Surakarta (Solo)

A city of Javanese court culture with two royal palaces, a batik market and Laweyan batik village, plus the mysterious hillside temples of Sukuh and Cetho.

Solo (officially Surakarta) lies in eastern Central Java on the banks of the Solo River and, together with Yogyakarta, is one of the two great centers of Javanese court culture. The Mataram kingdom moved its capital here in 1745, and it later split into the Kasunanan Surakarta Palace and the Mangkunegaran principality; court dance, gamelan music and batik craftsmanship live on here to this day, at a slower, more local pace than in Yogyakarta. Main areas: in the south of the old town, the palace, the Grand Mosque, Klewer Market and Kauman batik village; in the north, Mangkunegaran Palace, Triwindu antiques market and Ngarsopuro street; in the west, Laweyan batik village, Sriwedari Park and the Lokananta record label. Outside the city, head north to the World Heritage early-human site of Sangiran, or east up Mount Lawu to combine the Kemuning tea plantation, Sukuh Temple, Cetho Temple, Grojogan Sewu waterfall in Tawangmangu and Sarangan Lake — a day trip that requires a private car. The May–Sep dry season is the best time to travel; the Nov–Mar rainy season brings frequent afternoon showers, while the mountains are cool year-round. Getting there: Adisumarmo Airport has flights to Jakarta and elsewhere, and the airport commuter train to Yogyakarta takes about 1 hour. Allow 2–3 days, easily combined with Yogyakarta. Dress modestly when visiting the palaces and mosque; Solo's food scene is mainly night-market street snacks.

Top sights

• Kraton Surakarta – Surakarta's royal palace, built in 1745, is a symbol of Javanese court culture and is still home to members of the royal family.
• Pura Mangkunegaran – The palace of Surakarta's second royal house, home to Java's largest wooden pendopo hall and beautifully preserved exhibits.
• Kampung Batik Laweyan – A historic merchant district famous for batik since the 15th century, where workshops, mansions and batik classes are hidden behind high wa…
• Sangiran Early Man Site – A World Heritage Site where many Homo erectus fossils have been unearthed, regarded as a key location for understanding human evolution.
• Pasar Klewer – One of Indonesia's largest batik fabric wholesale markets, with thousands of stalls selling all kinds of batik cloth and garments.
• Kampung Batik Kauman – A court batik quarter beside the Great Mosque, where generations of artisans have made batik for the palace in classical court patterns.
• Danar Hadi Batik Museum – A private museum said to hold over ten thousand antique batik pieces, offering a systematic look at batik styles from across Indonesia.
• Pasar Gede Hardjonagoro – A traditional market designed by a Dutch architect in 1930, with a Chinese temple beside it; the heart of Solo's food scene.
• Pasar Triwindu – An antiques and secondhand market in front of Mangkunegaran Palace, where you can hunt for old coins, shadow puppets, masks and bronze item…
• Great Mosque of Surakarta – A royal mosque built in 1763, with its traditional Javanese multi-tiered roof and spacious courtyard well preserved.
• Fort Vastenburg – A square fortress built by the Dutch East India Company in the 18th century, once used to watch over the Solo palace.
• Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Solo – A white grand mosque completed in 2022, modeled on the original in Abu Dhabi, that has quickly become a new landmark of Solo.
• Radya Pustaka Museum – One of Indonesia's oldest museums, founded in 1890, with collections of Javanese manuscripts, shadow puppets and court relics.
• Taman Sriwedari – A century-old royal amusement park famous for nearly nightly live wayang orang, Javanese dance-drama performed by human actors.
• Taman Balekambang – A garden built by the Mangkunegaran royal house in 1921, with a deer park, lakes and old trees, suitable for family strolls.
• Lokananta – Indonesia's first state-run record studio, founded in 1956; after renovation it has become a music museum and creative complex.
• Ngarsopuro Night Market – A pedestrian street in front of Mangkunegaran Palace that turns into a night market on Saturday evenings, selling batik, handicrafts and sn…
• Galabo Night Culinary Street – A food street that opens every night beside the Pasar Gede and the fortress, where you can sample Solo's specialty snacks in one place.
• Solo Safari – A city safari park converted from an old zoo, where you can view animals from a vehicle and get close to them.

Where to eat

• Nasi Liwet Wongso Lemu – A long-established Solo nasi liwet shop founded in the 1950s and now run by the third generation, open into the late ev…
• Sate Kambing Bu Hj. Bejo – A Solo goat satay institution founded in 1971; its sate buntel, goat mince wrapped in caul fat, is tender and free of g…
• Serabi Notosuman Ny Lidia – A coconut-milk pancake institution in Solo, founded in 1923, where serabi are made fresh and cost just a few thousand r…

Itineraries

• Central Java 10-Day Loop: Ancient Temples, Highlands & Royal Cities – Travel from Yogyakarta up to the Dieng Plateau, then via Semarang and Solo to the ancient temples of Mount Lawu, connec…