YOGYAKARTA - Photo

Yogyakarta is the largest city in central Java.
The city is known as a center of classical Javanese art and traditional culture (batik, ballet, theater, music, poetry).

On May 27, 2006, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 degrees on the Richter scale hit the city. There were approximately 6000 victims.

Yogyakarta is a very good base for exploring, two famous temples (Borobudur and Prambanan) in one day.

The visit of the famous royal palace is ultra crowded in high tourist season and frankly disappointing: not much to see.

We recommend staying in the neighborhood Sosrowijayan. There are many cheap hotels (losmen). In high season, the price is 80 000 rp for a basic double room (no AC and no hot water). The advantage of this neighborhood is that it is 10 min walk to the train station and completely pedestrian. It is very relaxing (especially if you arrive from Jakarta ...). In addition, this district has all services expected by a backpackers (cheap hotels, travel agencies, laundries, libraries multilingual, internet cafes, etc. ...).

Yogyakarta is located at:

• 3 hours by train from Surabaya (100 000 Rp in Executive class)
• 8 hours by train from Jakarta (Rp 300 000 in Executive class).
• 12 hours by bus from Jakarta (Rp 200 000 minibus not very good - no safety and no comfort).