Introducing Yogyakarta,Indonesia

   Yogyakarta (pronounced Jogjakarta and often just shortened to Jogja) ranks as one of the best-preserved and most attractive cities in Java, and is a major centre for the classical Javanese arts of batik, ballet, drama, music, poetry and puppet shows. At its heart is Yogya's first family, the Hamengkubuwonos, whose elegant palace lies at the centre of Yogya's quaint old city, the Kraton, itself concealed behind high castellated walls. Tourists flock here, attracted not only by the city's courtly splendour but also by the nearby temples of Prambanan and Borobudur, so there are more hotels in Yogya than anywhere else in Java and, unfortunately, a correspondingly high number of touts, pick pockets and con artists.

       Sultan Hamengkubuwono I (also known as Mangkubumi) established his court here in 1755, spending the next 37 years building the new capital, with the Kraton as the centre piece and the court at Solo as the blue print. In 1946, the capital of the newly declared Republic of Indonesia was moved to Yogya from Jakarta, and the Kraton became the unofficial headquarters for the republican movement. The royal household of Yogya continues to enjoy almost slavish devotion from its subjects and the current Sultan, Hamengkubuwono X, remains an influential politician.

      In the southern part of Yogyakarta, you will find many beaches. The most famous beach is Parangtritis with its legendary figure of Nyi Roro Kidul (Queen of the South), but Yogyakarta has also many natural beautiful beaches in Gunung Kidul. You can see the Sadeng Beach which is an ancient estuary of Bengawan Solo River before the powerful forces lifted the surface of the southern part of Java Island so that the flow of the river turned to the north like today. You can also visit Siung Beach which has 250 channels of rock climbing, Sundak Beach and many more. 
       If Malaysia has the world's highest twin towers, Yogyakarta has Prambanan Temple with 47 meters tall and was made by hand about 1100 the previous years. If Singapore has modern life, Yogyakarta has traditional agrarian society. If Thailand and Bali have beautiful beaches, Yogyakarta owns natural beaches and Mount Merapi, which has a story of how powerful the force of nature is. A unique combination of ancient temples, history, traditions, culture and natural forces make Yogyakarta a very worth while place to visit.