Temples and Volcanoes in Jawa
I began my Jawa trip in the city of Surabaya. Here are my travelling tips for Jawa region:
- Basically flights from/to Jawa are quite cheap like other inland flights in Indonesia. I paid around 40 Euros for the flight from Pangakalan Bun in Borneo to Surabaya.
- From Surabaya Airport I took a shuttle bus to the city Malang. You will see them all around when you arrive. Costs about 5-6 Euros per person for an hour journey.
- Traveling inside Jawa; between big cities train is the best option, inside cities you can either use Uber or rent a car with driver (for Bromo you will need a jeep). Never try to drive yourself, too much stress plus an extra driver will not cost you much. From Malang to Yogyakarta and also from Yogyakarta back to Surabaya, I booked train tickets online. Business and Executive Class tickets are not so expensive and they worth it. To book tickets see www.tiket.com
- There are multiple train stations in a city, be careful about the departure station.
Here is my route in Jawa:
Destinations Activities
Day 1 Surabaya than Malang -------
Day 2 Malang Bromo Volcano
Day 3 Yogyakarta Merapi Volcano, Temple Borabudur
Day 4 Yogyakarta Temple Prambanan, travel back to Surabaya
Mount Bromo Volcano
Tip: Bromo Volcano is not easy to access by self driving, so better book a tour!
From Surabaya after about 1 hour drive I have arrived to my hotel in Malang. Next morning I woke up at 4 am and I was picked up by my trip organiser to Bromo #ourtrip1st (instagram). Bromo is an active volcano about 1-1.5 hours drive from Malang and is one of the most scenic volcano views in the world. It was my best experience in Jawa, absolutely a must see. @ourtrip1st organize all well...
Drone view of Bromo Creater:
After Bromo visit, on my way to train station Malang, this colourful village (see below) appeared. The story behind is interesting; actually it was one of the most rundown villages in Indonesia and now is transformed into a vibrant Instagram hotspot. It all changed when a group of Public Relations students had a task for PR; by having the houses painted, they managed to turn the village into a tourist attraction...it was quite busy when I was there, good work I guess.
Merapi Volcano
After about 5 hours train journey from Malang, I have arrived to Yogyakarta. The city has many hindu temples and the Merapi Volcano as higlights. Next morning, took an Uber Taxi to visit Merapi (taxi is really cheap compared to Europe, use Uber, but not every part of Indonesia, in Bali for example, it is forbidden and the other taxi drivers get aggressive if they see you are using it).
Marapi is one of the Asia's three most dangerous volcanoes. Merapi poses a particular threat because it is just 30-40 kms north of the city Yogyakarta. Behind this peacefull view it is the most active volcano in Indonesia which has a violent past: Latest eruption - October 2010; thousands were evacuated and 353 people were killed. That huge rock in the photo below was actually inside the volcano before the eruption occurred. Great power of nature...
Is it worth a visit? I would recommend more to visit the volcano Mount Bromo. The view in Bromo is fascinating, I can not say the same for Merapi since it is forbidden to approach to Volcano, you do not get that feeling from far away. In Merapi you can also visit the museum and see the village which was shrouded in ash after eruptions.
Budhist Temple Borabudur
Borabudur is another must see if you come to Yogyakarta. It is about an hour drive from Yogyakarta city center, it will not cost you much with Uber and this UNESCO World Heritage Site will for sure impress you. The best time to visit the temples is at sunrise or sunset. You can buy a special ticket for sunrise/sunset entry. The hotel Manoharaborobudur located just nearby sell the tickets, buy it, it will wort it!: https://www.manoharaborobudur.com
Prambanan
Prambanan is a collection of Hindu temples. Most of the main temples collapsed during a major earthquake in the 16th century and the huge complex lie largely forgotten in the jungle. Now it takes place within the city of Yogyakarta.