Things to do in Yogyakarta
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Rumah Guides
This is an excellent new community project run by young Yogya citizens eager to show you their city and the surrounding area. Tours of the city (150,000Rp per day) and to Borobudur, Dieng and beyond can be set up in their Prawirotaman area office. It’s also possible to stay with local families as part of a homestay program (US$12 per day including all meals).
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Ministry of Coffee
A landmark modernist structure, with a library (with English-language books and magazines) upstairs and a cafe below. It’s ideal for an espresso or latte, but the food (mainly snacks and cakes) is pretty average.
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Puri Bahasa
A professional language school offering Bahasa Indonesia classes (US$7 per hour for one-on-one tuition). Family homestays can be arranged, starting at 450,000Rp per week.
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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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Milas
This secret garden restaurant, located down a quiet side road, is a project centre for street youth. Offers tasty vegetarian cooking: healthy snacks, sandwiches, salads and organic coffee.
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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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Batik Courses
Plenty of places in the Sosrowijayan and Prawirotaman areas offer short batik T-shirt courses of one or two days' duration. High art they aren't, but they provide a good introduction. The tourist information office also has a list of those offering courses.
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Omar Duwur Restaurant
Out in Kota Gede, this is one of Yogya’s best restaurants, with a lavish setting in a 150-year-old colonial mansion. Offers a wide selection of Western (try the rack of lamb) and Eastern dishes (the chicken masala is great).
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FM Café
FM Café has a great courtyard setting and an eclectic menu ranging from nasi goreng to pizza. Happy hour is gloriously lengthy, lasting from 1pm to 8pm; bands perform here on Friday night.
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Batik Winotosastro
Batik Winotosastro gives free guided tours of the batik process. This place caters to tour groups, so prices are very high – view the process here and shop elsewhere.
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Wisma Bahasa
Wisma Bahasa offers Bahasa Indonesia courses in Yogya. Wisma Bahasa is a well-established school; the tourist information office can supply you with more options.
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Mirota Batik
Miota Batik is a fixed-price shop on Jl Malioboro and a good place to start shopping.
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Via Via
Has excellent half-day cooking (85,000Rp), batik- and silver jewellery–making (both 80,000Rp) courses.
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Marginally cheaper; always ask for a substantial discount off the marked prices.
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Parsley
Attempts to serve cakes, pies and pastries with a healthier twist.
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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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Pasar Beringharjo
Yogya’s main market, 800m north of the kraton, is a lively and fascinating place. The renovated front section has a wide range of batik – mostly inexpensive batik cap (stamped batik) – while the 2nd floor is dedicated to cheap clothes and shoes. Most interesting of all, though, is the old section towards the back. Crammed with warungs and stalls selling a huge variety of fruit and vegetables, this is still very much a traditional market. The range of rempah rempah (spices) on the 1st floor is quite something.
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Affandi Museum
One of Indonesia’s most celebrated artists, Affandi lived and worked in a wonderfully quirky riverside house-cum-studio, about 6km east of the town centre. Today his former home is the Affandi Museum, which has an extensive collection of his paintings, including some astonishing self-portraits. Affandi’s work is displayed in two large Gaudiesque buildings that he designed himself and also contain a few personal items, including a boy racer’s dream: a lime-green-and-yellow customized 1967 Galant car with an oversized rear spoiler.
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Tembi
Down in the deep south of the city, Tembi is a Javanese cultural centre in a lovely position surrounded by rice paddies. The fine old wooden houses here contain an outstanding collection of kris, a few wayang puppets, batik and basketry and some historic photographs of Yogya. There’s a highly recommended restaurant and accommodation too. To get to Tembi, jump aboard any bus bound for Parangtritis beach from Jl Parangtritis and get off at kilometre 8.4 on the highway; Tembi is 400m east of here along a side road.
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Sono-Budoyo Museum
Across the main square in front of the kraton, Sono-Budoyo Museum is the pick of Yogya’s museums, even if it is dusty and dimly lit. It has a first-class collection of Javanese art, including wayang kulit puppets, topeng (masks), kris and batik. It also has a courtyard packed with Hindu statuary and artefacts from further afield, including superb Balinese carvings. Wayang kulit performances are held here.
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Sacred Tomb
This quiet old town Kota Gede, which is now a suburb of Yogyakarta, 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 located to the south of the town’s central market. You can visit the sacred tomb, but be sure to wear conservative dress when visiting. On days when the tomb is closed there is not much to see here.
reviewed
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Taman Sari
Just southwest of the kraton is this complex, 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.
reviewed
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Museum Sasana Wiratama
In the northwest of the city, 1.5km west of the Tugu train station, this museum honours the Indonesian hero Prince Diponegoro, who was leader of the bloody but futile rebellion of 1825–30 against the Dutch. A motley collection of the prince’s belongings and other exhibits are kept in the small museum at his former Yogya residence.
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Atap Café & Resto
Just down a small alleyway opposite Nuri Losmen, this ecofriendly café has good Indonesian food, great puddings and a crowd of trendy, earth-loving locals. Slightly less politically correct is its Osama bin Coffee, which comes served with a hefty slug of brandy and rum.
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Jimbaran
Overlooking rice fields (or kids’ football pitch, depending on the season), this enjoyable place specialises in seafood. Everything is priced by the ounce; feast on crab, lobster, prawns and fresh fish. Jimbaran is about 6km north of Yogya, and about 2km north of the Hyatt.
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