What to do and see in Yogyakarta

Yogyakarta (sometimes spelled as Yogjakarta and often shortened to Jogja) is one of the larger cities in Java, Indonesia. It is also the capital city of the Special region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia. In this post, I will tell you about some of the things that you can do and see in and around the city. See more about why I liked the people of Yogyakarta here.

If you are a digital nomad, see my rating of Yogyakarta as a digital nomad destination in my other post here.


1. Cultural sights and activities, museums

Yogja is one of the best cities to learn about and to experience Javanese culture: the dances, the costumes, the wayang puppet and a lot more. Even if you only have a few days to spend in the city, you will have the chance to see at least some of these. For a detailed programme of where and when to see what, check out Yogyes.com, a very useful site for visitors, in English.

1.1 The Keraton and the dance show

The Keraton (or Kraton) is royal palace in Javanese, and if it stands alone, it usually refers to the Royal Palace in Yogyakarta. Yes, Yogyakarta Special region is a sultanate, and it has a sultan in office, whose official residence is the Keraton.

But it is also (or mainly) a cultural centre, with a museum where you can see some objects related to the monarchy like clothes and everyday objects. To be honest, it is not really interesting unless you have a guide who can tell you stories and interesting facts about them. There is absolutely no written information available, so all you can do without a guide is stare at one or two of the objects displayed before you realize they are less interesting than looking at a piece of [insert your favourite word here]. The building itself is not shockingly beautiful either (to say the least), but once you are there, why ot pay a visit (and the 15.000 IDR entrance fee)?

There is, however, a different, very good reason to visit the Keraton at certain times: the cultural shows. I went to see a dance show, which was one of the highlights of my Jogja stay. The dancers are incredible with their subtle movements, when they use their fingers, their toes and even – I am not joking – their eyes as part of the dance. The costumes are fantastic, and of course you see the gamelan musicians providing the beat.

Javanese dancer, Keraton, Yogyakarta
Javanese dancer, Keraton, Yogyakarta
Javanese dancer, Keraton, Yogyakarta
Javanese dancer, Keraton – musicians and singers in the background
Keraton, Yogyakarta
The Keraton

1.2 Museum Sonobudoyo and Wayang show

Sonobudoyo is a museum of Javanese culture and history, with lots of artifacts on display. It is worth spending some time in the museum and learning about the history of Java and the Javanese people. There is also a large section dedicated to wayang, the Javanese puppet theatre.

The museum also has wayang puppet shows several times a week. The shows last one hour, and it is very interesting to see the artists and musicians from up close. When you enter, there are seats, and no-one will tell you that in this case, you will actually sit behind the show. You will see the puppeteers and the musicians, but you need some time to realize that they are using the screen which is to be looked at from the opposite side. Anyway, you are free to walk around during the performance, too.

The shows tell stories from Ramayana, and they are in Indonesian (or Javanese???), so you will not be able to understand anything at all unless you speak these languages. Now this made it awfully difficult for me: after a while, I got so bored that I thought I just wouldn’t survive if I stayed any longer. I know, I am awful! I walked around a little, and then quickly escaped, unfortunately with the staff at the exit door, who nicely smiled at me and said goodbye.

Ticket price is 10.000 IDR, they don’t have this shameful policy, according to which tourists pay ten or fifty times more than locals (or than it seems reasonable).

Wayang puppets in the Sonobudoyo Museum
Wayang puppets in the Sonobudoyo Museum
Wayang show in the Sonobudoyo Museum – from behind

1.3 Museum Affandi

Affandi was a very famous Indonesian (Javanese) artist, who lived and worked in Yogyakarta. He was the one who established the collection which now serves as the Affandi museum, in his own house. You can see a lot of his own paintings, and there are separate rooms where other works by his family members are on display. I loved the gallery – but that of course all depends on whether you like Affandi paintings or not.

Entrance is 100.000 rupees for foreigners, and 50k for locals. There is also a small café and a shop (entrance fee includes a free drink or an ice cream). In the shop you can also buy T-shirts with nice pictures or drawings, and I now regret that I did’t buy one. Well, will have to return then… You must also pay 30k more for camera, but since no-one told me or asked me about my camera, I just skipped this fee.

Affandi statue in front of the Affandi Museum
Affandi statue in front of the Affandi Museum
Painting by Affandi
A painting by Affandi

1.4 Code museum

This is a small museum, which is so much underrated or undervisited. When I was there, I was the only visitor. The staff was one single girl, a very nice person who asked me if I wanted to look around myself, or I needed a guide too. I did want a guide, and it turned out that she was the guide too. She felt a bit nervous first, because she said she didn’t speak very good English, but her English turned out to be absolutely fine. She even took a selfie of us in front of the museum (which I stupidly didn’t request from her later).

The museum is about the history of encoding messages from very early times through to the 20th century. You can see original machines and devices for encoding/encryption, and her explanations made it even more interesting of course. On Google Maps, find Museum Sandi (that is the name in Indonesian for encryption). Entrance is free.

Cryptographic machine in the Code Museum, Yogyakarta
Cryptographic machine in the Code Museum

2. Sightseeing and shopping

2.1 Malioboro street

Malioboro street is the heart of Jogja. It is a long avenue with very wide pavements on both sides, so that it is a convenient place to stroll around even if the pavements are lined with food stalls and the booths of other vendors. It runs from the railway station all through to the Royal Palace (the Keraton). You will find shops, restaurants, malls, a large market and even a museum along the avenue.

This is the place where all Jogja people gather for a stroll at any time of the day. You will find nicely decorated horse-drawn carriages there (no idea about the cost, never tried them), and a lot of people who will try to trick you into buying batik shirts (again no idea about the price, I hate batik shirts).

I spent a New Year’s Eve in Jogja, and at that time, Malioboro is again one of the places to go. There were free concerts all along the way from the station to the Keraton, and a crowd that seemed just impossible to handle for me. So after a short time, I escaped somehow (it was really difficult to negotiate the crowd), and went to meet the new year at Tugu Jogja instead.

Jalan Malioboro, Yogyakarta
Jalan Malioboro – street name also written in the Javanese language

2.2 Tugu Jogja

Tugu Jogja (“Joga monument”) is officially called Tugu Yogyakarta, but no-one ever uses that name. It is perhaps the most famous landmark in Jogja – at least for Jogja people. The monument was originally built in 1755, but was destroyed in an earthquake (yes, we are in Indonesia, in Java) in 1867, but was very soon rebuilt and got its present shape. It is a small and loveable monument, but unfortunately, it stand in the middle of the road in a crossing of two busy roads, so there is no safe way to get near it (and take a selfie, for instance).

According to some information, local students go to visit Tugu Jogja after a successful exam or other achievement, and give it a kiss (hopefully not literally physically). Tugu Jogja is also a good starting point for a city walk, from here walk down to the railways station, and from there all along Malioboro street. Whenever you get tired, sit down and one of the million small eateries and restaurants and grab a bite, or simply sit down on one of the many benches.

At New Year’s Eve, there were fireworks all around Tugu Jogja, and it was not as crowded as Malioboro.

Tugu Jogja
Tugu Jogja
New Year's eve at Tugu Jogja
New Year’s eve at Tugu Jogja

2.3 Markets and malls

If you want to do some serious shopping, you need to go to Malioboro street. There you will find lots of fashionable shops as well as cheap places to buy clothes and everything else you can imagine. For a mall experience, visit Malioboro Mall, which offers the same stuff any mall will offer anywhere in the world. I also used the McDonalds toilet in the mall several times, because I just couldn’t find any other options in the centre (McDonald’s is always a good bet for this, isn’t it?).

Walk further south on Malioboro, and you will find Pasar Beringharjo, a large market which sells both food and other stuff. Prices are good even without haggling – which is a wonderful thing for someone like me, who is unable to haggle.,

Next to Pasar Beringharjo, there is the night market with lots of yummy food and the usual things that a night market in Asia will try to offload on unsuspecting tourists and locals alike.

2.4 Banks and money

You will find several banks and money changers on Malioboro and the neighbouring streets. If you go further out of the city centre, money changers will be hard to find, but you can always try a bank. If you want to use an ATM, use a bank, or if they are closed or you can’t find one nearby, there are ATMs in supermarkets, too. These are safer to use, since they are always in sight of the staff.

I have written a separate post about money in Indonesia, see this link for more details.

IDR / Indonesian rupees
Indonesian rupees

2.5 Food

There are innumerable food stalls n the street and even on the roadside, most of them in tents that provide a little protection against the rain. These serve simple but delicious food, and the prices are more than reasonable.

There are places where you will see “Makanan Padang” – this means Padang food, which actually means self service buffet. The food is laid out on several shelves, and there is also a large dish/container with rice. You help yourself, and you pay according to what you have put on your plate.

Yogyakarta’s famous food is gudeg – try it, maybe you will like it more than I did. Another dish to try is Gado-gado (very often written as gado squared: Gado2), which is semi-raw vegetables with gravy, a boiled egg and some chips and whatnot. I loved it, and can only recommend it. The first time I tried martabak was also in Yogyakarta, where it was surprisingly expensive compared to what I found in either Bukittinggi or Padang.

Gudeg
Gado gado
Gado gado

3. Around Yogyakarta

3.1 Prambanan and Borobudur

For many people, the two temples, Prambanan and Borobudur (the former is actually a temple complex) are the main reason to visit Yogyakarta. Both of them are UNESCO World Heritage sites, and both of them will leave lasting memories on visitors. I have written a separate post about them including how to get there from Jogja, how much it costs to visit them and lots of other practical info with photos.

Borobudur
Borobudur temple

3.2 Solo (Surakarta)

An hour or so by train from Yogyakarta, and you are in a very nice small town: Solo (actually not that small, but it has the atmosphere of a small town). Solo’s official name not used by anyone in the entire universe, is Surakarta.

I only spent a very short time in Solo, because that was the time when I contracted something, probably the dreaded zika virus, which you can read about here.

But the time I spent i Solo, even if I felt I was going to die, was nice and memorable. See my photos of the beautiful street art paintings here.

Solo Indonesia
Solo
Mural art in Solo, Java
Mural art in Solo

4. Where to stay in Yogyakarta

As you can see from the above, the centre of Yogyakarta is Malioboro street. I don’t think it is a very good idea to actually stay in Malioboro, but if you only have a short time and don’t want to waste time on travelling from place to place, I think the best area would be somewhere around Malioboro or Tugu Jogja.

However, hotel prices in this neighbourhood tend to be higher. So if you are travelling on a budget like myself, you can try somewhere within the large “square”, i.e. the area bordered by the huge roads on four sides. In the screenshot of the map below, you can see that most of my Google Maps markings are within the square. There are several stars at the northern border too – that’s where I was living. But then, I wasn’t visiting for a few days, but was living in Jogja for almost two months. For that, that area was much-much better (you can read about it in my Digital Nomad City Ratings series about Jogja). The rest of the stars mark the two temples: Prambanan in the east, and Borobudur in the west.

Where to stay in Yogyakarta - map
Where to stay in Yogyakarta – screenshot of Google Maps
horse statue Yogyakarta
This is a horse statue near the railway station in Yogyakarta. I have no idea what or why or how – but it must be a memorial to poor Rosinante, I thought when I first looked at it.
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