Wetar is a tropical island which belongs to the
Indonesian province of
Maluku and is the largest island of the
Barat Daya Islands (literally
Southwest Islands). It lies east of the
Lesser Sunda Islands, which include nearby
Alor and
Timor, but it is politically part of the
Maluku Islands. To the south, across the
Wetar Strait, lies the island of Timor; at its closest it is 50 km away. To the west, across the
Ombai Strait, lies the island of Alor. To the southwest is the very small island of
Liran, which is also part of Wetar
district (
kecamatan) and, further southwest, the small
East Timorese island of
Atauro. To the north is the
Banda Sea and to the east lie
Romang and
Damar Islands, while to the southeast lie the other principal islands of the Barat Daya Islands.