is to eat and buy trinkets at the small market.
  • Go nextDespite spending six hours on a ferry and only three hours on the island, the day trip is wildly popular with locals so the ferry may be very overcrowded.
  • Go nextGleno is suitable for a day trip, especially if you want to see some mountains while staying on decent roads.

From Wikivoyage: Dili, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.