Sights in Java
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Taman Impian Jaya Ancol
Along the bay front, between Kota and Tanjung Priok, the people’s ‘Dreamland’ is built on land reclaimed in 1962. This 300-hectare, landscaped recreation park, providing non-stop entertainment, has hotels, theatres and a variety of sporting and leisure facilities including bowling. It’s easily the city’s best entertainment for kids in the city.
Taman Impian Jaya Ancol’s prime attractions include Pasar Seni (Art Market), and Seaworld (Tel: 641 0080; www.seaworldindonesia.com; Mon-Fri 30,000Rp, Sat & Sun 40,000Rp; 9am-6pm), with its ‘sharkquarium’, dugongs and turtles. At the Gelanggang Samudra (Tel: 640 6677; Mon-Fri 40,000Rp, Sat & Sun 50,000Rp; 11am-6pm Mon-Thu…
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Taman Fatahillah
The old town of Batavia, now known as Kota, was once the hub of Dutch colonial Indonesia. Much of the one-time grandeur has now rotted, crumbled or been bulldozed away, but Taman Fatahillah, Kota's central cobblestone square, is still reminiscent of the area's heyday.
To reach Taman Fatahillah, you can either take the Korridor I bus from Blok M or Jl Thamrin to Kota train station and walk, or take a city train from Gondangdia, near Jl Jaksa, to the train station. A taxi will cost around 15,R from Jl Thamrin.
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Museum Nasional
On the western side of Merdeka Sq, the Museum Nasional, built in 1862, is the best of its kind in Indonesia and one of the finest in Southeast Asia. It has an enormous collection of cultural objects of the various ethnic groups around the country - costumes, musical instruments, model houses and so on - and numerous fine bronzes from the Hindu-Javanese period, as well as many interesting stone pieces salvaged from the Central Javanese and other temples.
There's also a superb display of Chinese ceramics dating back to the Han dynasty (300 BC to AD 220), which was almost entirely amassed in Indonesia.
Just outside the museum is a bronze elephant that was presented by the Kin…
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Museum Bahari
Near the entrance to Sunda Kelapa, several old VOC warehouses (dating back to 1652) have been converted into the Museum Bahari. This is a good place to learn about the city’s maritime history, and though the wonderful old buildings (some renovated) are echoingly empty there are some good information panels (in English and Bahasa Indonesia). Under the heavy wooden beams of the vast old storage premises are various random exhibits: a sextant (used for astronomical navigation), various traditional boats from around Indonesia, the shell of a giant clam, plenty of pickled fish and a lighthouse lamp or two. The sentry posts outside are part of the old city wall. Just before the…
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Kota Gede
Kota Gede has been famed as the hub of Yogya's silver industry since the 1930s. But this quiet old town, which is now a suburb of Yogya, was the first capital of the Mataram kingdom, founded by Panembahan Senopati in 1582. Senopati is buried in the small mossy graveyard of an old mosque to the south of the town's central market. You can visit Kota Gede, but be sure to wear conservative dress; on days when the tomb is closed there is little to see here.
Jl Kemasan, the main street leading into town from the north, is lined with busy silver workshops. Most of the shops have similar stock, including hand-beaten bowls, boxes, fine filigree and modern jewellery .
Kota Gede is a…
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Sangiran
Sangiran is an important archaeological excavation site, where some of the best examples of fossil skulls of prehistoric 'Java Man' Pithecanthropus erectus were unearthed by a Dutch professor in 1936. Sangiran has a small museum with a few skulls (one of Homo erectus), various pig and hippopotamus teeth, and fossil exhibits, including huge mammoth tusks.
Souvenir stalls outside sell bones, 'mammoth tusks' carved from stone and other dubious fossil junk.
Guides will also offer to take you to the area where shells and other fossils have been found in the crumbling slopes of the hill.
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Ragunan Zoo
Jakarta's Ragunan Zoo is 16km south of the city centre in the Pasar Minggu area. As home to 4000 animals, this large zoo has a good collection of Indonesian wildlife including Komodo dragons. It's not world class (some of the enclosures are depressingly small), but this is by far the best zoo in Indonesia, and its new primate enclosure, featuring orang-utans and gorillas, is a highlight. From Jl Thamrin take bus 19.
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Museum Wayang
This puppet museum has one of the best collections of wayang puppets in Java and its dusty cabinets are full of a multitude of characters. The collection includes puppets from not only Indonesia but also China, Vietnam, India, Cambodia and Europe, and masks used by dancers. There are free wayang performances here on Sunday at 10am.
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Sunda Kelapa
A kilometre north of Taman Fatahillah, the old port of Sunda Kelapa is full of magnificent Makassar schooners (pinisi). The dock scene here has barely changed for centuries, and porters unload cargo from these sailing ships by hand and trolley. Sadly, the port itself is rundown and its waters grotesquely polluted these days.
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Benteng Vredeburg
On the opposite side of Jl A Yani, is the Benteng Vredeburg, a Dutch-era fort that’s been converted into a museum. It houses dioramas showing the history of the independence movement in Yogyakarta. The architecture is worth a look, but the dioramas are designed for Indonesian patriots.
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Borobudur Temple
Java's Borobudur is one of the continent's marvels, surviving damage from volcanoes, terrorist bombs and hordes of tourists. Built from two million stone blocks in the form of a massive symmetrical stupa literally wrapped around a small hill, this colossal Buddhist relic remains as enigmatic and beautiful as it must have been 1200 years ago.
The paintwork is long gone, but it's thought that the grey stone of Borobudur was at one time washed with a colour to catch the sun.
Viewed from the air, the structure resembles a colossal three-dimensional tantric mandala. It has been suggested, in fact, that the people of the Buddhist community that once supported Borobudur were ear…
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Old City
Even though much of Surabaya's historical centre is literally falling to pieces, the old city easily wins the 'Most Attractive Neighbourhood' prize. With crumbling Dutch architecture, strong Chinese influences and an Arab quarter, it's also the most interesting and idiosyncratic.
A good place to start exploring the old city is Jembatan Merah, the so-called 'Red Bridge' that saw fierce fighting during Indonesia's battle for independence.
Jl Jembatan Merah, running south of the bus terminal along the canal, is a grungy replica of Amsterdam, but worthy (although rundown) examples of Dutch architecture can be seen here. The area further south around the post office and Pelni o…
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Taman Mini Indonesia Indah
In the city’s southeast, near Kampung Rambutan, Taman Mini Indonesia Indah is a ‘whole country in one park’. This 100-hectare park has full-scale traditional houses for each of Indonesia’s provinces, with displays of regional handicrafts and clothing, and even a mini-scale Borobudur. Museums, theatres and an IMAX cinema are scattered throughout the grounds, which all command additional entrance fees. Free cultural performances are staged in selected regional houses (usually around 10am); Sunday is the big day for cultural events, but shows are also held during the week.
Taman Mini is about 18km from the city centre; allow about an hour to get there and at least th…
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Taman Sari
Just to the west of the kraton is the Taman Sari, which once served as a splendid pleasure park of palaces, pools and waterways for the sultan and his entourage. The Portuguese architect of this elaborate retreat, built between 1758 and 1765, was from Batavia - the story goes that the sultan had him executed in order to keep his hidden pleasure rooms secret.
The complex was damaged first by Diponegoro's Java War, and an earthquake in 1865 helped finish the job. While much of what you see today lies in ruins, the bathing pools have been restored. From the tower overlooking the pools, the sultan was able to dally with his wives and witness the goings-on below.
The entrance t…
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Monas
Ingloriously dubbed 'Soekarno's final erection', this 132m-high Monas, towering over Merdeka Sq, is both Jakarta's principal landmark and the most famous architectural extravagance of the former dictator. Begun in 1961, this typically masculine column was not completed until 1975, when it was officially opened by Soeharto.
The National Monument is allegedly constructed 'entirely of Italian marble', and is topped with a sculpted flame, gilded with 35kg of gold leaf. The highlight of a visit are the smoggy views of Jakarta from the top of the monument (adult/child around Rp5000/around Rp2500). Avoid Sunday and holidays, when the queues for the lift are long.
In the base of t…
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Kebun Raya
At the heart of Bogor are the fabulous botanical gardens, known as the Kebun Raya, the city’s green lung of around 87 hectares. Governor General Raffles first developed a garden here, but the spacious grounds of the Istana Bogor (Presidential Palace) were expanded by Dutch botanist Professor Reinwardt, with assistance from London’s Kew Gardens, and officially opened in 1817. It was from these gardens that various colonial cash crops, such as tea, cassava, tobacco and cinchona, were developed by Dutch botanists including Johannes Teysmann, during the infamous Cultivation Period in the 19th century. The park is still a major centre for botanical research in Indonesia. This …
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House of Sampoerna
Just northwest of Jembatan Merah is the city’s best-presented attraction, the House of Sampoerna which is the home of one of Indonesia’s most famous kretek cigarette manufacturers. Whatever you think about the tobacco industry, this factory and museum makes a fascinating place to visit. The building itself is a wonderful 19th-century Dutch structure, originally an orphanage but later converted into a theatre (indeed Charlie Chaplin once dropped by). The former lobby now forms the museum and is something of a shrine to the Sampoerna empire, with exhibits on the use of cloves and the history of kretek in Indonesia alongside uniforms and drums of the Sampoerna marching b…
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Candi Jago
Along a small road near the market in Tumpang, 22km from Malang, Candi Jago was built between 1268 and 1280 and is thought to be a memorial to the fourth Singosari king, Vishnuvardhana. The temple has some interesting decorative carving – in the three-dimensional, wayang kulit style typical of East Java – from the Jataka and the Mahabharata. This primarily Buddhist temple also has Javanese-Hindu statues, including a six-armed, death-dealing goddess and a lingam, the symbol of Shiva’s male potency. There are two photocopied leaflets available at the entrance you can consult to learn about its history. To reach Candi Jago take a white angkot from Malang’s Arjosari bus ter…
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Candi Cetho
Even higher up the slopes of Gunung Lawu, Candi Cetho sits on the southern face of Gunung Lawu at around 1400m. Thought to date from around 1350, this candi closely resembles a Balinese temple in appearance, though it combines elements of Shivaism and fertility worship. It’s a large temple and is spread over terraces rising up the misty hillside. There’s little carving here, but the stonework is well constructed and close-fitting. The entrance is marked by temple guardians and you’ll find a striking platform with a turtle head and a large lingam on the upper terrace. Balinese Hindus visit Candi Cetho to make offerings on auspicious days.
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Karang Nini
The main Pangandaran–Banjar road runs east initially, passing a series of bays and beaches exposed to the full force of the Indian Ocean. About 8km along the road, is Karang Nini, where there’s a group of warung on a headland, picnic areas beneath pandan trees and some bare, unattractive bungalows (per night 220,000Rp). The eastern section of beach here is superb, with a sweeping expanse of sand and crashing surf. Walk for 15 minutes along this beach and you’ll reach a beautiful river estuary, its banks lined with tropical forest and patrolled by gliding eagles. Karang Nini is about 3km south of the highway.
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Arjuna Complex
The five main temples that form the Arjuna Complex are clustered together on the central plain. They are Shiva temples, but like the other Dieng temples they have been named after the heroes of the wayang stories of the Mahabharata epic: Arjuna, Puntadewa, Srikandi, Sembadra and Semar. All have mouth-shaped doorways and strange bell-shaped windows and some locals leave offerings, burn incense and meditate here. Raised walkways link the temples (as most of this land is waterlogged), but you can see the remains of ancient underground tunnels, which once drained the marshy flatlands.
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Taman Hutan Raya Ir H Juanda
On the main road, 100m past the teahouse turn-off, a path leads down to Curug Dago (Dago Waterfall). From here you can walk along the river to Taman Hutan Raya Ir H Juanda, which is a pleasant forest park with another waterfall, 'caves' and walking paths. By road, the park entrance is 2km past the Dago bemo terminal.
Gua Pakar is in fact an ammunition store hacked out by the Japanese during the war. Further north is Gua Belanda, which is the same deal but built by the Dutch. A tunnel leads right through the mountain to the start of the trail that leads all the way to Maribay along Sungai Cikapundung.
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Kebun Raya Purwodadi
A few kilometres north of Lawang on the road to Surabaya, the Kebun Raya Purwodadi are expansive dry-climate botanical gardens. The 85 hectares are beautifully landscaped and contain over 3000 species, including 80 kinds of palm, a huge fern collection, a Mexican section, myriad orchids and many varieties of bamboo. The garden office to the south of the entrance has a map and leaflets. Air Terjun Cobanbaung is a high waterfall next to the gardens. The gardens are easily reached; take any bus (5000Rp) from Malang to Surabaya and ask to be dropped off at the entrance.
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Gereja Sion
Near the Kota train station, the Gereja Sion dates from 1695 and is the oldest remaining church in Jakarta. Also known as Gereja Portugis (Portuguese Church), it was built just outside the old city walls for the so-called 'black Portuguese' - the Eurasians and natives captured from Portuguese trading ports in India and Malaya and brought to Batavia as slaves.
The exterior of the church is very plain, but inside there are copper chandeliers, a baroque pulpit and the original organ. Although more than 2000 people were buried in the graveyard during 1790 alone, very few tombs remain.
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Taman Nasional Pangandaran
The Taman Nasional Pangandaran, which takes up the entire southern end of Pangandaran, is a wild expanse of dense jungle. Within its boundaries live porcupines, kijang (barking deer), hornbills, scorpions and monkeys (including Javan gibbons). Small bays within the park enclose pretty tree-fringed beaches. Occasionally, the park is even used as a temporary home for elephants being transported around the archipelago. The park is divided into two sections: the recreation park and the jungle. Due to environmental degradation, the jungle is usually off limits.
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