Jaco (East Timor)

Jaco
	Tropical forest on Jaco
Waters	Pacific Ocean
Archipelago	Timor Archipelago
Geographical location	8 ° 25 '30 " S , 127 ° 19' 30" E Coordinates: 8 ° 25 '30 " S , 127 ° 19' 30" E
length	4.2 km
surface	8 km²
Highest elevation	100 m
Residents	uninhabited
	The island of Jaco in the east of the Lautém municipality

Jaco (also: Jako , in Fataluku : Totina, Tontina ) is a Southeast Asian island in the Lesser Sunda Islands . Jaco is upstream of the eastern tip with Cape Cutcha of the island of Timor and belongs to East Timor ( Suco and Tutuala administrative office , Lautém municipality ).

overview

View of Jaco from the beach Valu from

View from the island of Jaco towards the southwest on Timor with the mountain Paitchau.

Jaco is made of limestone formed from corals. Limestone cliffs and coral reefs surround the densely forested island, which is part of the Nino Konis Santana National Park . The annual average temperature is almost 27 ° C. The annual rainfall is around 1436 mm, with the north and east coast of the small island being somewhat drier.

Climate data
Annual rainfall (2000)
Average annual temperature (2000)

Such fishing boats are used to ferry tourists to Jaco

Jaco is seen by the local people as sacred, as the here north to Banda ( Tasi Feto , the woman sea) and the south facing Timor Sea ( Tasi Mane meet the men sea). Entering the island, fishing and swimming is therefore prohibited in principle ( Tara Bandu ). Today, however, fishermen drive tourists from the beach of Valu opposite to the sandy beaches of Jacos for snorkeling and diving. Overnight stays on the island are still not permitted. In February and March, Meci worms ( Eunice viridis ) are harvested from the sea at the Mechi , the great festival on the north coast.

The only building on the island was a lighthouse from the Indonesian occupation, a 35 m high, white scaffolding tower. In 2010 it was switched off. The tower is no longer standing.

Rare birds such as the great cuckoo pigeon ( Macropygia magna ) and the orpheus thick head ( Pachycephala orpheus ) live on the approximately 8 km² large and up to 100 meters high island . Mane deer ( Rusa timorensis ) can also be found here , which have got used to drinking salt water due to the lack of fresh water on the island. In 2019 there were around 80 deer on the island. However, as the green withered with late rain in December this year, several deer died. 30 of them swam the 600 meters to the shore of Timor in search of food. The beaches in the southeast are used by sea turtles to lay their eggs. Representatives of the reptiles living on the island are smooth night skinks and forest skinks . In the surrounding waters you can watch whales and dolphins in addition to numerous species of fish.