Yogyakarta

Places to see

Borobudur temple
Borobudur temple
Jomblang Cave
Jomblang Cave
Mount Merapi
Mount Merapi
Kedung Kandang
Kedung Kandang
Prambanan temple
Prambanan temple
Pinus Pengger
Pinus Pengger

Map

4 Day itinerary

We combined our Indonesia trip with a trip to Singapore (more info coming soon). 

Day 1 – Arriving in Yogyakarta

The flight from Singapore to Yogyakarta took about 2.5 hours. As soon as we passed border control, we withdrew Indonesian Rupiah from the ATM. Two Indonesian guys were watching us from behind the window while we took our money.  As soon as we left the airport, they offered us a ride to our hotel. A bit overwhelmed, we checked prices on Grab (the Asian Uber) to find out they offered us a standard price. They seemed friendly and gave us tips for our time in Yogyakarta, so we decided to go for it. An excellent decision, because they ended up being our personal drivers for the next few days. We discovered lots of hidden gems together.

Day 2 – Borobudur sunrise and Prambanan temple

We told our driver the day before that we wanted to see the sunrise at Borobudur, so he picked us up at 4 am. At the entrance of the temple site, we received flashlights as it was still dark outside. From 6 am, the darkness started to fade and fog appeared. The sun rose around 6:30 am, and made the mist disappear. It was one of the most impressive sunrises I’ve seen in my life.

We planned to visit the Prambanan temple after Borobudur, but then our driver noticed Jordi being impressed by a volcano, and suggested to stop for a jeep ride  to get closer to the volcano. After our spontaneous jeep ride, we went to the beautiful Prambanan temple. 

Day 3 – Jomblang cave, Kedung Kandang waterfall and Pinus Pengger

Again, we have to thank our driver for our Jomblang cave adventure. While it was us suggesting the place, we didn’t do our research properly. When he found out we didn’t have any reservations, he made sure that we arrived before 9 am. The Jomblang cave tour is only once a day, and for a limited number of visitors, so by being early we could still secure our places. Our driver also told us to bring a spare set of clothes with us, which turned out to be much needed when we left the cave all covered in mud. The cave tour ends with lunch around 2 pm, so it takes about half a day.

I also put the Kedung Kandang waterfall on our list, but was not prepared for all the beauty of this place. While I was expecting to see a waterfall, I didn’t expect the massive rice fields surrounding the waterfall. Surprisingly, we had the rice fields all to ourselves. Even our driver admitted that he hadn’t been to this place before, so I’m glad we discovered this hidden gem.

We finished the day by watching the sunset in the Pinus Pengger forest. It was amazing to see how the locals gather here to watch the sunset and take pictures together.

Day 4 – Flight from Yogyakarta to Bali​

We spent the day relaxing and walking around Yogyakarta town before our flight. The flight from Yogyakarta to Bali took about 1.5 hours.

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