Sightseeing on Java

Located in western Java, Jakarta is an enormous city, the capital of Indonesia. It is the centre of government and business and covers an area of about 650 sq kilometres. More than 9 million people live in Jakarta. There are many buildings to look at and places to see, such as the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah Park, where there are displays from each of the 27 Indonesian provinces.

There are sections of Jakarta that were built when the Dutch governed Indonesia. One section is called Old Batavia, the remains of an old walled city where Dutch people lived in the 1600s. It is possible to take a walking tour around Old Batavia, visiting museums and old sailing ships, including traditional Indonesian fishing boats.

Jakarta's Ragunan Zoo is set in a lush, tropical setting. There visitors can see Sumatran tigers, Komodo dragons, tapir, babi-rusa deer, orangutan and Sumatran rhinoceros.

From Jakata, visitors can take a trip to Anak Krakatau (meaning Child of Krakatau). This island is in the Sunda Strait, 40 km from Jakarta). In 1883, the gigantic Mount Krakatau was destroyed in a volcanic eruption, and the island of Anak Krakatau appeared afterwards. If conditions are safe, visitors can climb almost to the crater of Anak Krakatau, an active volcano.

Yogyakarta, at the foot of Mt Merapi in central Java about 500 km from Jakarta, was the centre of an ancient kingdom founded in 1755. The ruins of the original walled palace is open to tourists, and is a magnificent example of traditional Javanese architecture. The Water Castle, built in 1758, was part of the sultan's castle and pleasure garden, and is now a collection of ruins, pools and arches, with underground passages and courtyards. In Yogyakarta there are gamelan orchestras, traditional dance companies and wayang kulit performances. There is a school of painting and an academy of fine arts, a pottery village and batik research institute. The bird market and crafts market are both popular tourist destinations.

Mount Merapi, an active volcano, is 3911 metres high. It is popular with bushwalkers, who go to the Telogo Muncar waterfall.

The biggest and most beautiful Hindu temple is the Prambanan Temple, built in the 9th century. It is dedicated to the god Shiva, and is covered in beautiful carvings telling stories of the Ramayana. There are smaller temples surrounding it, dedicated to other Hindu gods.

About 40 km away is Borobodur, ruins of the largest Buddhist temple in Indonesia. It was built in 800 A.D and the carvings tell over 1000 stories of the life and teachings of Buddha. It occupies an entire hill. Its base is 121 sq metres, and there are eight layers rising from it. The three top ones are circular and are covered by 72 domes called stupas, each of which contains a large stone Buddha image. This is topped by a huge 30 metre high stupa. The temple was lost for many years, and was rediscovered in 1814, overgrown by jungle, and restored.

There are tall volcanoes covered with thick forests in the Bromo-Tenggar National Park. This volcanic region is regarded by many Hindus as a sacred place, and thousands visit each year to honour Mount Semeru, which they consider to be a god. Mount Semeru is Java's highest mountain, 3,676 metres high, and is still an active volcano, erupting every eight minutes. Mount Bromo is located in huge expanse of sand 10 kilometres wide, called the sand sea. It is also active, but visitors can trek or ride on horseback to the edge of the caldera.

The Ujung Kulon National Park is on the southwestern tip of West Java. It is a wilderness preserve of 51,000 hectares. This is the home of the last of the Javan rhinoceroses...estimated number is just 60.

If you use any of this information in your own work, acknowledge this source in your bibliography like this:
A Trip to Indonesia (2001). [Online], Available: www.kidcyber.com.au

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Updated August 2001