Yogyakarta City Guide

Indonesia>Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta or 'Yogya' is easily the most popular city in Indonesia. It's a cultural and intellectual center, crammed with prestigious universities and academies, and its influence far outweighs its size. Despite its veneer of modernity and westernisation, the city clings strongly to its traditional values and philosophies.

Traditional performing arts (Ramayana Ballet, gamelan performances etc) can be seen at the Yogyakarta Craft Center and the Agastya Art Institute. It is also a major craft center, especially for batik. The walled-in kraton compound, in the city center, is a city within a city.

The kraton is home to 25,000 people and includes the sultan's huge palace, the Taman Sari (also known as the water castle or fragrant garden), a bird market and several craft industries.

There are several worthwhile museums in the city, including the Sono-Budoyo Museum and Benteng Vredeburg. The suburb of Kota Gede has been famous since the 1930s as the center of Yogya's silver industry, and is still a great place to wander around and watch the silversmiths at work.

Getting There and Moving Around

By road

Buses play predetermined route regularly within the city and from points in the city to destinations outside. So do the so called "colts" - small taxis - usually of Japanese make. Taxis are available at the airport and at the better hotel counters.

But Yogya's atmosphere invites casualness and leisure and it is completely in style to ride a "becak" (tricycle) or "andong" fourwheeled horse-cart whenever one wants to go on his own on a modest budget.

Moving Around

It is easy to travel around Yogyakarta as it is not very big and easily accessible by road.