Two days covers the city. Take the first for the history: the Resistance Archive and Museum, the Chega! exhibition in the old Comarca prison at Balide and Santa Cruz Cemetery, then climb to Cristo Rei for sunset and eat grilled fish on the Lecidere waterfront. Give the second to the water, a reef dive at Dili Rock or the ferry to Atauro.
Dili is a low, spread-out capital strung along a bay, with mountains behind it and a deep-water strait in front. It became independent in 2002, and the city still reads as a place working out what comes next: the resistance history is the museum, the reef is the day out.
A 27-metre Christ on a globe at the tip of the cape, reached by 570 concrete steps from the beach car park. Climb in the last hour of light: the whole bay turns towards you, and the Stations of the Cross line the way up.
The best single introduction to the country. "To Resist is to Win" walks through 24 years of occupation across 1,300 square metres: the guerrilla war in the mountains, the clandestine network in the towns, and the diplomatic front abroad.
A Portuguese-built prison from 1963 that the occupation used for political detainees, now the home of the truth commission's legacy. The cells are left open. Chega means "enough", and the exhibition earns the word.
Shore diving starts ten minutes from town: a sandy slope and a coral ridge with bommies and gorgonians, easy enough for a first dive. Dive Timor Lorosae has run trips here since 2000 and will also take you out to K41 or Atauro.
A 2016 Conservation International survey counted an average of 253 reef fish species per site here, the highest recorded anywhere. The slow government ferry takes around three hours to Beloi, so stay a night rather than turning straight round.
On 12 November 1991 Indonesian troops opened fire on a funeral procession here, and a smuggled film of it turned the world's attention to Timor. Little marks the day itself, but the grave of Sebastião Gomes is still a place of pilgrimage.
A small pink-walled compound selling tais, the hand-woven cloth UNESCO listed for urgent safeguarding in 2021, alongside carvings and silver. Pattern and colour tell you which district a piece comes from, and good work is worth paying for.
The white-sand beach on the eastern curve of the bay is where Dili goes at the end of the day. Beach bars line the road, the water is sheltered, and the view runs back across the bay to the city lights.
After dark the seafront fills with charcoal grills and plastic chairs on the sand, and the fish comes straight off the boats. Pick one, have it grilled, and eat it with rice and chilli where Dili itself eats.
The strait drops past 3,000 metres close to shore, and pygmy blue whales migrate through it. The peak runs from mid-October into November, when licensed operators run half- and full-day trips that also find sperm whales and dolphins.
Sandy slope and coral ridge, ten minutes from town. The easy first dive.
The 24-year struggle, told across 1,300 square metres.
The truth commission's exhibition inside the 1963 Comarca prison.
Site of the 12 November 1991 massacre and the grave of Sebastião Gomes.
Single-origin beans from the Ermera highlands, roasted on site since 2014.
Timorese-owned, cooking local ingredients inventively, and training young chefs.
Tais goods from weavers nationwide; profits fund the Alola Foundation.
The first modern mall in the country, opened in 2011. Supermarket, cinema and cafes.
Three hours by the slow ferry to the richest reef fish counts on record.
Pygmy blue whales in the Wetar Strait, mid-October to November.
The highest peak in the country, climbed before dawn from Hato Builico.
A public holiday for the men and women of the armed resistance.
A public holiday here, and the churches fill for the Stations of the Cross.
The anniversary of sovereignty in 2002, and the biggest civic day.
Full and half marathon plus shorter runs, backed by the President's office.
The anniversary of the 1999 referendum that ended the occupation.
Held on the anniversary of the 1991 Santa Cruz massacre.
The 1975 declaration, reversed by invasion nine days later.
The cathedral's own feast day, and a public holiday.
On the west side of the city. Direct flights to Darwin, Bali and Singapore; a taxi into town runs about $10, microlet 10 costs 25 cents.
Numbered minivans on fixed routes. Flag one down, tap a coin on the rail to stop, and pay 25 cents as you get off.
Unmetered, so agree the fare first. Nowhere in the city should cost more than $5 to $10.
Slow ferries leave Dili port most days for Beloi, around three hours. Check the schedule the day before.
Spanish mackerel marinated in tamarind, grilled with chilli and basil.
Corn, mung beans and pumpkin cooked slowly with garlic and onion.
Marinated meat slow-roasted inside a length of bamboo over coals.
Rice with coconut milk, wrapped in palm leaf and steamed.
Fermented anchovy relish with calamansi, onion and chilli.
The Portuguese-influenced curry, chicken or beef in coconut milk.
A layered coconut cake for weddings and Christmas.
Grown in the highlands, and the biggest export after oil and gas.
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