Timor, orange vendor on a beach in Dili

Getty Images/AFP Creative

Dili Waterfront

Dili


Watch kids kicking soccer balls around on the patches of sandy beach and runners sweating it out while you're strolling the decent walking path that runs along the waterfront. The grand Palácio do Governo is a highlight, as is Farol lighthouse to the west. Further west, oversized embassies take up space next to small expat-owned bars.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Dili attractions

1. Xanana Gusmão Reading Room

0.21 MILES

This complex houses memorabilia of Timor-Leste's first president, Xanana Gusmão, including the former presidential car (he opted for a cheap one at the…

2. Palácio do Governo

0.29 MILES

The grand, white Palácio do Governo dominates the town centre. The grounds here occasionally play host to events, but they're usually just a fancy car…

4. Resistência Timorense Arquivo e Museu

0.37 MILES

An excellent museum which commemorates in detail Timor-Leste's 24-year struggle against Indonesian occupation. Falintil’s resistance is brought to life…

5. Santa Cruz Massacre Memorial Monument

0.67 MILES

This sizeable monument opposite Motael Church marks where independence supporter Sebastião Gomes was shot by Indonesian forces on 28 October 1991. Built…

6. Igreja de Santo António de Motael

0.74 MILES

This waterfront Catholic church, fronted by a pretty garden, was one of the most important places in the story of the fight for Timorese independence…

7. Santa Cruz Cemetery

0.84 MILES

On 12 November 1991 Indonesian soldiers fired on a peaceful memorial procession for Sebastião Gomes heading from Motael Church to Santa Cruz Cemetery;…

8. Farol

0.91 MILES

This photogenic lighthouse beams northwest of Dili's seaport.