[2][3] Another theory points to the Tokodede expression Likis Aá, meaning 'motion' or 'change', referring to an incident during the founding of the city of Vila de Liquiçá.

After the Portuguese had chosen the settlement site, people started clearing the forest there and turning it into an open space.

The local people did not understand the question, and so the Portuguese tried to communicate with gestures by moving their hands back and forth.

Widely known as a beautiful location, it has a breath-taking view of the Ombai Strait, which is most visible as you drive into Liquiçá from Dili, rounding the last mountain curve before descending into the valley.

The only downside to its beauty is the large population of mosquitoes which carry both the deadly diseases malaria and dengue fever.

Originally, there were 14 International Police assigned to Liquiçá, representing Sweden, Canada, Great Britain, Ghana, Malaysia, and the United States.

It was in Liquiçá that the first International Police officer for the East Timor mission died, as a result of contracting dengue fever; he was from Ghana.

Most of the buildings were constructed during the Indonesian occupation, but most of them were destroyed during the militia riots and violent onslaughts following and leading up to the referendum in 1999.