The bathing pools of the old 'water palace' of Taman Sari
"Yogya," as its called by the locals (sometimes "Jogja"), is a relatively small town, with very little to see in the city itself, and very little nightlife. The main sight is the Kraton, the sultan's palace in the center of Yogya, and its many associated sites such as the 'water castle' Taman Sari and the carriage museum. It's sort of a city within the city. At its center are the sultan's quarters, which are open to the public for guided tours. The bulk of the palace is actually a museum displaying portraits of the previous sultans, family trees and gifts from foreign dignitaries. The old town area of Kota Gede is also worth a visit. Here,
there is an interesting old mosque housing the tomb of the first Muslim ruler of Yogya. Around this is a charming old neighborhood that's worth spending a few hours walking around.
At night head down to Jalan Malioboro, the city's main shopping district. It was the annual school holidays when we first visited (early July) so it actually seemed like the whole city was there, shopping and eating at the many stalls along the road. For restaurant fare, try the Legian Garden Restaurant next to the Malioboro Mall.
The Ratu Boko 'royal palace' complex
Yogya's main attraction is as a handy base camp for exploring the ancient temples and natural scenery of the surrounding countryside. Closest to town is the Prambanan, a huge complex of Hindu temples constructed in the middle of the 9th century. Not far from the Prambanan are the ruins of a hilltop palace (or maybe a monastery) called Ratu Boko.
Further afield is the massive Buddhist temple-mountain of Borobodur. Beyond Borobodur is the Dieng Plateau, where you'll find some of Indonesia's oldest temples, as well as an active volcanic landscape. The sights of Solo are also just an hour or so away, but I would recommend you stay a couple of nights there to really take in the city and its surrounding attractions.
The temple of Candi Sambisari, in its excavated pit. A short distance down a country lane off the main road from Yogyakarta to Prambanan is the tiny temple of Candi Sambisari. The temple was built late in the Eighth Century, but was more or less abandoned after a few hundred years. It was eventually buried by ash and dirt, and was only re-discovered in 1966, when a farmer struck a stone with his hoe, which turned out to be the top of the central sanctuary.
The carriage museum is housed in a building to the west of the main Kraton palace in Yogyakarta. The displays of the museum should be no surprise: royal carriages used by the sultans from years past. Some of the special carriages were used in coronation ceremonies while others were for day-to-day use. There is even one that was used for funerals.
Simple yet ornate carriage fit for a princess The exhibits are a bit dusty - apparently the carriages are only ritually washed once a year, and there are no signs in English, so you need to have a keen interest in such things to visit.
Being well on the main tourist trail, Yogyakarta is well connected to the other main tourist and business cities of Indonesia.
Yogyakarta By Air The national carrier, Garuda, offers several flights between Jakarta or Bali and Yogyakarta. Some of the other domestic carriers also provide service to other destinations such as Surabaya. See the page on getting around Indonesia for a list of domestic carriers.
Domestic Arrivals in Yogyakarta On landing at Yogyakarta's airport, your plane will park on the tarmac.
Yogyakarta's founding and importance arises from a dispute in 1755 between the susuhunan (king) of Surakarta (Solo) and his brother about cooperating with the Dutch colonial government, among other things. The then Prince Mangkubumi left Solo in a huff and returned to Yogyakarta to build the kraton. He took the title of sultan, and his descendants rule Yogyakarta, albeit ceremonially, to this day.
Yogyakarta's prominence in the present day may also be due in part to the role supposedly played by the city and its sultans in the expulsion of the Dutch.
As a popular destination for domestic tourism, Yogya does have a large number of hotels, especially inexpensive two and three star accommodations, as well as many traditional guesthouses (losmen). However, it does have some unbelievably stunning resorts dotted around the countryside, especially near Borobodur.
Closer to town, the Sheraton Mastika took our breath away the first time we set foot in it. Sadly, it was damaged by the May 2006 earthquake and was forced to close.
Gateway to the grave of Java's first Sultan. What is now the Kota Gede district of Yogyakarta is in fact the original capital of the Mataram kingdom, the great sixteenth century Muslim kingdom which held sway over most of Java, until the Dutch arrived. The city was founded by the first sultan of Mataram, Panembahan Senopati, in 1582. Not much of the old capital remains, but Senopati is buried in the graveyard of a very old mosque deep in the small back alleys of the old city.
At the center of Yogyakarta lies a city within the city: the Kraton. Built in the middle of the eighteenth century, this walled-city serves as the home of the sultans of what remains of the Mataram kingdom to this day. The palace is open to guided tours for properly dressed guests. Inside you'll find many shady courtyards connected by beautifully decorated covered walks.
One of the large open courtyards around a pendopo Of particular interest are the ornate reception halls as well as the large open air pendopos for listing to gamelan performances.
Most of the sights of Yogyakarta city are arranged along Malioboro Street, which is also the city's traditional shopping district. At one end of the wide boulevard is the Kraton, or sultan's palace. The Kraton is actually a huge complex of interesting things to see, which not only includes the sultan's current residence, but also the old water palace and a carriage museum.
Away from Malioboro Street, other interesting sights include the old city of Kota Gede and the museum of one of Indonesia's premier artists, Affandi.
As Indonesia's 'cultural capital' there are a number of museums around Yogyakarta. Here's a short list of the options available that you might want to visit:
Museum Affandi The artist known simply as Affandi is one of Indonesia's most famous artists. His former home and studio is now a museum displaying his work, his collection and the work of other Indonesian artists. Carriage Museum The carriage museum is housed in a building to the west of the main Kraton palace in Yogyakarta and displays the carriages once used by the sultans and their family.
Just about 10 miles outside of Yogyakarta in central Java is the temple complex of Prambanan. This huge complex of Hindu temples was constructed between the 8th and 10th centuries. The remains of 244 temples have been identified in the complex, making it easily the largest Hindu temple complex on Java. The temples fell into disuse when the kings of Java moved their capital to the East, and then many were destroyed by earthquakes.
Ratu Boko is one of the more curious ancient sites around Yogyakarta. Debate continues over whether it was a royal palace or a religious place. The hilltop site, probably built in the eight century, has elements of both. It's a very large, sprawling site, with very few complete structures. Most of what you can see are stone walls and platforms. The platforms probably supported wooden structures, which would be typical of palace complexes.
Malioboro Street Yogyakarta is a popular shopping destination for domestic tourists in Indonesia. It's well known as a center for batik production. Malioboro Street is the city's main shopping district, and it's lined with batik boutiques, shops and stalls. Despite the number of shops, you'll be hard pressed to find anything other than batik here.
One of Yogyakarta's oldest shopping malls is also on Malioboro. It does have shops selling goods other than batik, as well as a supermarket and a few fast food restaurants.
The Taman Sari, or Water Castle, is part of the Yogyakarta Kraton (Palace) complex. It was once a sprawling pleasure place for the sultan and his harem. It's a little hard to imagine what it must have been like when it was in use, since much of the area which is now covered by small shacks and houses was once a lake. The underground passages that connect some parts of the complex were actually under-water tunnels.
Like all of Indonesia, Yogyakarta has a tropical climate, with warm temperatures all year and an annual monsoon. It's worth noting for those in North America and Europe that Yogyakarta is south of the equator, so the coolest months are June, July and August, while the hottest months are April and December.
The cool season is also the driest time of year, while December, January and February are the wettest.
The main sanctuary of Candi Sewu Candi Sewu is a Buddhist temple just 800 meters north of the great Prambanan complex, yet very few people visit the place when they come to Prambanan. In overall concept, the plan of Sewu loosely resembles that of Prambanan, in that a large central sanctuary is surrounded by a large number (240 to be exact) of smaller chapels. However, Sewu is much smaller than Prambanan, and the central sanctuary is but a single structure, topped by five stupas.
September 2011
The 1001 Malam is one of several small hotels and guesthouses in the area near Yogyakarta's main Tugu Train Station. This can be a very handy area to stay in, close to the sights and with a number of dining options. The big drawback is part of what makes it handy: proximity to the train station. You'll hear the whistle of every train that departs the station, which at least once an hour in the day time.
25 July 2007
I'd have to describe the Dusun Jogja Village Inn as "pleasantly funky". I'm sure there are some to whom the charms of this place won't appeal, but I found it to be a quite pleasant change from the bland corporate hotels I usually end up at on my travels. Fortunately, the owners of the Dusun have generally avoided using the word "boutique" to describe their property. There's few pretensions here.
The artist known simply as Affandi is one of Indonesia's most famous artists. He was born near Jakarta in 1907. He had nor formal education as an artist, but gained popularity in the 1950s with his expressionist style. His work was exhibited in the Venice Biennale in 1954.
Gallery 2 and a traveling cart In the mid-1970s Affandi began construction of his home and gallery on the banks of the Ganjah Wong River in Yogyakarta.
The Sonobudoyo Museum in Yogyakarta The Sonobudoyo Museum near the Kraton reputedly has a collection that is second only to the National Museum in Jakarta. There are some interesting displays, especially of shadow puppets, and there are some nice traditional architectural elements that you'd expect to see only in Bali, but the museum is very dark and many of the information cards are not in English (although at least some are).
