Indonesia / Timor LesteLesser Sunda IslandsIsland
Timor
30,777 km² rising to 2,963 m out of the Savu Sea.
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
30,777km²
Area
1,109km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
2,963m
Highest point
Tatamailau
3,368,735
People
30°C
Warmest sea
December
372km
To the mainland
When to go to Timor
Best for the beach from May to August.
The sea is warmest in December (30 °C) and coolest in August (27 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island bordering the south of maritime Southeast Asia and the north of the Australian continental plate
Timor is an island in Indonesia. It belongs to Lesser Sunda Islands. It covers 30,777 km², with 1,109 km of coastline. Its highest point, Tatamailau, rises to 2,963 m. About 3,368,735 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 372 km away.
Getting there
- Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport (DIL)main airport (4 on the island with scheduled flights)Car hire at DPS airport (Kuta, Badung)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesDili - Atauro Island, Dili - Oecussi, Kalabahi - Kupang, Larantuka - Kupang
- 372 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From May to Augustbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Timor.
- 126beachesPraia and 125 more
- 18viewpointsHoly Cross Viewpoint, Lost world, Sea View (675 asl) and 15 more
- 2lighthousesAtatada, Dili Harbor Lighthouse
- 9ferry terminalsFerry Dock (Abandoned), Porto de Dili, Kupang (Bolok) ferry port and 6 more
- 845named peaksMount Ramelau, Nuaf Lelokase, Nuaf Kolanen and 842 more
- 2volcanoesMud Volcanoes, Raitahu Mud Volcano
- 9waterfallsMota Bandeira, Waterfall, Bee tudak Waimali-meli and 6 more
- 8castles and fortsbatas dusun 4 dan belo, Portuguese Fort, Forte and 5 more
- 6ruins and archaeological sitesOld Customs Service Building, Il kere kere and 4 more
- 1dive centresCompass
- 1waymarked walking routesGunung Mutis
- 9campsitesBig meadow, Possible campsite, Wild Camp and 6 more
- 303hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 337restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Timor in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Timor, each with its own numbers.
14beaches and covesCoastya
5lakesLakeyas
9waterfallsCascadyas
Largest lake
0.65km²
Tasitolu
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
32.0°C
Lake Wetanas
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
30.4°C
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
14 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Beach Suailoro30.4°C
- Uatabo Beach29.8°C
- Dataran Praiavero30.0°C
- Teluk Oli’icove29.8°C
- Teluk Batubaocove29.8°C
- Teluk Selufucove29.8°C
- Teluk Sneticove30.1°C
- Teluk Nonicove30.2°C
6 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
5 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Tasitolu0.65km²
- Be Malai0.25km²
- Lake Wetanas0.24km²
- Nefo Na0.21km²
- Maubara Lake0.20km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
9 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Bandeira Waterfall
- Berloi Waterfall
- Tuda Tiris
- Tatrof Bohah Baliza
- Kilelo-Wasserfall
- Lubarmau
- Tishun
- Manu-Babi
1 more on CascadyasCascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 431 m above the sea. 30 % of it is below 200 m.
- 11 %0–50 m
- 18 %50–200 m
- 38 %200–500 m
- 25 %500–1,000 m
- 8 %1,000–2,000 m
- <1 %> 2,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
200 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Kupang474,801 people
- Dili150,000 people
- Atambua82,196 people
- Kefamenanu48,202 people
- Soe40,190 people
- Maliana22,000 people
- Suai21,539 people
- Likisá19,000 people
- Aileu17,356 people
- Lospalos17,186 people
- Atsabe16,304 people
- Baukau16,000 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 27 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 31 | 33 | 32 | 29 |
| Night low (°C) | 22 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 |
| Sea (°C) | 30 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 30 | 30 |
| Rain (mm) | 339 | 310 | 199 | 64 | 36 | 16 | 13 | 4 | 7 | 23 | 92 | 264 |
| Wet days | 24 | 23 | 19 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 22 |
| Sun h/day | 5.7 | 5.9 | 6.5 | 7.8 | 7.3 | 7.0 | 7.8 | 9.2 | 10.0 | 9.7 | 8.8 | 6.4 |
| Wind (km/h) | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 6 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.4 | −0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.5 |
| 2021 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.5 | −0.3 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.2 | +0.4 |
| 2022 | −0.2 | −0.1 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +1.0 | +1.0 | +0.4 | ±0.0 |
| 2023 | −0.1 | −0.3 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +0.4 | −0.3 | −0.1 | ±0.0 | −0.1 |
| 2024 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.5 | −0.1 |
| 2025 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.4 | −0.3 | −0.2 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Pantar IslandIndonesia733 km²862 m146 km away
Alor IslandIndonesia2,123 km²875 m165 km away
Lembata IslandIndonesia1,253 km²2 m171 km away
Rote IslandIndonesia1,210 km²320 m177 km away
AtauroTimor Leste140 km²975 m212 km away
Adonara IslandIndonesia508 km²1,659 m201 km away
Wetar IslandIndonesia2,622 km²493 m298 km away
Flores IslandIndonesia13,540 km²2,370 m333 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q83067) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Lakeyas, Cascadyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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