Atambua is the regency seat of
Belu Regency
Belu Regency is a regency in East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia. Established on 20 December 1958, Belu Regency has its seat (capital) in the large town of Atambua.
In December 2012 a separate Regency - Malaka Regency - was created from t ...
,
East Nusa Tenggara
East Nusa Tenggara ( id, Nusa Tenggara Timur – NTT; pt, Sonda Oriental) is the southernmost province of Indonesia. It comprises the eastern portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, facing the Indian Ocean in the south and the Flores Sea in the nor ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
.
The town stretches as far as 8.5 km from north to south and 5 km from east to west, and is located in the north of the western half of
Timor Island
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western part. The Indonesian part, also ...
. The town is located at an altitude of about 350 m above sea level with temperatures ranging between 23 and 35 degrees Celsius making this area feel quite warm.
An influx of citizens fleeing from
East Timor
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...
in 1999 made Atambua a big town. It is now the second-largest town in West Timor behind
Kupang
Kupang ( id, Kota Kupang, ), formerly known as Koepang, is the capital of the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. At the 2020 C ensus, it had a population of 442,758; the official estimate as at mid 2021 was 455,850. It is the largest ci ...
, also the fourth-largest town in East Nusa Tenggara behind
Kupang
Kupang ( id, Kota Kupang, ), formerly known as Koepang, is the capital of the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. At the 2020 C ensus, it had a population of 442,758; the official estimate as at mid 2021 was 455,850. It is the largest ci ...
,
Maumere
Maumere is the administrative seat of the Sikka Regency and the second-largest town (after Ende) on Flores Island, Indonesia. It lies on the north coast of the island and the port is in the north-west part of the town. Administratively the town ...
and
Ende. Most of its citizens speak Tetun and Dawan. Atambua is a multi-ethnic town with most of its citizens from Timor, Rote, Sabu, and Flores with some emigrants from
East Timor
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...
and
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. But in spite of diversity, the citizens still live in harmony.
The town's religion is made up of over 90% of
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
, 5% of
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
and a few more of Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist. The town is home to the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Atambua
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Atambua ( la, Atambuen(sis)) is a Latin suffragan diocese in the Ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan of Kupang, in Indonesia, yet still dependent of the Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
...
. The Diocese's population is over 95% Catholic, among the highest percentages of Catholics in all of Indonesia.
History
Atambua was founded by the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
in October 1916, having moved from
Atapupu
Atapupu is a port town in the Indonesian part of Timor Island (West Timor, in Kakuluk Mesak District of Belu Regency in East Nusa Tenggara Province. It is located on the northernmost part of West Timor, close to the border with East Timor.
Histor ...
, a port village in Kakuluk Mesak. Atambua was briefly occupied by the
Imperial Japanese Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
from 1942 to 1943. They planted many trees, which can be seen in ''Hutan Jati Nenuk''. After Independence, Indonesia's first president,
Sukarno
Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967.
Sukarno was the leader of ...
went to Atambua and planted more trees in the place now called ''Lapangan Umum''. The most notable tree planted there is the banyan tree. In September 1999, more than 250,000 refugees arrived here from
East Timor
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...
, after their vote for independence and the following violence. As late as 2002, an estimated 60,000 refugees remained in camps.
East Timor's refugees head home, BBC April 11, 2002
/ref>
Media
Television
As like Belu Regency
Belu Regency is a regency in East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia. Established on 20 December 1958, Belu Regency has its seat (capital) in the large town of Atambua.
In December 2012 a separate Regency - Malaka Regency - was created from t ...
, the television in this town is limited, which are:
* TVRI (UHF 10)
* Belu TV (UHF 37)
Radio AM/FM
In this town there are many radio stations, which are:
*) SCBT means Saluran Citra Budaya Timor (Timor Culture Channel)
**) The radio is currently turned off
Transportation Systems
The town's transport system relies mainly on minibuses, usually called ''bemo'' or ''mikrolet'', and ''"motorcycle taxi"'' (Ojek) provide an alternative. There are only four routes in the town served by the Mikrolets that connect the central area of Atambua with outlying zones. The ''ojek''s do not have a fixed route.
Land Transportation
Inter-city buses connect Atambua with other towns in West Timor. The city and towns that can be connected are Kupang
Kupang ( id, Kota Kupang, ), formerly known as Koepang, is the capital of the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. At the 2020 C ensus, it had a population of 442,758; the official estimate as at mid 2021 was 455,850. It is the largest ci ...
, Soe and Kefamenanu; the distance between Atambua and Kefamenanu is 87 km, between Atambua and Soe is 179 km, and between Atambua and Kupang is 289 km.
Atambua is a major gateway to East Timor by land. To go to East Timor
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...
(Timor-Leste
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...
), the vehicles usually used by road to Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
-East Timor
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...
(Timor-Leste
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...
) Immigration checks in Mota'ain
Mota'ain, also spelled Motain, Mota'in or Mota Ain, is a hamlet in the Silawan village ('' desa''), East Tasifeto district (''kecamatan''), Belu Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia.
A major border crossing checkpoint with customs, immigration ...
(Indonesia) near Batugade
Batugade is a suco (village) located in Balibó Subdistrict, Bobonaro Municipality of East Timor. The administrative seat of the suco is the village of Batugade.
Batugade is located on the main road between Dili and Kupang, the capital of Nusa Te ...
are mostly with Bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
and Car, such as SUV
A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive.
There is no commonly agreed-upon definiti ...
s and MPVs and Motorcycles
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
. The distance between Atambua and Mota'ain (Indonesia-Timor Leste borders) is 36 km.
Air Transportation
There is an airport in Atambua, A. A. Bere Tallo Airport
A.A. Bere Tallo Airport, previously known as Haliwen Airport is an airport in Atambua, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia.
It changed its name in 2013, to match local government's regulation on airport naming.
History
The airport was a stop-over lo ...
, about 5 kilometers from the town centre. The airport's runway is 1600m long and can therefore be used by a quite big aircraft. Daily flights to the airport is used by the Susi Air
PT ASI Pudjiastuti Aviation, operating as Susi Air, is a scheduled and charter airline based in Pangandaran, West Java, Indonesia. Sixty percent of the airline's operation serves commercial regular routes and pioneer routes while the rest is ch ...
plane, Wings Air
PT Wings Abadi Airlines, operating as Wings Air, is a scheduled commuter passenger low cost airline based in Jakarta, Indonesia. The airline operates out of Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport in Makassar as well as several other airports aro ...
plane and Trans Nusa plane. All these flights are mainly on the Atambua - Kupang
Kupang ( id, Kota Kupang, ), formerly known as Koepang, is the capital of the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. At the 2020 C ensus, it had a population of 442,758; the official estimate as at mid 2021 was 455,850. It is the largest ci ...
route.
Water Transportation
Atambua also has two sea ports, Atapupu for cargo and oil, and Teluk Gurita for passengers (ferry port). There is a weekly Atambua-Kalabahi (Alor) ferry service.
Climate
Atambua has a tropical savanna climate
Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...
(Aw) with moderate to little rainfall from April to October and heavy rainfall from November to March.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atambua
Populated places in East Nusa Tenggara
Regency seats of East Nusa Tenggara
West Timor