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On the rocks

The trip from the East Timor capital of Dili to Ile Kere Kere and its ancient artwork is arduous but well worth making, writes Jeremy Torr

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Ile Kere Kere. Photos: Jeremy Torr; Daniel J. Groshong

Sweat fills our eyes, our legs ache and we are desperate for a drink. Clinging jungle vines and bushes have scratched us, slippery roots and steep twisting track have tripped us and the heat and humidity have drained our little group.

Then, suddenly, the trail we’re following comes out onto a cliff ledge covered with fantastical gouges, lumps, bumps, colours, ridges and splashes of light. It takes a moment or two, as our eyes adjust, but it soon becomes apparent the ledge is part of a huge rock face, hundreds of metres high and honeycombed with caves, cracks and frozen, multicoloured waterfalls of ancient limestone.

This is Ile Kere Kere, a spooky place even in daylight.

The trip to the most easterly point of mainland East Timor – beyond which lies Jaco Island – is not for the pampered traveller but, if you do make it, you might be lucky enough to see the cliff paintings of Ile Kere Kere and meet their guardian, Ignacio.

 

DILI, THE CAPITAL of East Timor, is a chaotic maze of one-way streets and market-filled laneways.

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