Jaco is a small island in the Lesser Sunda Islands

Lesser Sunda Islands

The Lesser Sunda Islands or Nusa Tenggara are a group of islands in the southern Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up the Sunda Islands...

. It lies across from the easternmost point of the island of Timor

Timor

Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. The island's surface is 30,777 square kilometres...

, Kap Cutcha. Its geographical coordinates are 8° 27' S and 127° 20' E. Politically it is part of the subdistrict of Tutuala

Tutuala

Tutuala is a town and subdistrict in the Lautém District of East Timor. Its population at the 2004 census was 3,707....

 within Lautém

Lautém

Lautém is one of the districts of East Timor, on the eastern end of the island of Timor. It has a population of 57,453 and an area of 1,702 km2. Its capital is Lospalos, which lies 248 km east of the national capital, Dili. The subdistricts are Iliomar, Lautém, Lospalos, Luro, and Tutuala.To the...

 district of East Timor

East Timor

The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...

. It is separated from the mainland by a narrow channel, suitable for passage by small vessels only. It is about 10 square kilometers in area and reaches about 100 meters in altitude.

The island is uninhabited. It is considered holy by the indigenous population and entering the island was forbidden. In our days, tourists are taken by fishermen to the island for diving and swimming.

It is designated as a "Wild Area". It has beautiful sand beaches. Native birds include the Dusky Cuckoo-dove

Dusky Cuckoo-dove

The Bar-necked Cuckoo-Dove is a species of bird in the Columbidae family.It is found in Indonesia and East Timor.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 24 July 2007....

 (Macropygia magna) and the Fawn-breasted Whistler

Fawn-breasted Whistler

The Fawn-breasted Whistler is a species of bird in the Pachycephalidae family.It is found in Indonesia and East Timor....

, (Pachycephala orpheus). It is also part of the new Nino Konis Santana National Park

Nino Konis Santana National Park

Nino Konis Santana National Park is East Timor's first national park. It was declared on August 3, 2007 and includes over 1,236 square kilometres of land. It links three important bird areas; Lore, Monte Paitchau and Lake Iralalara, and Jaco Island...

.