Summer is just around the corner. Indonesia is definitely one of the top
destinations for travelers looking for daring adventures or simply the beach to
relax and new cultures to experience.
The country with more than 17000 islands has so much to offer ,
including Yogyakarta the capital of Yogyakarta Special Region in Central Java –
has everything you need to explore even if you only have 3 days. Find out 6 things..( .oh even more ) you should do in Yogyakarta, Indonesia this summer.
1. Culinary at Malioboro
Trying Indonesian traditional cuisine is a
must when you visit any places in Indonesia, especially Yogyakarta. Indonesia
has well known for its rich culture and traditions, including wide variety of cuisine
from sweet, savory to very spicy one. Yogyakarta has several famous traditional
food that you can explore on the main street of Malioboro. Start with bakpia pathok – a small, round-shaped
Indonesian Chinese-influenced sweet rolls, usually stuffed with mung beans, chocolate
or cheese, a box of bakpia will cost you
around $2. It’s a great sweet snack paired with Wedang Ronde – typical Indonesian ginger tea. Wedang means
beverages, while ronde means a soft dough of mixing corn flour and brown sugar
in round shape, add together with fried peanut and bread slice into a hot
ginger tea for only less than $1. Meanwhile for dinner or lunch, you can not leave
Yogyakarta or the city of gudeg without
having their most famous dish made from young unripe jackfruit and
coconut milk, served with hard-boiled egg, chicken, tofu, sambal and rice.
Gudeg has a very unique taste since it can be sweet but also spicy and the very
rich note from coconut milk and unripe jackfruit make it something different you never try
before, one portion of gudeg with rice cost around $ 1,5.
2. Shop at Pasar Beringharjo
Apart of culinary, if you’re a fan of batik or collecting vintage stuff then
Pasar Beringharjo is the market where you can hunt souvenirs like leather post-officer
messenger bags, rattan products, silver jewelries, clothes, wooden handicrafts,
accessories and many more in a very affordable prices. Javanese people especially those from
Yogyakarta are very warm, polite and welcome – this market is one of my
favorite places where you can absolutely interact with the local people and see
the beauty of diversity. Take becak or
pedicab to explore the little town in
the afternoon before dinner.
3. Sunrise at Borobudur Temple
The largest Buddhist monument of the world
Borobudur temple located in Magelang around 2 hours away from Malioboro by car
or public bus. If you’re a morning person, Borobudur temple has a sunrise
package for Rp 380.000 or $33 opens at 4.30 am, and $20 for regular pass opens
at 6 am. Borobodur temple has always been adorned with stone carvings and
history of Buddha, every year sometime during the full moon in the month May or
June the Buddhist people in Indonesia will celebrate the Vesak or Waisak
festival. A big day to commemorate birth, death and the moment when Siddharta
Gautama obtain the highest wisdom to become the Buddha Shakyamuni. The Vesak festival is one of the biggest
religious festival in Indonesia, you’ll get to experience a day full of colors, many celebrations and a
lot of spectacular sights where the Buddhist monks will start a journey in the
morning walking together with the local people from Mendut temple to Borobudur
temple. They carry offerings like candles, fruits, flowers and incense, as they
walk inside the temple complex all the monks would pray and meditate while
lighting the candle and in the end of the procession, they would release
lanterns to the sky.
4. Cave Tubing at Goa Pindul
For the past few years, activity like
cave-tubing at Goa Pindul has became so popular for both local people and
tourists that if you really want to enjoy your time exploring the cave, you
really should avoid coming to Goa Pindul at the peak season like school
holidays, during the Vesak festival or any Indonesian national holidays. It’s
very easy and convenient to get to Goa Pindul,
from Malioboro take the local bus to
Terminal Giwangan, continue with mini buses to Wonosari. The journey takes
around 1 hour and a half to Wonosari, remind the bus driver to stop at Desa
Wisata Bejiharjo as the main gate of Goa Pindul. ( The single trip bus ticket
costs you $2 ) When you arrive in Desa Wisata Bejiharjo, take ojek or motorcycle taxi to Goa Pindul
for $4 and the man will drop you off at Goa Pindul and pick you up back to the
bus station. Goa Pindul has several attractions like cave-tubing , rafting and
off-road at different range prices starting at $5 for basic cave tubing
including the local guide and equipment. We were lucky when we reached Goa Pindul there were only
few tourists there as normally the guides said hundreds of people lined up to
get inside the cave. We decided to go on cave-tubing, explore what’s the cave
like and a quick dip in the river before rafting and off-road. The friendly
guide brought us to the cave. He explained that since couple of years ago local
people decided to open Goa Pindul as a tourism destination in Yogyakarta, Goa
Pindul has attracted not only locals but also international tourists. For me,
it’s not only the beauty of the cave and the village, but also the smile and how
friendly the local people there make our first experience cave-tubing in Goa
Pindul super unforgettable.
5. Visit Prambanan Temple
One of the benefits if you decide to stay
around Malioboro area, the location is actually pretty convenient and easy to explore some other places, including Prambanan
Temple. Only 30 minutes away from
Malioboro by car or a litte longer when you take Trans Jogja or bus rapid transit, while Borobudur temple has
well-known as the magnificent Buddhist temple, Prambanan temple remains as the
largest Hindu temple site in Indonesia, famous for its tall and pointed
architecture dedicated to the Trimurti, the expression of God as the Creator,
the Preserver and the Destroyer. Entrance fee is $20.
6. Visit Ratu Boko Temple
You can continue exploring Ratu Boko temple
right after you finish with Prambanan temple, take the pedicab or becak for $9 for return trip from the Trans Jogja stop just across Prambanan temple complex. The driver will wait
for you in the parking lot while you exploring the temple. This archaeological
site located at the plateau was a palace complex which belonged to the Kings of
Sailendra and Mataram Kingdom. Ratu Boko itself means Stork King, however there’s not a lot left of the temple and some
tourists found the admission price $10 was quite expensive but it is still worth a visit. After such a long
day exploring the city or temples, give yourself a little break by having tea
and afternoon snacks at café Ratu Boko. That small café is one of my favorite
sport because they have an open space area with Yogyakarta view, it is very
relaxing to sip your tea and rest your eyes starring at the lush greenery of
Yogyakarta.
Feel free to visit Weekend Getaway Yogyakarta and Goa Pindul
