Things to do
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Borobudur
Nine stacked terraces of volcanic stone rise out of the Kedu plain, carved with relief panels and topped by bell shaped stupas around a central dome. Built in the ninth century and buried under ash for generations, the Buddhist monument is now Java's defining sight. Climbs onto the upper terraces are capped, guided and booked in advance, and an early entry catches the plain under mist with the terraces still quiet.
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Kraton of Yogyakarta
Still the residence of the sultan and the seat of a court that runs on its own etiquette, the walled palace opens a portion of its pavilions to visitors each morning. Elderly retainers in batik keep the rooms, and gamelan, wayang or dance is performed on a rotation through the week. Closing comes early in the afternoon, and shorts are turned away at the gate.
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Malioboro
Yogyakarta's main street runs from the railway station down towards the palace, lined with batik stalls, warungs and buskers, with becak drivers waiting along the kerb. Pedestrianised pavements make the walk easier than the traffic alongside suggests. Evenings bring mats laid out for lesehan dining, gudeg among the dishes. Stalls expect haggling, and the first figure quoted is rarely the last.
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Mount Merapi
An active volcano stands north of the city, still smoking and still rearranging the villages below it; the eruption of 2010 emptied several of them. Jeep trips run before dawn from Kaliurang, crossing ash fields and lava stones to a viewpoint that clears only in the dry months. Summit climbing depends on the alert level, which changes without much notice.
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Prambanan
Tall, sharply tapered Hindu towers stand in a walled compound on the plain northeast of Yogyakarta, the central shrine to Shiva rising more than forty metres. Carved galleries run the Ramayana around the inner temples, and a nearby stage performs the same story as dance in the dry season. Several outer temples remain in pieces after a 2006 earthquake. Late afternoon softens the light on the carvings and takes the heat off the open compound.
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Ratu Boko
On a plateau south of Prambanan, a stone gateway, bathing pools and terraces mark what was probably a fortified royal retreat of the eighth century. Little is reconstructed, and the draw is the position: the plain, the Prambanan towers and the volcano lined up to the north. Sunset brings crowds to the gate and a combined ticket with Prambanan covers the shuttle. Shade is scarce on the open ground.
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Taman Sari
A ruined water castle of bathing pools, gates and tunnels sits a short walk south of the palace, built for the sultan's court in the eighteenth century. Its underground mosque, reached through a passage and lit by a shaft of daylight, is the part worth finding. A village has grown inside and around the walls, so the route is unobvious and a local guide saves wandering.