Yogyakarta & Borobudur

The cultural capital of Java, home to the UNESCO-listed Borobudur Buddhist temple and the Hindu Prambanan temples, plus the Sultan's Palace, Mount Merapi and the southern caves and coast.

Yogyakarta (locally abbreviated as Jogja) is in south-central Java. It is the only special region in Indonesia still ruled by a hereditary sultan, and a center of Javanese culture, batik and traditional arts. In 2023, the "Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta" (the Kraton palace, Malioboro Street and the Tugu Monument) was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. Sightseeing falls into four parts: the city center, centered on the Kraton, with the Taman Sari water castle, Alun-Alun Selatan, Malioboro Street and the silver-working old town of Kotagede nearby; Borobudur (Magelang Regency, Central Java), about 40 km to the northwest, along with Mendut Temple and sunrise viewpoints; Prambanan, Sewu Temple, Ratu Boko and Ijo Temple, about 17 km to the northeast; and Mount Merapi and Kaliurang to the north, with the Parangtritis coast and the caves and beaches of Gunungkidul to the south. Temperatures are 23–32°C year-round. May–Sep is the clear dry season and the best time to see sunrise at Borobudur; Nov–Mar is the rainy season with frequent afternoon thunderstorms, but fewer tourists.

Getting there and around: Yogyakarta International Airport is about 45 km southwest of the city, and the airport train takes about 40 minutes to the center; from Jakarta the train takes 6–7 hours. Ride-hailing in town is cheap, and you can charter a car to reach the sights. We suggest 3–4 days.

Good to know: climbing Borobudur is limited by quota, so buy tickets on the official website in advance; dress respectfully at the palace and temples; the "batik galleries" that touts lead you to on the street are mostly sales traps, so don't trust them.

Top sights

• Borobudur – The world's largest Buddhist temple, built by the 9th-century Sailendra dynasty. Its nine-tier mandala terraces hold 2,672 relief panels an…
• Prambanan – Indonesia's largest Hindu temple complex, built by the Mataram kingdom in the 9th century, with a 47-meter Shiva temple and Ramayana relief…
• Kraton Yogyakarta – A Javanese palace completed in 1755 and still home to the sultan's family. Its open pavilions display royal regalia, and the morning gamela…
• Malioboro Street – A 1.5-km main street from Tugu station to the palace. Since it became a pedestrian street in 2022, vendors have moved into Teras Malioboro…
• Mount Merapi – Indonesia's most active volcano, at 2,910 meters. A jeep ride through the 2010 pyroclastic flow remains, past villages and bunkers buried b…
• Taman Sari Water Castle – A royal water garden and bathing complex built in 1758 by the sultan, known for its turquoise-green bathing pools, underground circular mos…
• Ratu Boko – An 8th-century palace ruin on a hill south of Prambanan. Its stone gateways face the western sunset, and it overlooks Prambanan and Mount M…
• Mendut Temple – A 9th-century Buddhist temple about 3 kilometers east of Borobudur. Its inner shrine holds a seated Shakyamuni Buddha about 3 meters tall…
• Punthuk Setumbu – A small hill west of Borobudur where, at sunrise, the temple emerges from the morning mist. Behind it rise the volcanoes Merapi and Merbabu.
• Gereja Ayam (Bukit Rhema) – A prayer house on a hilltop shaped like a chicken, though it was meant to be a dove. Its unusual design has made it famous, and the top off…
• Sewu Temple – A large 8th-century temple complex in the northern part of the Prambanan site. A main shrine is surrounded by more than two hundred small s…
• Plaosan Temple – A twin-shrine Buddhist temple about 1 kilometer northeast of Prambanan. Legend says a Hindu king built it for his Buddhist queen, and it is…
• Ijo Temple – The highest ancient temple site in Yogyakarta, built on a hillside about 375 meters above sea level. From here, visitors can watch the suns…
• Tebing Breksi – A landscape park converted from an abandoned quarry, with layered volcanic tuff cliffs carved with mythological reliefs. It is a popular su…
• Sambisari Temple – An “underground temple” discovered in 1966 when a farmer was plowing his field. It had been buried about 6.5 meters below the ground by vol…
• Kotagede – The former capital of the 16th-century Islamic Mataram kingdom. It preserves royal tombs, an old mosque and traditional houses, and is famo…
• Alun-Alun Kidul – The square south of the Kraton, where making a wish by walking blindfolded between two large banyan trees is a local tradition. At night th…
• Sonobudoyo Museum – A museum of Javanese culture beside the North Square, with a collection of shadow puppets, batik, masks and ancient bronze statues. Shadow…
• Ullen Sentalu Museum – A private museum in Kaliurang on the southern slopes of Mount Merapi. Guided tours tell the stories of the women of the Yogyakarta and Sura…
• Affandi Museum – The former home and museum of Affandi, the Indonesian Expressionist painter. Original oil paintings are displayed in galleries with banana-…
• Ramayana Ballet Prambanan – An open-air dance drama set against the Prambanan temple complex, performed by more than 200 dancers with Javanese dance and gamelan music…
• Parangtritis Beach & Parangkusumo Dunes – A black-sand beach on the Indian Ocean in southern Yogyakarta, linked to the legend of the Queen of the Southern Sea. Nearby are coastal du…
• Mangunan Pine Forest – A man-made pine forest in the hills south of Yogyakarta. Among the straight pine trunks are wooden platforms, tree houses and hammocks, and…
• Jomblang Cave – A vertical sinkhole about 60 metres deep. Visitors are lowered on ropes and then walk through the cave, where midday sunlight shining throu…
• Pindul Cave – Float on an inner tube along an underground river through a limestone cave about 350 metres long, with stalactites and a skylight opening…
• Timang Beach – A rocky beach on the south coast of Gunungkidul. Visitors can cross to a small offshore island on a wooden manpowered cable car or a suspen…
• Pawon Temple – A small 9th-century Buddhist temple between Mendut Temple and Borobudur. It has well-proportioned architecture and finely carved reliefs, a…
• Kalasan Temple – A Buddhist temple built in 778 CE, one of the oldest Buddhist temples in the Yogyakarta region, known for its finely carved kala face ornam…

Where to eat

• Gudeg Yu Djum (Wijilan 31) – An established Yogyakarta brand dating back to the 1950s, famous for its dry-style gudeg served with spicy cattle skin…
• Bale Raos – A royal cuisine restaurant located in the Yogyakarta Palace area, serving dishes favored by past Sultans, offering a ta…
• Mediterranea by Kamil – A Western restaurant founded in 2012 by French chef Kamil and his wife, ranking among the highest-rated restaurants for…
• Waroeng Kopi Klotok – A Javanese home-cooking restaurant by the rice fields, offering self-service dining famous for its vegetable coconut so…
• Sate Klathak Pak Pong – A well-known mutton skewer shop in the Bantul region, located in the southern suburbs of Yogyakarta, famous for its sat…
• Bakmi Jowo Mbah Gito – A Javanese noodle shop in Kotagede, serving Javanese noodles cooked to order over charcoal stoves with duck eggs, set i…

Itineraries

• Java West-to-East Crossing to Bali – Travel from Jakarta via Bandung, Yogyakarta, and Malang to Bromo and Ijen, then cross the sea to Bali.
• Yogyakarta 4-Day Itinerary: Dual World Heritage Sites & Royal City – Based in Yogyakarta, explore Borobudur, Prambanan, the Sultan's Palace, and the historic silver town without changing h…
• 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…
• West Java 7-Day Itinerary: Tea Hills, Coastline & Train to Yogyakarta – Travel south from Jakarta through Bogor and Bandung to the Pangandaran coast, then take a train to Yogyakarta, bypassin…