The City of Yogyakarta
Special Region of Yogyakarta - Java - Indonesia | Last update January 2020
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basic information

Here is everything you need to know before visit Yogyakarta 

Yogyakarta is one of the special regions in Indonesia which situated in the middle of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy, in the heart of Yogyakarta city lies a Yogyakarta Palace Kraton which is the home of Sultan and his family.

Offers eternal beauty of the past time that never fades, here you can find classical Javanese fine arts such as batik textiles, silversmithing, and sculpture. This city is full of cultural treasure that still exists today such as Wayang Puppet theater and gamelan music instruments performance.

The temperatures in Java are consistently warm year-round, with average daily temperatures hovering around 28-30°C makes Yogyakarta is good to visit all-year-around. But arguably the best time to visit Yogyakarta is in May, June, and September when visitor numbers are not at their highest, it means the tourism site is not too crowded. 

history

In 1755 after the Treaty of Giyanti, Pangeran Mangkubumi or the first Sultan Hamengku Buwono I searched the location for establishing the palace and the choice fell in Garjitawati which is the forest area that now knows as Beringharjo.

At the time, the palace was called Pasanggrahan Garjitawati, then Pakubuwono II replaced the name of the Palace into Ayogya or Ngayogya. The name was allegedly inspired by the Ramayana story. In the Ramayana epoch, Ayodhya is the kingdom of Sri Rama or Wisnu. In general, Ngayogya means a prosperous city. Based on this history people call this region Yogyakarta.

The city of Yogyakarta was planned to reflect human destiny as conceptualized in Javanese philosophy. Firstly, every human being should know the origin and ultimate destination of human life and follow that human life cycle. Secondly, during their life, the human has to maintain the harmonious relations to God, others human, and nature. Lastly, the duty of all human beings is to make the world a beautiful and peaceful place.

facts

Get to know Yogyakarta's facts below:

  1. The name of the city Yogyakarta has a meaning ‘a prosperous city’ inspired by the Ramayana story.
  2. Among all events in Yogyakarta, Labuhan ceremony which held on the Parangkusumo Beach is the most unique event. Here the local people wear traditional dress bring finger cutting, locks of hairs, umbrella, and discarded garments of the sultan as a gift or offering for Supranatural figure.
  3. Gamelan was created to call the gods. Every percussion item sends out different messages to the gods and this is the reason Gamelan has a full set of instruments.
  4. Wayang puppet shows are almost extinct, but in Yogyakarta, this culture still alive. These puppets made by leather in very fine details. The show wayang puppet uses the shadows thrown by puppets manipulated by rods against a translucent screen lit from behind to tell everyone the dramatic story of good and evil.
  5. Yogyakarta was once the capital of Indonesia. It was the capital of Indonesia in between the year 1946 to 1949. At that time Jakarta was occupied by Dutch and hence Yogyakarta served as the centre of revolution. Later the capital was shifted to Jakarta and it remains so till date.
how to get there

Find the best way to reach Yogyakarta from Jakarta, Malang, Probolinggo, Surabaya and Bali

BY PLANE

Jakarta (CGK) Soekarno Hatta International – Yogyakarta (JOG) Adi Sutjipto

Jakarta (HLP) Halim Perdanakusuma – Yogyakarta (JOG) Adi Sutjipto

Surabaya (SUB) Juanda – Yogyakarta (JOG) Adi Sutjipto

Bali (DPS) Ngurah Rai International - Yogyakarta (JOG) Adi Sutjipto

 

BY TRAIN

Malang (ML) – Yogyakarta (YK)

Probolinggo (PB) – Yogyakarta (YK)

Surabaya (SGU) – Yogyakarta (YK)

what to pack

Prepare your journey, here is everything you need to pack before visit Yogyakarta

  • Mosquito repellent
  • Personal medicine
destination around

PRAMBANAN TEMPLE

The Prambanan temple is the most beautiful and graceful Hindu temple in Indonesia. After hundreds of years of neglect, the Prambanan temple was rediscovered by CA Lons, a Dutchman, in 1733. This is a collection of massive Hindu temples that built in the 9th century by the Mataram Kingdom to worships the Trimurti of Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver and Shiva the Destroyer. Prambanan temple now listing as one of the UNESCO world heritage sites.

WATER CASTLE OF TAMAN SARI

Located less than 2 kilometres from the Palace of Yogyakarta Kraton, Taman Sari is known as the water castle of Sultan that has a combination of eastern and western-style buildings. This area consisted of four distinct areas: a large artificial lake with islands and pavilions located in the west, a bathing complex in the center, a complex of pavilions and pools in the south, and a smaller lake in the east. Today only the central bathing complex is well preserved, while the other areas have been largely occupied by the Kampung Taman settlement. Since 1995, the Yogyakarta Palace Complex including Taman Sari has been listed as a tentative World Heritage Site.

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