I know, I know… some of you may already be protesting about the word “lesser-known”. Considering of the amount of people that goes “huh?” when I say I went to Jogja, I’d say it’s not a completely ridiculous concept though! And you may already be questioning my spelling og Jogja / Yogya. The official spelling is Yogyakarta I think, but many Indonesians will still say Jogja, with a hard J, because that’s how it was traditionally spelled (Djogjakarta). In the 1970s, Indonesia changed their spelling system, which is how this happened. Either way, people will know what you are talking about regardless of the spelling.
There’s so many special things about Jogja. Even the government designed it as The Special Region. There are 2 Special Region in Indonesia, do you know what is the other one? (answer: Aceh). And do you know why they are special? The government and I have different reasons, but that’s ok. It probably belongs to another post altogether but it is due to Jogja being the emergency capital of Indonesia when the Dutch wasn’t happy about Indonesia being independent, and Jogja having their Sultan as the provincial governor instead of other provinces where the governor is elected. Anyway, we digress.
A lot of people knows Bali, and the natural beauty of Indonesia. Indonesia is beautiful. But how many of us understand the history of Indonesia? For the history lovers, Jogja may be a better destination for you! So what can we see in Jogja?
#1 Borobudur
I’d put Borobudur up on the list. Borobudur is the largest Buddhist temple in the world, and a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was built some time in 8th and 9th centuries by Syailendra dynasty, which was the ruling dynasty in Central Java. It is about an hour drive from Jogjakarta. A lot of Indonesians believe that if you can touch the statue inside the stupa (the upside down bell shape you see), your wish will be granted, but as it is a UNESCO World Heritage site, I’d strongly recommend against doing that as it may contribute to the slow deterioration of the stupas!
Tour to Borobudur and Prambanan are quite affordable, starting from USD 25 (excluding the entrance fee, which is around 50 USD)
#2 Prambanan
Prambanan temple is one of the largest Hindu temple in the world, built around 10th century, and also a UNESCO World Heritage site. There is a legend/myth behind this, which was a love story. The legend has it that Bandung Bondowoso wanted to marry Roro Jonggrang, but she refused, and said that she would marry him if he built her 1000 temples overnight before the sunrise. It was deliberately an impossible task because Roro Jonggrang didn’t want to marry Bandung Bondowoso.
Bandung Bondosowoso almost completed it and there was no sign of sunrise, so Roro Jonggrang, with the help of the village ladies, started pounding rice to create noise and create a big fire to create the illusion of sunrise. The sounds of pounding rise also woke up the roosters and they started crowing. Bandung Bondowoso built his 999th temple, but then later he realised he was tricked and in his anger turned Roro Jonggrang as the 1000th temple. Now, of course it was a legend, but Indonesia is full of these legends. History said it was built by Syailendra dynasty also.Regardless of who built it, I was amazed by the beautiful stone carvings and the fact that they built it in 10th century! Worth a visit.
Combine the tour with Borobudur too with this tour!
#3 Tamansari
Admittedly not as old as the first two, as Tamansari was built sometime between 1758 and 1765, Tamansari was the garden of the Sultan and his family (that is, queen + concubine), which includes 3 separate pools!
By the way, I visited Prambanan and Tamansari with this exact tour, which I can recommend. For less than USD 60, we visited Yogyakarta Palace, Prambanan and Tamansari in one day, including the tour guide and transportation too!
What do you think? Hope I’ve now helped you to discover another hidden gem in Indonesia! Maybe now you want to visit the most popular Indonesian island. What else than Bali? Read our ultimate Bali travel guide, specifically written for first timers!