Jakarta
Jakarta, officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia, with administrative status equivalent to a province.
It lies on the northwestern coast of Java, borders the provinces of West Java and Banten, and faces the Java Sea to the north. Jakarta itself covers about 662 square kilometres, but the wider Jakarta metropolitan area—locally known as Jabodetabek—is among the largest urban agglomerations in the world by area. By population, the metro area is the most populous urban area in the world with a population of over 40 million. Jakarta is Indonesia's political, economic, and cultural centre and contains many national institutions, corporate headquarters, and the secretariat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Getting to Jakarta
Jakarta (JKT IATA) has two airports with scheduled flights:
Worth seeing
The heart of tourist attractions is to the north and centre of Jakarta. Visitors typically start exploring Jakarta from this part of the town, called the Kota Tua, where the old buildings of Jakarta are preserved within a dedicated walking area. Jakarta has 47 museums, which are spread across the city.
Things to do
Despite being the melting pot of Indonesia, Jakarta's indigenous tribe called the Betawi still stays proud of its culture. They are actually a unique assimilation of various domestic and international races from the Chinese to the Portuguese, which makes it distinct from other parts of Indonesia.
Where to eat
Jakarta has a vast range of food available at hundreds of eating complexes located all over the huge city. In addition to selections from all over the country, you can also find excellent Chinese, Japanese, Western, and many other international foods thanks to the cosmopolitan population.
Getting around Jakarta the local way
- Get in() is smaller and much closer to the city (in East Jakarta), is served by a range of domestic scheduled flights, in addition to its use by the military, VIP flights, charter flights, helicopter leasing companies, and private jets.
- Get inThe national ferry companies, ASDP Indonesia Ferry and Pelni, operate passenger services from a large number of destinations across the Indonesian archipelago.
- Get inThe main ferry terminal is port in North Jakarta.
- Get inSmaller speedboats, particularly to and from the Thousand Islands (Pulau Seribu), depart from Ancol and Muara Angke, also on Jakarta's north shore.
- Get inThere are no international passenger ferries besides a weekly 45-minute ferry ride across the strait from Singapore to Batam.
- Get aroundMikrotrans, mikrolets and angkots are vans that serve fixed stops around the city.
- Get aroundThe Jakartan equivalent to Thailand's tuk-tuk is the bajaj (pronounced "bahdge-eye"), orange mutant scooters souped up in India into little three-wheeled vehicles that carry passengers in a small cabin at the back.
- Get aroundQute are much quieter than bemo and have air conditioning.
From Wikivoyage: Jakarta, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Sulthan Naufal (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikimedia Commons.
