Dolphins and Whales, Fishing and Water Sports in Timor Leste

Dolphins and Whales, Fishing and Water Sports

Viewing dolphins and whales in the wild is exhilarating and Timor-Leste is a top location for this. While dolphins and especially the smaller whales, such as short-finned pilot and melon-headed, can be seen year round, from October to December the Wetar Strait separating Dili and Atauro becomes a major migratory route (a marine super highway) between the Pacific and Indian Oceans.  During this time different species of whales – including the blue, beaked, humpback, sperm, killer, short-finned pilot and melon-headed, along with very large pods of dolphins – can be viewed from cruise boats and the shoreline.  Marine scientists refer to Timor-Leste as a global hotspot for whales and dolphins due to their abundance, diversity and sheer density of numbers. Some of the diving operators run dolphin & whale watching cruises on a charter basis during the migration season.

The ocean around Timor-Leste also provides excellent fishing opportunities. Local people are adept with net, spear and trap. Arrange to go out with Timorese fishers in their colourful wooden craft for inshore fishing or charter a larger tourism boat and head for the deep. Big game fish that ply Timorese waters include giant trevally, yellow fin tuna, Spanish mackerel, sailfish and marlin.

In Dili, you can also enjoy a range of other water activities, from kayaking and sailing, sunset yacht cruises to jet-ski expeditions, and the latest sensations in extreme water sports, flyboarding and hoverboarding.