Yogyakarta city is the tourism hub of Indonesia which is situated inside the special region of Yogyakarta . Special region of Yogyakarta has two UNESCO World Heritage site First , 8th century Famous Hindu temple ” Prambanan temple ” and second , World’s largest Buddhist temple Borobudur stupa . Rather than this , there is also lots of other Places to visit in Yogyakarta like Palace of Yogyakarta , Taman sari and lots of museum . Famous active volcano Mount Merapi is just 30 km from Yogyakarta city and the nearest beach is Indrayanti Beach . Yogyakarta has both heritage and natural beauty . This city also has some unique food like Lotek and gudek . People are friendly , food and accommodation are very cheap . This traits makes this destination one of the best tourist spot in Indonesia .
Best things to do in Yogyakarta:-
1. Explore Borobudur temple :-
Borobudur temple is the world’s largest Buddhist temple , build in the time of Sailendra Dynasty in between 780 – 824 AD . This structure is made mainly by the grey volcanic stone and build in 5 phases . Borobudur structure is divided into 9 parts . The ground portion is of a square block ,just above it there is five square block and finally above it there is three circular block and in the final there is a circular dome . The whole structure looks like a Mandela which is the Buddhist form of cosmos . Three phased structure of Borobudur represents three human traits , like Kamadhatu , Rupadhatu and Arupadhatu .
In the first and second floor’s wall there is plenty of beautiful relief which are dedicated toward the Jataka stories . But sorry to say that you can not see this reliefs as Now with the government order you can only visit Borobudur from the ground floor outside the main structure . No climbing in the temple . It looks like a small hill from outside .
Ticket Price : For Indonesian people entry fees is 60000 IDR and for foreigner it is 375000 IDR . Combine ticket of both Borobudur and Prambanan temple is 675000 .
Prambanan Temple :-
Prambanan temple is situated just 17 km from the Yogjakarta city and one of the biggest hindu temple in the world . This temple is dedicated toward the gods trimurti – Brambha , Vishnu and Shiva . In front of this trimurti’s temple there are three mount temple . Like infront of the vishnu temple there is garuda’s temple , infront of the Bhrambha temple is of swan temple and infront of the shiva is the Nandi temple .
The biggest temple is 47 meter in height and situated in the centre and dedicated to Lord Shiva . Infront of this temple is the temple of Nandi which is the mount of Shiva . In Both side of the Shiva temple , there is Vishnu and the Brambha temple .
In the 2006 Earthquake some parts of the temple top broken and fall on the ground . This stone has been stored in a certain place in the compound .
Ticket Price : Ticket price for the Prambanan Temple is 50000 IDR for the local people and 375000 IDR for the foreigner people .
Sewu Temple :
This temple is one of the biggest Buddhist temple in Indonesia and it is dedicated toward Mahayana Buddhism . Actually SEWU means 1000 in Javanese language but now there is all togeather 249 temple structure . It is an amazing fact that this temple is older than both Borobudur and Prambanan temple . Sewu temple also has some guarding temple all around it but very little were survived till now . The structure of this temple is made like a Mandela .
It is situated in the cmpound of the Prambanan Temple . In the earthquake most of the small temple’s were lost .
Price of Ticket : This temple ticket is included inside the ticket of the Prambanan Temple .
Candi lumbung:
This temple is shaped like a rice barn and contemporary of the sewu temple . This is a Buddhist temple and is situated in between the Prambanan temple and the Sewu Temple .
Candi Burbah:
This is a another Buddhist temple which is contemporary to the Lumbung and the Sewu Temple .This temple is situated in the way to the sewu temple from the prambanan temple .
Palace of Yogyakarta :
This palace was of the royal family of Yogyakarta . This palace was build by the sultan of the Yogyakarta in 1755 AD . Still Now , It is the residence of the Royal Family of Yogyakarta .
There is also the facility of the English speaking guide . As I don’t know indonesian language so , I need a english speaking guide . The guide was very good and give insides about the Indonesian Society and this museum.
Price of the Ticket : Price of the ticket for the foreigner is 15000 IDR and 10000 IDR for the Indonesian Citizen .
Mount Merapi :
Mount Merapi is one of the most dangerious active stratovolcano in Indonesia . It is a volcano which is active since 1548 and eruption occurs in frequent interval .
Near to the Yogyakarta city in Kaliurang there is a view point to see Mount Merapi . It is just 26 km from the Yogyakarta City . To reach here first , I take a bus from Yogyakarta to Pakem bus stand . Red colored bus run in this route . From here you have to take a Gojek taxi to reach to the view point named Gardu Padang Kaliurang .
In a clear days you can have a beautiful view of Merapi . Unfortunately the day I reached there was cloudy and I can not seen anything . I waited there for almost 3 hours but the sky was totally cloudy and raining heavily . This watch tower was made by the iron welding . This is the nearest view point for merapi .
Price of the Ticket : Price of the ticket of this place is 15000 IDR .
Taman Sari :
This is situated inside the Royal Palace of the Yogyakarta and is the Royal bathing place . It has multiple function as a resting place , workshop , mediation and defense place . It was build in the year 1775.
Jalan Malioboro :
Jalan Malioboro is a street in the City of the Yogyakarta which is famous among the Tourists as the shopping streets in Yogyakarta . Most of the shopping malls , shops and important offices were situated in this street and in the evening there is a large gathering of the people .
Museum of Sonobudoyo :
This is one of the biggest museum inside the city of Yogjakarta . Entry fees of the museum is almost 25000 IDR . Just after the entry there is a collection of the Musical Instruments and a person to show how to use it . After that there is a collection of items , which are important in Javanes culture . There are also lots of pictures of the national freedom fighters of Indonesia .
Fort Vredeburg Museum :
This was a military post when opened in 1767 and served the dutch army for years and Indonesia after Independence , Later in 1992 it was converted to a Museum .
Inside this museum there is lots of replica which depict the stories in the independence movement of Indonesia . There is lots of old coins used inside the Indonesian History . Now a days you can see some beautiful laser shows which depict stories in the History .
Price of the Ticket : Price of the ticket is 10000 IDR .
Summary :
Yogyakarta is the tourist hub in the Java Island . It has two UNESCO World Heritage sites and epicentre of the two earliest Kingdom in Java Sailendra Dynasty and the Sanjaya Dynasty . The two magnificent temple Borobudur Temple (World’s Largest buddhist Temple ) and the Prambanan Temple (It is the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia ) were build in this time . It also has some natural sites like Mount Merapi and the beach in the southern part . Yogyakarta has both the natural and the Heritage site to visit .
