Tembi Cultural House is a great place to find documentation about the history and culture of Java, located in Bantul, Yogyakarta Special Region province. Tembi is also a witness to the birth of many creative works created by local communities. This cultural house often hosts various cultural events such as art exhibitions, performances of traditional and contemporary art, dance and theater performances, music, to poetry reading. The cultural house is not funded by any institution. All activities are organized on a non-profit basis. To meet the needs of the expenditure, Tembi is running several businesses from its facilities such as workshop, artshop, homestay, museums, libraries, swimming pools, and food stalls.

The House posseses some variations of collection, the traditional tools of Javanese including kitchen appliances such as a furnace, boiler (for cooking), the weapon like dagger and spear, farming tools such as plows, swimming pool, art equipment such as gamelan and batik, and also historical photos, ancient poster. There is also an ancient motorcycle as well as a library with a number of manuscripts which have reached 5,000 units. It also provides an exhibition space, meeting rooms, lodging, restaurant, swimming pool and pavilion along with a set of gamelan instruments.

What reviewers think...

This place is good for arts exhibition and performamce, they have a gallery with vintage bicycle and motorcycle collection from 50s. Besides the gallery also a resort with Javanese authentic design. Facilities including a resto and swimming pool (by Muhamad Taufiq Hidayat).

This place is one of the coziest place to stay for a vacation. Many arts exhibition was held here (by Ayu Laksmi).

This is a good place for rest and learn about culture, it has a museum too (by Thomas Pramantyo).

If you visit Yogyakarta and look for lodging with a beautiful rustic feel with the background of green rice fields, this location might be the one (by andikaawan.blogspot.co.id).

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Source: jogjainmymind.blogspot.com

Source: Indra Maulana

Main photo from Panoramio
Information from Wikipedia

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Ramayana ballet, this is the legend of Prambanan history that comes to life, presented by more than 150 artists at its original place. Ramayana Ballet at Prambanan is the most spectacular performance in Yogyakarta that held in an open theatre of the Prambanan temple complex, a UNESCO world culture heritage. The performance in open theatre only scheduled at dry season.

This performance which is similar to that engraved on Prambanan temple will offer you a theatrical performance combined with musical performance that will guide you to the past time to follow the story of Prince Rama, when he rule the Kingdom as the Caesar in India. This dance-drama is a marvelous visualization of legendary epos in Javanese culture, Ramayana.

Performed in an open stage, Ramayana ballet invites you to enjoy the story in a set of typical Javanese dance accompanied by gamelan music. A full-time professional in arts, drama, dance and musical of Javanese heritage perform with about 150 members. The Ramayana Prambanan Ballet is celebrating the 50th on-going consecutive years (1961-2011). The dance and uniform are portraying the Javanese tradition and culture. This attraction involve not only dancers but also gamelan (Javanese traditional music instruments) musicians and sinden (Javanese singer with unique voicing).

What reviewers think...

Magnificient views of the Prambanan in the background. Very good example of Javanese dance. Well organized. They also provide hotel drop offs after the show is over at a nominal rate (by Dhiman Das).

It has nice background especially when it's full moon. The ballet tell a story of Ramayana. The story divided into 4 chapter. Each night will only play 1 chapter. The dancing are beautiful and unique (by Andre Budayasa).

When visiting Yogyakarta, I highly recommend to plan for watching this splendid show of the traditional ballet of Ramayana. Best time of the year are during summer where you get the outdoor theatre with a spectacular fire show during the burning Hanoman scene. I'll promise you won't regret every penny spent! (by Guntur Sarwohadi)

Quite disappointing performance overall and a bit of a tourist trap given taxis can ask you any price to go there and back. Better to arrange a private transport (by Evgeny S).

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Source: Wikipedia

Source: alamandayogyakarta.com

Source: meretasjalan.wordpress.com

Main photo from Time Travel Turtle
Information from visitramayana.com

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Ratu Boko is an archaeological site known to modern Javanese as Kraton Ratu Boko or Ratu Boko's Palace. Ratu Boko is located on a plateau, about three kilometres south of Lara Jonggrang Prambanan temple complex in Yogyakarta Indonesia. The original name of this site is still unclear, however the local inhabitants named this site after King Boko, the legendary king mentioned in Loro Jonggrang folklore. In Javanese, Ratu Boko means "Stork King".

The site covers 16 hectares in two hamlets (Dawung and Sambireja) of the village of Bokoharjo and Prambanan, Sleman Regency. In striking contrast to other Classic-period sites in Central Java and Yogyakarta, which are remains of temples, Ratu Boko displays attributes of an occupation or settlement site, although its precise function is unknown. Probably the site was a palace complex which belonged to the kings of Sailendra or Mataram Kingdom that also built temples scattered across the Prambanan Plain. The argument was based on the fact that this complex was not a temple nor building with religious nature, but a fortified palace instead which evidence of a remnant of fortified walls and the dry moat of defensive structures. The remains of settlements also founds in Ratu Boko vicinity.

This site is located 196 m above the sea level, on the highest point in the site, there is a small pavilion from which one will be able to see a panoramic view of Prambanan temple with Mount Merapi as the background.

What reviewers think...

Here is more like a garden rather than historical place. Big area here you can enjoy the view of Jogjakarta city from the top. If you come here after 3:30pm, you are fixed to "enjoy" their sunset ticket. Although the restaurant seems nice, but you have no choice to pay less for without sunset (by Brett Kwong).

Cool place, make sure to snap some photos here! But prepare yourself with sunglasses, umbrellas, hats, and sunblock if you don't want to get burnt. Recommendation: buy a package of Candi Prambanan entry + Ratu Boko entry + two-way shuttle of Prambanan-Ratu Boko that costs IDR 50.000/person, so you don't have to search for cabs to go here :) (by Monika Ardine).

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Source: YouTube channel by farid istijanto

Main photo from Unknown
Information from Wikipedia

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The Kedaton Ambarrukmo (Royal Palace Residence) was built between 1857 and 1859 and named Pesanggrahan Arjapurna by King Hamengkubuwono VI. It functioned as a meeting venue for The Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, as well as a resort for the royal family. From 1895 & 1897, the palace was renovated and functioned as a meeting venue for King Hamengkubuwono VII with kings from Surakarta Palace. Later the palace became a family home for King Hamengkubuwono VII.

Today, the palace is registered as a National Heritage Site, which will soon be revitalized as a museum featuring its extensive art collection. On a lively street, this luxe hotel in a modern building is 6 km from upscale shopping at Jalan Malioboro and 7 km from Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat, a palace dating from the 18th century.


Photo by: Royal Ambarrukmo Hotel
Script by: Royal Ambarrukmo Hotel
Street view by: Google

Set in a colonial building dating from 1918, this refined hotel is 2.1 km from the shops and restaurants of Jalan Malioboro and 4 km from the 18th-century palace of Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat. The elegant, traditionally furnished rooms offer free Wi-Fi and flat-screen TVs. Upgraded rooms add coffeemakers and minibars, while suites include separate living rooms. Cribs are available, and room service is offered. Parking is free. Other facilities include an open-air bar overlooking a fountain and a genteel, international restaurant with chandeliers. There’s also a spa, a fitness center and an outdoor pool in an inner courtyard.


Script by: Pheonix Hotel
Photo by: Unknown
Street view by: Google

Kraton of Yogyakarta is a palace complex located in the city of Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta Special Region, Indonesia. The palace is the main seat Sultan of Yogyakarta and his family. It serves as a cultural center for the Javanese people and contains a museum that displays the sultanate's artifacts.




Script by: Various sources
Photo by: linairawan.com

Candi Prambanan or Candi Rara Jonggrang is a 9th-century Hindu temple compound in Central Java, Indonesia, dedicated to the Trimurti, the expression of God as the Creator, the Preserver and the Destroyer. The temple compound is located approximately 17 kilometres (11 mi) northeast of the city of Yogyakarta on the boundary between Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces.

The temple compound, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the largest Hindu temple site in Indonesia, and one of the biggest in Southeast Asia. It is characterized by its tall and pointed architecture, typical of Hindu temple architecture, and by the towering 47-metre-high (154 ft) central building inside a large complex of individual temples. Prambanan attracts many visitors from around the world.


According to UNESCO, Prambanan Temple was built in the 10th century, this is the largest temple compound dedicated to Shiva in Indonesia. Rising above the centre of the last of these concentric squares are three temples decorated with reliefs illustrating the epic of the Ramayana, dedicated to the three great Hindu divinities (Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma) and three temples dedicated to the animals who serve them.


Script by: Wikipedia, UNESCO
Photo by: Unknown
Video by: UNESCO/NHK
Street view by: Google

Tugu Jogja (or Toegoe Djokdja) is the most popular landmark of Yogyakarta. Hundreds of visitors will gather at night everyday to take photos of this monument. It is located right in the center of the crossroad between the Mangkubumi, Soedirman, A.M. Sangaji and Diponegoro streets. The Tugu Jogja that is almost three century old has a very deep meaning and it keeps some history records of Yogyakarta. Tugu Jogja was built around one year after the Yogyakarta Kingdom established.

This monument built to reflect the philosophy of the unity of God's creatures. That means the spirit of togetherness of lay people and authorities to fight the Dutch colonials. In Javanese term, the spirit of togetherness is called golong gilig that is clearly described in the construction of the monument: the pole is of gilig (cylinder) form and the top part is golong (rounded). Therefore, this monument is also known as Tugu Golong-Gilig.

What reviewers think...

Tugu Jogja is the most famous landmark of the city of Yogyakarta. There is also a tradition to hug or kiss this monument when someone graduated from college. There are benches provided facing the monument at the corner of Jl. Mangkubumi to enjoy seeing the surounding. The best time is at 5-6 am when the air is still fresh and not many vehicles are passing by (by yogyes.com).

One of the famous landmarks in Jogja. It is linear with Merapi Volcano, Keraton/Palace and Parangteritis Beach. Many people come here late night and they sit in the middle of road to take photos. What a weird view (by Andi Pananrang).

Tugu jogja is a historical and iconic place in Jogjakarta. If you visit Jogjakarta, you must go here (by Yudhistira Brilianatama).

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Source: flickr.com/photos/wenz10

Source: ayobuka.com

Main photo from Yadi Setiadi - flickr.com/photos/yadi_tjon
Information from blog.umy.ac.id

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Borobudur, or Barabudur, is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist temple in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument consists of nine stacked platforms, six square and three circular, topped by a central dome. The temple is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. The central dome is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues, each seated inside a perforated stupa. It is the world's largest Buddhist temple, as well as one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world.

Built in the 9th century during the reign of the Sailendra Dynasty, the temple was designed in Javanese Buddhist architecture, which blends the Indonesian indigenous cult of ancestor worship and the Buddhist concept of attaining Nirvana. The temple also demonstrates the influences of Gupta art that reflects India's influence on the region, yet there are enough indigenous scenes and elements incorporated to make Borobudur uniquely Indonesian.

The monument is both a shrine to the Lord Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. The journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument and follows a path around the monument and ascends to the top through three levels symbolic of Buddhist cosmology: Kāmadhātu (the world of desire), Rupadhatu (the world of forms) and Arupadhatu (the world of formlessness). The monument guides pilgrims through an extensive system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the walls and the balustrades. Borobudur has the largest and most complete ensemble of Buddhist reliefs in the world.

This famous Buddhist temple, dating from the 8th and 9th centuries, is located in central Java. It was built in three tiers: a pyramidal base with five concentric square terraces, the trunk of a cone with three circular platforms and, at the top, a monumental stupa. The walls and balustrades are decorated with fine low reliefs, covering a total surface area of 2,500 m2. Around the circular platforms are 72 openwork stupas, each containing a statue of the Buddha. The monument was restored with UNESCO's help in the 1970s.



Photo by: Unknown
Script by: Wikipedia, UNESCO
Video by: indonesia.travel
Street view by: Google