Natarbora to Manatutu

Natarbora to Manatutu

The road between Natarbora and Manatutu is not very heavily used. There are no shops or benzine dealers along the way.

If you have mechanical breakdowns the wait for the next vehicle coming through might be day or two.

The government has a road upgrading project underway making the highway more user friendly with new bridges and a wider smoother roadway. The closer you get to Manatutu, the better the road gets.

In the south all that bouncing around on the unimproved roadway dislodged the day pack off the back of my motorbike. It was secured with 6 bungee cords but I lost it anyway.

I wasn’t about to turn back and try to find it because my bike was running low on fuel.

The last time I filled my tank had been in Same south of Maubisse. Fortunately I thought to fill two 1.5 liter aqua bottles with gasoline because the shop in Natarbora was out of gas.

It is a good feeling to be out there all alone on that desolate highway but it would be a bit of a nightmare if you break down. Even a flat tire would become a major hassle.

The trip from Maubisse down to Betano, across to Natarbora and up to Manatutu over to Dili takes about 10-12 hours depending on the problems you run into.

The coast road between Betano and Natarbora is smooth sailing but gets more difficult if you continue east towards Viqueque or turn north to Manatutu.

There is a river between Natarbora and Viqueque that is probably impassible after a heavy rain.

Natarbora to Manatutu