Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta is the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java.
As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an important centre for classical Javanese fine arts and culture such as ballet, batik textiles, drama, literature, music, poetry, silversmithing, visual arts, and wayang puppetry. Renowned as a centre of Indonesian education, Yogyakarta is home to a large student population and dozens of schools and universities, including Gadjah Mada University, the country's largest institute of higher education and one of its most prestigious.
Getting to Yogyakarta
- 01Yogyakarta International Airport
All domestic and international jet flights use this airport.
- 02Adisucipto International Airport
- 03Giwangan Bus Station
- 04Day Trans
Mantrijeron, Kota Yogyakarta, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta 55141 (Near jalan gading gate and pasar gading),.
Worth seeing
Being one of the oldest cities in Indonesia, Yogyakarta has many heritage buildings and monuments and the centre was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2023. The number one must-see attraction is Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono's palace, better known as Kraton Ngayogyakarta. Near the palace are a number of other heritage buildings : the BNI '46 building, the Central Post Office and Bank Indonesia.
- 01Benteng Vredeburg
- 02Kotabaru
The Dutch officials' residential area has some heritage homes, a colonial style church, monastery (Gereja Kotabaru), and a stadium (Stadion Kridosono).
- 03Kotagede
The capital of the ancient Islamic Mataram kingdom.
- 04Tugu Monument
Built by Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono VI, the spire was originally a sphere representing the universe.
- 05Northern
Built for training the Sultan's army, it was opened to the public during the reign of Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX.
- 06Kraton Yogyakarta
A calm and elegant example of Javanese heritage with two separate entrances; the Main Court (Pagilaran and Siti Hinggil) and the Residence.
Things to do
Horse-drawn carriage rides — traditional horse-drawn carriages, the four-wheeled andhong and the two-wheeled horsecart call dokar, wait for tourists outside hotspots like the train station, the Kraton and Mal Malioboro. Haggle furiously. The traditional route is from Jl Malioboro to the Kraton. Andhong often want to take you to shop for fake Dagadu t-shirts at hefty prices in Ngasem.
Where to eat
Yogyakarta food used to be known for its sweetness. However, as more and more people move to Jogja, the city starts seeing more diversity in flavor. Now you can find many kinds of interesting dishes, from sweet, spicy, to fiery. Sometimes a fusion from other cuisines such as Chinese or Western can be found.
- 01Angkringan Tugu
- 02Bakmi Jawa Harjo Geno
Tip: if you think that fried noodles go well with beer, you can grab a Bintang at the nearby Tante Lies restaurant.
- 03Rame Rame Vegetarian
- 04Sagan Super Sambal
At the first crossroad (with Gramedia in the corner), turn left (north) to Jl.
- 05Soto Kadipiro
Getting around Yogyakarta the local way
- Get inThere are Damri Buses and Damri Minibuses from YIA to Wojo Station for Rp10,000, to Yogyakarta city Rp40,000, to Kebumen Rp50,000 and to Magelang Rp50,000.
- Get inFrom YIA to Yogyakarta by Damri minibus cost Rp25,000 and takes around 1.5 hr.
- Get aroundNowadays, organized ojek are strong competitors to taxis and ojek pangkalan.
- Get aroundTry: Disability ojeks are also available in Yogyakarta.
- Go nextMany tour buses (minivans) leave Yogyakarta at 05:00 for an early visit to Borobudur.
From Wikivoyage: Yogyakarta, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.