Dili Ridges 3 and a Half Traditional Cache
Shamcock: This one I know has been nicked by the locals ...so best archived. But it's still worth a visit ..an amazing walk up into the hills near Dili...you go back 100 years in a few kilometers.
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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Drive east out of Dili on the road through Becora to Here and Balcau. At the point where the road finishes its first climb out of Dili and starts to drop down the hillside into Here turn right at the ridge top and park at the small school just a few metres off the main road.
Follow this track for a couple of kilometers to find our cache hidden in the rock wall of the track. On the way you’ll get spectacular views all along the north coast from Dili to Here and beyond.
Walking in the hills behind Dili is so good that when a dry and sunny Sunday morning comes along we have to go!
It was time to add to our Triumvirate of ‘Dili Ridge’ caches so we named this one :
Dili Ridges 3 and a Half!
Drive out of Dili through the eastern suburbs of Becora and take the main road out of town towards Here and Bacau, Timor-Leste’s second city.
The road, once past the bus station at the edge of town climbs steeply up to a low pass. At this point a rough road to the left takes you to the Telecom Towers which are visible from the city centre, and a rough road to the right also runs up into the hills. Take the road to the right and park at the school near to the main road and start your walk uphill from there:
S 08° 33’ 58.1”
E 125° 37’ 53.9”
Elevation 255 metres
Within a few hundred metres there is a junction :
S 08° 34’ 03.6”
E 125° 37’ 54.1”
Elevation 313 metres
…where you turn left and follow the track up past some basalt cliffs. After a hairpin bend you’ll see an old Portuguese Trig Point on the right. The views from here are fantastic. Walk on to the next junction:
S 08° 34’ 09.3”
E 125° 37’ 53.1”
Elevation 362 metres
….and take the left fork along the track up the valley side. Follow this for about 1.7 Kms to the next fork* in the road and take the left fork:
S 08° 35’ 01.6”
E 125° 37’ 54.2”
Elevation 552 metres
…and walk on steadily up and across the valley side, roughly eastwards for another kilometer or so when you come to a ‘knick point’ in the ridge where the track crosses the ridge and turns back westwards to drop down into the next valley.
Here there is a small house and nearby beside the track a small sandstone cliff where we hid the cache :
S 08° 35’ 07.01”
E 125° 38’ 21.1”
Elevation 610 metres.
Here you are a century and 100 miles from Dili, or so it seems. If you follow this track onwards back towards the west and stay close to the ridge top you’ll eventually come across a badly degraded road which if you follow downhill will eventually return you to the forked junction (*).
This makes a spectacular circular walk and takes about 3 hours from the school up into the hills and back down to the school again.
Throughout you’ll get spectacular views across the city and further afield to the islands of Alor, Atauro and Wetar to the north across the Wetar Straits.
It’s a great way to spend a sunny Sunday morning!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Uvqqra qrrc va n qnex penpx (oruvaq n srj fgbarf) jurer gur fnaqfgbar ebpx unf orra sbyqrq.
Lbh’yy arrq fznyy unaqf gb svaq vg.
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