Yogyakarta

The ancient Indonesian city of Yogyakarta is very attractive for tourists. Most often travelers come here who are interested in the temple complexes of Borobudur and Prambanan - the main historical sights of Indonesia in general and the islands of Java in particular. Thanks to them, this city is considered the cultural capital of the country.

Interesting Facts

Before studying the city itself, we learn a few moments about its past and present:

1. An interesting feature of Yogyakarta is its name. As soon as they do not name the city: Yogya, and Jogya, and Jokia. In fact, the settlement is named after the Indian city of Ayodhya, which is mentioned in the famous "Ramayana". The first part of the title, "Jokia" translates as "fit", "suitable", and the second - "map" - means "prosperous." In sum, "a city suitable for prosperity" comes out - that perfectly characterizes the modern Jogjakarta.
2. The history of the city originates from ancient times - around the 8th-10th century AD. At different times here were the kingdom of Mataram, the empire of Majapahit and the sultanate of Yogyakarta. Later, Java was under the protectorate of the Netherlands. Nowadays the administrative region of Yogyakarta has the status of a special district and represents the only monarchy in the territory of modern Indonesia, although the Sultan has not had actual power for a long time.
3. Part of the city was destroyed in 2006 during the First Javanese earthquake by force of 6 points. Then 4000 people died here.

Geographical information and climate

Yogyakarta is located in the central part of the island of Java in Indonesia, at an altitude of 113 km above sea level. The area of ​​the city is 32.87 square meters. km, and the population - 404,003 people (according to 2014).

The climate in this area is hot and very humid. The temperature fluctuates between + 26 ° C and + 32 ° C during the year. From November to February, humidity reaches 95%, in the dry season - from March to October - up to 75%.

Attractions in Yogyakarta

Among the popular places of the city are:

1. Museum Sonobudoyo - tells visitors about the history and culture of the island of Java. Guests are attracted by the traditional Javanese architecture and a rich collection of artifacts: ceramics, figurines, bronzes. And also here they arrange colorful puppet performances in the style of the Indonesian Shadow Vayang-Kulit.
2. Fredeburg is a museum-fort built in 1760, where you can see a collection of paintings and interesting historical dioramas. Attracting the very construction of the ancient fort, resembling a tortoise in its form, on each "paw" of which there are watchtowers.
3. Taman Sari is the former Sultan's palace, under which is located the so-called water castle. This is a whole network of secret passages and basins, preserved only partially.
4. Malioboro is the main tourist street in the city. There are many souvenir shops, cafes and travel agencies, where you can book sightseeing tours to local attractions.
5. Kraton Palace is the palace of the acting sultan, where he lives and works. Tourists visit the building with an excursion . Here you can visit an unusual museum dedicated to the carriages.

Excursions from Yogyakarta

In the vicinity of the city there are also many interesting places - for their sake, many foreign tourists come here:

1. Prambanan is 17 km away from the city. It is a complex of Hindu temples. The tour lasts no less than 2-3 hours. The ticket price is $ 18.
2. Borobudur is a huge Buddhist complex on the outskirts of Jogjakarta, where you can see many stupas, pyramids and Buddha images. Here you can ride elephants. In general, the temple lasts from 2 to 5 hours, the ticket costs $ 20.
3. Temple Mendut - is on the way to Borobudur. Here you will see a beautiful stone carving and a 3-meter Buddha statue.
4. Merapi Volcano - you can climb it to view the surroundings from a huge height and get adrenaline rush from the very fact of being on the most active in the country volcano. The ascent takes 4 hours, the descent - twice less. Tourists have 2 options: to purchase a tour to the volcano, or independently to find a guide and make an ascent.

Beaches

They are located south of the city. However, local beaches are not suitable for swimming because of strong winds and waves. Tourists come here to admire the sea, colorful green hills, ride a horse or just take a walk. In addition, there are several amazing natural sites here: the Gumbirovata Upland, the Langs Cave with underground lakes, the hot springs of Parangvedang and the dunes of Gumuk. The most popular beaches of Jogjakarta are Krakal, Glagah, Parangritis and Samas.

Hotels in Yogyakarta

The city offers a wide choice of hotels and guesthouses (the farther from the center, the cheaper they are). In the middle - the most popular - the price category, tourists noted positive reviews of the following establishments:

• Bamboo Bamboo Homestay;
• Gallery Prawirotaman Hotel;
• Grand Marto Hotel;
• Jogja Dreams Bed and Breakfast.

All these hotels are located not far from the center, in a quiet area of ​​Danunegaran, and have a good quality-price ratio.

Where to eat?

There are several ways to organize meals for tourists:

• in the restaurant at the hotel, if there is one;
• cheap local eateries (from $ 1 per dish);
• cafes and restaurants for tourists - there are many of them on Malioboro street;
• food courts in large shopping centers - for many the most acceptable option.

Shopping Features

They bring from Yogyakarta usually batik, amulets and amulets, masks, products made of wood and ceramics. The best tourist shopping is in shops on Malioboro street. Here come from all over the island of Java, so diverse is the choice of souvenir products .

Local transport

Two kinds of buses run around the city:

• High-speed TransJogja work from 6:00 to 22:00. Equipped with air conditioning, stop only at equipped stops. Tickets are purchased at the checkout (3000 rupees = $ 0.23). There are 6 routes: 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B. They pass through the most important tourist places and sights of Yogyakarta;
• ordinary city minibus. Work from 6:00 to 17:00. The level of comfort is relatively lower. The ticket costs 2500 rupees ($ 0.19).

In addition to buses, taxis, mototaxi, pedicabs and even horse-drawn carts are running around the city. The latter are oriented to tourists and accommodate 4-5 passengers.

How to get there?

Yogyakarta is equidistant from the two largest cities of the island of Java - Surabaya and the capital of the island, Jakarta . You can get them here in several ways:

1. By air - domestic flights to Indonesia are cheap, especially if you buy tickets from the low-cost airline AirAsia. At 8 km from Jogjakarta is Adisukjipto Airport (Adisutjipto International Airport). To get from it to the city is convenient by bus 1B.
2. By train, as practice shows, you can get from Jakarta to Yogyakarta by rail. The journey takes about 8 hours. When buying tickets at the capital box office, you can choose the carrier and the level of comfort of the train.
3. By bus from Jakarta to Yogyakarta you can also get to. Although the path does not promise to be easy and short, you will have the opportunity to see the entire island of Java from the window. The Givangan Bus Terminal accepts flights from Bandung , Medan , Denpasar , Mataram and Jakarta. The second terminal - Jombor - meets buses from the capital of Indonesia, as well as the cities of Bandung and Semarang.