Central Java
Comprising the remains of some 244 temples, World Heritage–listed Prambanan is Indonesia's largest Hindu site and one of Southeast Asia's major…
Getty Images/Flickr RF
Central Java
As home to the great world-class monuments of Borobudur and Prambanan, this is the must-see region of Java. Jakarta may be the nation’s capital, but the Javan identity is at its strongest here, in the island’s historic heartland. This is where Java’s first major Indian-inspired civilisation originated and it served as the stronghold of the great Islamic sultanates centred on the kraton (walled city palaces) of Yogyakarta and Solo. Today, Central Java (Jawa Tengah) remains the province where the island’s cultural traditions are most readily observable.
Attractions
Must-see attractions
Borobudur
Dating from the 8th and 9th centuries, and built from two million blocks of stone, Borobudur is the world's largest Buddhist temple and one of Indonesia's…
Yogyakarta
Beside the southern alun-alun (main square), Yogya's enormous kraton (palace) is the cultural and political heart of this fascinating city. Effectively a…
Central Java
In a magnificent position 900m above the Solo plain with fine views of Gunung Lawu, Candi Sukuh is one of Java’s most enigmatic and striking temples. It’s…
-
Semarang
Semarang’s atmospheric old quarter, often referred to by its Dutch name, the Outstadt, is well worth investigating. Until recently, most of the area’s…
-
Sangiran Museum of Ancient Man
Solo
With the largest collection of Homo erectus fossils in the world (the bones of 70 individuals), Sangiran is an important archaeological excavation site…
-
Yogyakarta
This once-splendid pleasure park of palaces, pools and waterways, built between 1758 and 1765, functioned as the playground of the sultan and his…
-
Borobudur
This exquisite temple, around 3.5km east of Borobudur, may look insignificant compared with its mighty neighbour, but it houses the most outstanding…
