Dolok Oan (Cristo Rei Back Beach) — Attraction in Dili

When Timor Leste was occupied by Indonesia, this beach was known as "Pantai pasir putih" in Bahasa Indonesia, or "White sand beach". The name is appropriate - although not particularly imaginative - as the beach is covered in white sand!

When I visited, some 23 years ago, the beach was quite eerie. It was deserted, apart from myself, and there were little concrete picnic shelters dotted along the beach that were slowly filling with drifting sand or become overgrown with trees. There were also some old, decrepit "pedalo" boats, little boats that you can pedal in calm water, that were half-buried in the sand. Clearly, the shelters and pedal-boats dated from the 1970s, some twenty years earlier, when East Timor was a Portuguese colony and a popular destination for Portuguese holiday-makers.

It would be interesting to know if any of the old, decrepit concrete picnic shelters, or any other trace of its old history,...

Lots of garbage (i.e. plastic bottles, glass bottles, cigarette butts, styrofoam containers). Water is clear (but it became dirty after a while). Hard to find a shade on a sunny day. From Cristo Rei beach you can climb the stairs halfway to Cristo Rei statue and then head down to Dolok Oan or you can take the road around (by going up on the roundabout). If you are looking for a more peaceful and quiet day, I would recommend going to Dolok Oan on a weekday as it is usually crowded on Sundays and public holidays. Also I recommend bringing your own food and drinks as there are no restaurants or convenience stores nearby (although one or two peddlers might be around selling oranges, banana, or...

To situate you before you go below the water's surface, the Christo Rei East beach is only about 20 minutes from Dili by car. You have to drive over the ridge and turn back on a coastal road to reach it. Because it is a bit farther than the more common Christo Rei beach, it is much less crowded and sometimes you get the whole beach to yourself. For divers, the entry is very gradual on sandy bottom covered in sea grass where you may encounter seahorses if you are lucky (see Charlie the seahorse below). The area is covered in giant clams in many colors and the reefs harbor lots of cool critters....