Ancol Luar Biasa

Jakarta


On Jakarta's bayfront, the people’s ‘Dreamland’ is a landscaped recreation complex popular with families. It has worn amusement rides, and sporting and leisure facilities, including bowling, but it gets crowded on weekends. Prime attractions include the Pasar Seni (art market), which has cafes, craft shops and art exhibitions.

The park also includes the Gondola and the Atlantis Water Adventure water-park complex, where there's a wave pool, water slides and a slide pool, plus artificial beaches. There's also the Epic Cable Park wakeboarding course and the huge Dunia Fantasi fun park, which includes various rides from roller coasters to bumper cars and big swings. There's also an 'Eco Park' with a deer enclosure and a zipline.

Marine mammal lovers be warned – Seaworld Ancol, with its controversial marine-life shows, lives here too (scientific studies are now providing incontestable evidence that keeping cetaceans in captivity for public entertainment is harmful to the animals).

The park is huge and taxis operate inside; if you plan on walking, give yourself enough time to get from one attraction to another. A free shuttle can be caught to and from the main attractions inside the park. If you want to stay and do it all again the following day, there's a Mercure hotel inside the park.