Central Java Travel Guide

Central Java (Jawa Tengah;, including the Yogyakarta Special Region, covers the central third of the island of Java, Indonesia.
Cities
Semarang — the administrative capital and an ancient seaport
Cilacap — a quiet off the beaten track town on the south coast with great potential for tourism development
Magelang — the nearest large town to Borobudur with a splendid history from the Mataram period
Purwokerto — gateway to mighty Mt Slamet and the adjacent highlands
Solo (Surakarta) — bustling city that has retained a very authentic traditional Javanese nature
Tegal — north coast town with a strong colonial past
Wonosobo — sleepy small city and regency nestled between Mt Sindoro and Mt Sumbing
Yogyakarta — the heritage city of all Java and a semi-autonomous sultanate

Stupas of Borobudur with steaming Mount Merapi in the background
North Coast Cities and Karimunjawa Island (Pakudjembara)
Arriving at Cemara besar island in Karimunjawa

Blora the old oil city
Demak the guardian city
Jepara — the furniture manufacturing capital of Indonesia; hundreds of workshops working mostly in teak
Karimunjawa — a marine national park of 27 islands, well off the beaten track
Kudus- the clove cigarette invention city
Pati — the two rabbit city
Rembang — the Kartini heritage city
Cepu — The teak forest oil field city

Other towns and cities

Ambarawa - a historical town famous for its railway station, Rawapening Lake, and awesome surrounding scenery.
Baturaden - fabulous hot springs spot just 14 km north of Purwokerto, on the foot of the mighty Mount Slamet.
Baturetno
Kendal
Kopeng
Kebumen - the town of Walet bird's nest
Salatiga - major university and transit city.
Sokaraja - Purwokerto's neighboring town, famous for getuk goreng and soto.
Wonogiri
Boyolali - the city of milk on the slope of Mount Merapi

Map of Central Java
Other destinations

Borobudur — the world's largest Buddhist monument
Dieng Plateau — a volcanic area in the highlands with the oldest standing temples in Indonesia, pre-dating Borobudur by some 100 years
Mount Merapi — a perenially active and spectacular volcano
Parangtritis — a beach to the south of Yogyakarta and easily reached from therePrambanan — a collection of awe-inspiring Hindu temples

Understand
Talk

Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) is the official language of education and business. The majority of Central Java's population also speak Javanese, a related but mutually incomprehensible language. English and sometimes other European languages are widely understood in the major tourist areas.
Get in
By plane

The main transport hubs for tourists are Yogyakarta and Solo, both well connected with domestic flights (and a few international ones) and within easy striking distance of the main attractions of Borobudur and Prambanan. The provincial capital Semarang also has a major domestic airport.
By train

Purwokerto, Yogyakarta, Solo and Semarang are connected to other cities with intensive railway service [2], providing various classes of accommodation for all budgets. Central Java cities often have more than one railway station, a legacy of the many private railway lines during the colonial era.
By car

Rent Car Company like Central Java Transporter, ☎ +6285225993574 (thejavatransporter@gmail.com), [3].  edit
Get around
By bus

Buses are very widespread in this region servicing cities, towns and to a lesser extent, rural areas.
By car

Hiring your own car is the most convenient way to cover some of the large distances in the region. However, even by Indonesian standards, driving practices in Central Java will scare most visitors. You will enjoy your visit more and may be safer, if you hire a car with driver.

Central Java Transporter, ☎ +6285225993574 (thejavatransporter@gmail.com), [4].  edit

Joglo Transport (cheap transport java, java transport, jogja transport, cheap travels jogja), ☎ +62 818466933, [5]. 24 Hrs.  edit
-By train=

This region is well served by trains with two main lines. The North Line runs along the north coast linking Solo, Semarang and Tegal, with stops in between. The South Line links Solo and Yogyakarta with small towns on the south coast. There is also a north-south cross island line in the west of the region, passing through Purwokerto.

The loop line in the northeast of the region linking Semarang with Jepara and Kudus is long disused despite still being shown on many maps.
See
Candi Lara Jonggrang, Prambanan

The region is best known for its two A-list UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Borobudur is an ancient Buddhist stupa and temple complex dating from the 9th century, and is the single most visited attraction in the whole of Indonesia. That brings with it some issues and the site can be over-run. Visitors keen to really enjoy the undoubted magnificence of Borobudur should consider staying the night in the area and visiting early the following morning before the hordes of day-trippers arrive.

No less impressive is the Hindu temple complex at Prambanan dating from the same period. The huge, imposing candi rise 40 to 50 metres in height and make for a truly awe-inspiring spectacle. Prambanan was tragically damaged by a major earthquake in May 2006 but the site is open again as restoration work continues.

Both Borobudur and Prambanan are easily combined with a visit to the ancient city of Yogyakarta, and these three destinations account for the vast majority of visitor arrivals in the region. Yogyakarta is the undoubted cultural capital of Java with a wonderful palace (kraton) and many historical attractions.

The Dieng Plateau is a little off the beaten path for overseas visitors, and certainly so when compared to the preceding destinations. This volcanic plain in the highlands north of Wonosobo is home to the oldest standing structures in Indonesia (Hindu temples dating from the 8th century). It is though the scenery that draws most visitors here. Spectacular conical volcanoes, steaming sulphurous pools and eerie mountain lakes make for an almost other-worldly landscape.
Do

The active might want to consider a climb of Mount Merapi, the most active volcano in a country of very active volcanoes! Experienced trekkers will make the summit in about 3 hours from the last village on the northern slopes. Sunrise is truly spectacular here as are the molten lava flows. Needless to say, always heed safety advice - this is a very dangerous mountain. There many activities in Central Java which seems not enough time to explore. Cultures and adventures are the perfect combination during your holiday in Java. There many things to see and to do; River rafting at Serayu-Progo and Elo rivers, caving at Goa Barat Kebumen with the river inside and beautiful stalactite- stalagmites. They will be your great companions on your perfect holiday in Central Java.
Eat

The food of Central Java is renowned for its sweetness, and the dish of gudeg, a curry made from jackfruit, is a particularly sweet. The city of Yogyakarta is renowned for its ayam goreng (fried chicken) and kelepon (green rice-flour balls with palm sugar filling). Surakarta's (Solo) specialities include 'Nasi liwet (rice with coconut milk, unripe papaya, garlic and shallots, served with chicken or egg) and 'serabi (coconut milk pancakes topped with chocolate, banana or jackfruit).Some foodies insist that in a country of interesting cuisine, the best of all hails from Central Java. That may or may not be the case, but several wonderful dishes originate from this region. These include:
Gudeg served in the traditional way with white rice on a banana leaf
.

    Gudeg. A coconut-infused stew of young jackfruit, chicken and hardboiled eggs with a subtle sweet and savoury taste. Vendors all seem to have their own secret recipes for Gudeg, but the flavour base usually seems to include bay leaf, coriander, candlenut, onion, garlic, galangal, ginger, palm sugar, and unusually, teak tree leaves. This is a Yogyakarta speciality and is sometimes called Gudeg Yogya. The not-to-be-missed dish of the region. Best tried in Yogyakarta but you will also find it elsewhere.

    Bakpia. A small sweet pastry, traditionally filled with sugary mung bean paste. Other fillings are now sometimes used with cheese being especially popular. These originated in the Pathok district of Yogyakarta and are also called Bakpia Pathok. A box of Bakpia travels quite well and is a very authentic gift for any visitor to take home.

    Lumpia Semarang. Lumpia (spring rolls) could almost be the national dish of Indonesia, and the Semarang variety is one of the very best. Fillings vary but always include bamboo shoots. Dipping sauce might be sweet soy with chopped fresh chillies (sos manis paket cabe potong), spicy sambal or a sweet garlic, tomato and chilly blend. Look for streetside vendors and always choose the busiest - locals will know for sure who makes the best Lumpia.

    Bakso Solo. Bakso (meatballs in hot broth with noodles, various vegetables and chilly sauce) wil be well known to any visitor to Indonesia. The Solo version uses truly huge super sized meatballs. Typical Indonesian humour has resulted in this dish sometimes being called "Bakso Tennis".

    Nasi Bogana. This very convenient dish has almost fastfood status across Indonesia these days, but it originated from Tegal on the northern coast of this region. White rice accompanied by a whole host of other possibilities is tightly wrapped in a banana leaf packet. It can then be heated by steaming at any time inside the packet - hence the convenient fast food tag. Accompanying dishes could be chicken curry, tempe (fermented soya beans), tofu, egg, dendeng (spicy beef jerky), chicken livers...... the list goes on. Most likely is a combination of them all. If you are travelling on a budget, keep an eye out for Nasi Bogana street hawkers in any city or town.

    Opor ayam is a chicken cooked in coconut milk from Indonesia, especially from Central Java. usually eaten with ketupat and sambal goreng ati (beef liver in sambal).

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