YOGYAKARTA (often also called Jogja, Yogya or Jogja) is located in middle of Java Island - Indonesia, where everything is cheap.
It's enough with $ 20 per-day, you are able to stay over, eat famous
authentic delicious food, and rental motor bike to explore the pure
beaches and thousand of years old ancient temples.
A
thousand years ago, Yogyakarta was the center of ancient Mataram
Kingdom which was prosperous and high civilized. This kingdom built
Borobudur Temple which was the biggest Buddhist temple in the world,
300 years before Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Some other relics are
Prambanan Temple, Ratu Boko Palace, and dozens of other temples
scattered throughout Yogyakarta.
However,
by some mysterious reason, Ancient Mataram Kingdom moved its central
government to East Java in the 10th century. The magnificent temples
were abandoned and partially buried by the eruption material of Merapi
Volcano. Slowly, Yogyakarta region went back into the dense forest.
Six
hundred years later, Panembahan Senopati established the Islamic
Mataram Kingdom in the region. Once again, Yogyakarta became the
witness of human history of a great Kingdom that ruled Java Island and
its surrounding area. Islamic Mataram Kingdom was leaving a trail of
ruins of fortress and royal tombs in Kotagede which recently is known
as silver handicraft center in Yogyakarta.
Giyanti
agreement in 1755 divided the Islamic Mataram Kingdom into Kasunanan
Surakarta be based in the city of Solo and Yogyakarta Sultanate which
founded in Yogyakarta. Kraton (palace) still exists until today and is
functioned as the residence of sultan and his family as well as
hundreds of abdi dalem (the servant of the palace) who
faithfully serve the palace voluntarily and run the tradition in the
midst of changing times. At the palace, there are many cultural
performances such as wayang kulit (puppet shadow play), gamelan (Javanese orchestra), and Javanese dance etc.
Yogyakarta at present is a place where tradition and modern dynamics are going on together continuously. In this city, there is a palace which has hundreds of loyal servants to run the tradition, but there is also University of Gadjah Mada that is one of the leading universities in South East Asia. Some of its residents live in a strong agrarian culture. In the other side, there are also students who live with pop life-style. Traditional markets and handicraft centers are numerous in the city where some of them located by the malls which are no less hectic.
At the north end of Yogyakarta, you will see Mount Merapi stands proudly almost as high as 10,000 feet. This mountain is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia. The trace of its malignant of the 2006 eruption can be witnessed in the Village of Kaliadem, 30 km from the city of Yogyakarta. Mooi Indie style scenery of green rice field with Mount Merapi in the background can still be seen in the suburb area of Yogyakarta.
In the southern part of Yogyakarta, you will find many beaches. The most famous beach is Parangtritis with its legendary figure of Nyi Roro Kidul (Queen of the South), but Yogyakarta has also many natural beautiful beaches in Gunung Kidul. You can see the Sadeng Beach which is an ancient estuary of Bengawan Solo River before the powerful forces lifted the surface of the southern part of Java Island so that the flow of the river turned to the north like today. You can also visit Siung Beach which has 250 channels of rock climbing, Sundak Beach and many many more
If Malaysia has the world's highest twin towers, Yogyakarta has Prambanan Temple with 47 meters tall and was made by hand about 1100 the previous years. If Singapore has modern life, Yogyakarta has traditional agrarian society. If Thailand and Bali have beautiful beaches, Yogyakarta owns natural beaches and Mount Merapi, which has a story of how powerful the force of nature is.
A unique combination of ancient temples, history, traditions, culture and natural forces make Yogyakarta a very worthwhile place to visit.
Yogyakarta at present is a place where tradition and modern dynamics are going on together continuously. In this city, there is a palace which has hundreds of loyal servants to run the tradition, but there is also University of Gadjah Mada that is one of the leading universities in South East Asia. Some of its residents live in a strong agrarian culture. In the other side, there are also students who live with pop life-style. Traditional markets and handicraft centers are numerous in the city where some of them located by the malls which are no less hectic.
At the north end of Yogyakarta, you will see Mount Merapi stands proudly almost as high as 10,000 feet. This mountain is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia. The trace of its malignant of the 2006 eruption can be witnessed in the Village of Kaliadem, 30 km from the city of Yogyakarta. Mooi Indie style scenery of green rice field with Mount Merapi in the background can still be seen in the suburb area of Yogyakarta.
In the southern part of Yogyakarta, you will find many beaches. The most famous beach is Parangtritis with its legendary figure of Nyi Roro Kidul (Queen of the South), but Yogyakarta has also many natural beautiful beaches in Gunung Kidul. You can see the Sadeng Beach which is an ancient estuary of Bengawan Solo River before the powerful forces lifted the surface of the southern part of Java Island so that the flow of the river turned to the north like today. You can also visit Siung Beach which has 250 channels of rock climbing, Sundak Beach and many many more
If Malaysia has the world's highest twin towers, Yogyakarta has Prambanan Temple with 47 meters tall and was made by hand about 1100 the previous years. If Singapore has modern life, Yogyakarta has traditional agrarian society. If Thailand and Bali have beautiful beaches, Yogyakarta owns natural beaches and Mount Merapi, which has a story of how powerful the force of nature is.
A unique combination of ancient temples, history, traditions, culture and natural forces make Yogyakarta a very worthwhile place to visit.