Tatamailau 4.03

Tatamailau, or Tata Mailau, sometimes referred as Mount Ramelau, is the highest mountain in East Timor and also of Timor island at 2986m. The mountain is located approximately 70km south of the capital Dili in the district of Ainaro. While East Timor was a Portuguese colony it was called the highest mountain of Portugal in the twentieth century, since the highest mountain of Portugal proper is of a more modest height. The name "Tatamailau" is Mambai-origin, the local language and means "Grandfather of all". "Ramelau" is the name of the massif of the mountain. The Tatamailau is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and the subject of an annual pilgrimage commemorating the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, on or around 25 March. There is a three metre high statue of the Virgin Mary on the peak, which came from Italy and was erected during Indonesian occupation in 1997.EnvironmentIn the early 1980s the mountain was extensively covered with old growth montane forest and was identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area as it supported several endemic and restricted-range bird species. Since then there has been considerable environmental modification with very little natural tree cover remaining. Deforestation for grazing has left only a few patches of original forest, mainly near mountain crests. The lower slopes are mainly grass covered, with the upper slopes characterised by eucalypt regrowth.