The Best of Jogja (4 Days/ 3 Nights)
Day 1 – Yogyakarta Arrival (L)
Arrive at Adisucipto International airport in Yogyakarta.
Your guide and driver will meet you upon arrival and transfer you to your selected hotel in Yogyakarta
After enjoying a lunch at the restaurant of your selected hotel check in to your room for some free time to refresh and relax.
Note: Legal check in time at 14:00.
Following your lunch, proceed to Prambanan Temple, the ancient Hindu temples built in the 9th century. This collection of sharp, jagged temples features three main inner shrines dedicated to the Hindu trinity: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. UNESCO named Prambanan a Heritage Site in 1991. Your guide will explain the history and symbolism of the temples as you walk around.
Return to your hotel in Yogyakarta.
Overnight in Yogyakarta.
Distance and journey time:
Yogyakarta Airport – Yogyakarta city center (6 km): 20 minutes
Yogyakarta – Prambanan (22 km): 40 minutes
Day 2 – Yogyakarta – Kaliurang – Kaliadem Cycling – Ramayana Dance (B,L,D)
Start with a visit to the Sultan’s Palace, also known as Kraton. Built between 1756 – 1790, is a fine example of traditional Javanese sultanate architecture. As you walk through the various rooms and chambers, you will learn more about this aspect of Javanese heritage and culture.
You’ll also visit the adjacent Taman Sari, water palace and garden. This addition to the royal complex was built over 200 years ago by the first Sultan with bathing pools for his harem. Then, visit a home batik factory where you will attend a short demonstration of Wayang Kulit, the famous Javanese leather puppet.
Drive to Kaliurang, around 1-hour drive from Yogyakarta. Take lunch at Beukenhof Restaurant located in the complex of Ullen Sentalu Museum. Following your lunch, take a tour in Ullen Sentalu Museum that displays ancient batiks, manuscripts and historical photographs of the Sultan’s palace as well as other interesting images of people and events during the colonial era. There are various artifacts, and many oil paintings, including painted portraits of Yogyakarta Sultans and their family.
After visiting the museum, you will be transferred to nearby village of Kaliadem (15 minutes) for a 2-hour biking trip. Pedal your bike through the village with stunning view of Mt Merapi until the finish point in Candi Plaosan (cycling level: Easy to Moderate, mostly downhill).
Sit back and relax after cycling in Prambanan Resto where your early dinner will be served. Following dinner, enjoy Ramayana Dance at Prambanan open stage with the temples at the background.
Note: Ramayana dance at Prambanan are seasonal (between May and October) and only performed on certain days of the week. When there’s no show at Prambanan, it will be replaced by the similar one performed at the Pura Wisata theatre in Yogyakarta.
Return to your hotel and overnight in Yogyakarta.
Distance and journey time:
Yogyakarta city center – Kaliurang (22 km): 1 hour
Kaliurang – Kaliadem (6 km): 15 mins
Kaliadem – Plaosan Temple (18 km): 2 hours (by bike)
Prambanan Resto and open stage – Yogyakarta (18 km): 40 mins
Day 3 – Yogyakarta – Kotagede – Candirejo – Borobudur (B,L)
After breakfast at your hotel, check out and drive to Kotagede for a leisurely tour by becak. This charming village retains some of Central Java’s best examples of traditional Javanese architecture; and is known as the Silver Village due to the concentration of artisans. On arrival to the village you will visit a master baker’s house so you can sample Kembang Waru – a type of cookie only sold in Kotagede. Continue by your becak to the central traditional market where you will take a tour of this bustling location once the main market in the area. Resume your tour, arriving at the oldest mosque in Yogyakarta (1575) where you don Javanese dress, a sign of respect for the former kings and then on to the Royal Cemetery of the First King of the Mataram Kingdom.
Take a tour of the linking laneways to discover the Kalang style architecture which is indigenous to Kotagede – a combination of Javanese and Colonial styles.
Leaving Kotagede for lunch at the Sasanti Restaurant which is also popular for its gallery.
Proceed to Borobudur after lunch. Upon arrival, you’ll get a taste for local life with a horse cart ride through Candirejo village. Known as a dokar, the local horse cart will take you through this peaceful, charming village. You’ll travel along small lanes lined with traditional houses and stop to see village activities such as making cassava crackers, playing the gamelan and harvesting and drying of vanilla and chili.
Continue with a visit to Mendut and Pawon temples, nearby Borobudur. Older than Borobudur, this pyramid-shaped temple houses three impressively carved stone statues
Dinner at leisure and overnight in Borobudur.
Distance and journey time:
Yogyakarta city center – Kotagede (5 km): 15 mins
Kotagede – Sasanti Restaurant (17 km): 40 mins
Sasanti Restaurant – Borobudur (33 km): 1 hour
Day 4 – Borobudur – Yogyakarta – Departure (B)
Wake up early this morning to reach Borobudur for the sunrise. This is the most mystical time to see the temple- the sun rises over the structure in the tranquil morning air with very few other tourists at the temple.
Before the crowds arrive, with your guide, explore this massive Buddhist Temple- the largest in the world- and discover the incredible history behind its construction. Comprised of thousands of volcanic and river stone blocks, the temple was assembled entirely by human labor and took more than 75 years to complete. These days, the UNESCO Heritage site is still visible in its full glory- with magnificent carvings and an unusual, yet surprisingly beautiful bulk structure.
Return to your hotel for breakfast, then check out and transfer to the airport for your onward flight, or continue with an extension package.
Distance and journey time:
Borobudur – Yogyakarta (42 km): 1 hours 30 minutes
More information: yogyakarta@indonesia-tourism.com
