A little farther from Dili, though still very close, is the mountain town of Dare. It’s only about a 30-minute drive from the capital, and since taxis were so cheap, I hired one to take me there. Along the way I saw plenty of locals traveling between towns on trucks like this one.
I couldn’t imagine these rides costing more than a dollar or so, and with so many trucks traveling along the roads, they seemed to provide an easy and inexpensive way for locals to get around.
Into the Mountains
Much of the landscape around Dili is very dry, but as I climbed higher into the mountains, the scenery changed dramatically. The vegetation became much thicker and greener, with tropical jungle and some interesting plant life along the way.
Among the dense vegetation were some enormous trees like this one. The higher elevation around Dare felt completely different from the hot and dry coastal landscape I had left behind near Dili.
I also came across this edible fruit, which I had seen being sold in local markets.
This strange little plant was something I’d never seen before. I came across several of them in the area, and none seemed to grow much taller than about a foot.
Dare
There didn’t seem to be much to the town of Dare itself, although it’s possible my taxi driver never took me all the way into the center. The local church appeared to be undergoing restoration, with dozens of people working around the grounds during my visit.
World War II Memorial
The most significant place I visited in Dare was its World War II memorial. The Australian and Timorese memorial commemorates the events that took place here during the war and the enormous sacrifices made by the people of Timor.
A small museum and cafe at the memorial tells the story of the fighting that took place here. Japan invaded Portuguese Timor in 1942, where Australian forces were also present. Although Japanese forces quickly occupied the island, Australian commandos and Timorese locals continued a guerrilla campaign against them.
Australian forces were eventually withdrawn, while the Timorese population suffered devastating losses during the occupation. Tens of thousands of Timorese are estimated to have died before the Japanese occupation ended with World War II in 1945. Today the memorial in Dare preserves the history of the Timorese who supported the Allied campaign and the enormous price the local population paid during the war.
