Yogyakarta

Kraton, Borobudur and Prambanan days built around opening hours

Build Yogyakarta days around opening hours: the Kraton opens at 08:00 and closes at 13:00, or 11:00 on Fridays, Taman Sari shuts at 15:00 and Borobudur is closed on Mondays. See the royal city on day one, Borobudur with a timed ticket on day two, and Prambanan and Ratu Boko on day three.

Save the evenings for Malioboro.

• Day one, the royal city: free music and dance performances are held regularly at the Kraton. Continue to the Taman Sari water palace before lunch. Finish with a lesehan supper on a mat outside the shuttered shops of Jalan Malioboro.
• Day two, Borobudur: take the earliest slot you can to beat the heat and the coach parties. On the way back stop at Pawon (2 km away) and at Mendut. Both stand on one straight line with the great stupa.
• Day three, Prambanan: arrive early, then climb to Ratu Boko for sunset and stay for the Ramayana ballet if it is playing.

A fourth day could go to Kotagede for the silversmiths and the tomb of Mataram's first king. A jeep trip on the slopes of Merapi above Kaliurang suits a fifth. Avoid Borobudur at weekends, when domestic visitors arrive by the coachload, and avoid Malioboro during school holidays, when tour buses gridlock the street. A train from Jakarta makes a slow but pleasant way in. Onward, YIA has direct flights to Bali and Lombok.

Yogyakarta's dry season, Waisak and the palace calendar

Visit Yogyakarta from June to September, when each month stays under 100 mm of rain and August drops to about 16 mm, against some 392 mm in January. The dry months also bring the coolest nights, near 21 °C, good for pre-dawn temple starts, and the Ramayana ballet plays outdoors at Prambanan from May to October.

April is the hottest month, averaging 27.1 °C. Wet-season storms usually arrive in the afternoon, so temple mornings remain possible even in January.

From May to October the Ramayana ballet plays on the open-air stage with the floodlit temples behind. From November to April it moves into the smaller indoor Trimurti theatre. Check the current nights before you plan around it.

Waisak, Buddha's birthday, falls on a full-moon night, usually in May; the exact date follows the lunar calendar and is set each year. A multi-day festival ends with a candle-lit walk from Candi Mendut to Borobudur. The Kraton keeps its own Javanese calendar. The Garebeg parade leaves the palace in the months of Maulud, Besar and Sawal, and a public fair fills the northern square for 30 days before Maulud. During the Ramadan fast, residents of Kauman open a temporary food market. That is a good place to break the fast at dusk alongside locals.

Gudeg, angkringan carts and kopi joss in Yogyakarta

Yogyakarta's cooking has a sweet tooth. Try gudeg first, young jackfruit stewed sweet in coconut milk, at Gudeg Wijilan, Juminten or Bu Tjitro, then spicier ayam geprek, which began at Bu Rum. After dark, eat sego kucing at an angkringan such as Angkringan Tugu and order kopi joss, coffee with a lump of glowing charcoal.

Gudeg is the dish to try first: young jackfruit cooked sweet and dry in thick coconut milk, served with chicken plus egg on rice. Gudeg Pawon on Jalan Janturan serves it late at night inside an old kitchen. The jackfruit is heavy on fibre, so go gently if your stomach is sensitive.

Spicier food has crept in. Ayam geprek, fried chicken smashed with chilli and garlic, started at Bu Rum just outside the city. Oseng mercon is a fiery stir-fry of beef and offal. Brongkos is a darker, sweeter beef stew made with keluak nut. For the queue of the trip, Bakmi Jawa Harjo Geno near Prawirotaman can mean a two-hour wait for noodles.

After dark, head for an angkringan, the cart stalls that sell sego kucing (cat rice), tiny wrapped portions eaten several at a time. Angkringan Tugu near the station opens at 18:00 and stays busy until 04:00. Take home bakpia from Jalan Pathuk, the bakpia street, or kipo from Kotagede. In Kaliurang the snack is jadah tempe.

Railink, TransJogja and drivers around Yogyakarta

Flights land at Yogyakarta International (YIA), far west in Kulon Progo, linked by the hourly Railink train to Tugu station, which fills, so book ahead. Long-distance trains use Tugu and Lempuyangan, TransJogja buses run on twenty lines, and most visitors book a driver for Borobudur, Prambanan and Merapi.

The Railink train to Tugu station runs roughly hourly and often fills, so book a seat as soon as you know your flight. Allow ten minutes to walk from customs to the platform. DAMRI minibuses take about 1.5 hours. The old Adisucipto airport east of town now sees only a few propeller flights. Next to it, Maguwo station is a stop on the KRL commuter line to Solo.

Long-distance trains use two stations: Tugu, just off Malioboro, for executive and business class, and Lempuyangan for economy. From Jakarta the fastest trains take at least seven hours. From Bandung allow about eight.

TransJogja buses run 05:30 to 21:30 on twenty lines but share the road with other traffic. Jakarta transit cards other than JakCard work. The TransJogja app sells a Jogja Travel Pass valid from 1 to 14 days. Route 1A from Malioboro covers the 20 km to Prambanan in 30 to 45 minutes. For Borobudur, the DAMRI shuttle is the cheapest option; local buses also leave from Jombor terminal.

On a city bus, say kiri when you want the driver to stop. Motorbikes can be hired on the street just south of Tugu station, but traffic is brutal. Pavements are broken and street signs hang low, so watch your head.