Sightseeing - Excursions

Places to visit in Solo are described on the Solo map (click on the "map" tab above) so here I will focus on excursions from Solo. I won't provide detailed information about the history of these sights - you can easily find that elsewhere online.

Borobudur
This is one of the most famous landmarks in Indonesia, a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist monument, with bas-reliefs around its walls. You walk round the temple, starting from the bottom level working your way up to the top where you can reach inside the stupas to touch the buddha statues in order to receive good luck. Borobudur makes a good daytrip from Solo - you can go there at sunrise (check opening times), during the day when it can be very hot, or at sunset. It takes about 2 hours to get there from Solo by car, and can be combined with visiting other places.

Prambanan
Prambanan is a 9th century Hindu temple compound, on the road from Solo to Yogya, near Yogya. Again Prambanan is impressive, though if you have to choose which to see, I'd definitely recommend going to Borobudur. It takes about 1 1/2 hours to get to Prambanan by car from Solo, and again it can be combined with other places as a daytrip.

Yogyakarta
Yogya was, like Solo, an old kingdom of Central Java. Nowadays it is a bustling city about 2 hours drive or an hour by train from Solo. Yogya has its own kraton and palace like Solo, with museums attached, and there are other interesting sights such as the "water palace" which was previously a series of swimming pools for the sultan. The colourful main street Malioboro is known for its shopping opportunities, and is worth a wander, if only to see the mixture of old (horse-drawn carriages) and new (glossy shops, motorbikes).Yogya is busier than Solo, and has more modern conveniences, such as bigger cinemas, English language bookshops etc. If Solo is good for traditional arts, Yogya is good for the contemporary. As a daytrip Yogya can be combined with Borobudur or Prambanan if travelling by car. However Yogya is a large city so in half or a whole day you will only get a snapshot of what it has to offer.

Tawangmangu / Grojogan Sewu
Tawangmangu is a town up in the mountains, known for the waterfall Grojogan Sewu. This is done up as a place for the Javanese to come on a day out, and it makes a lovely refreshing break with the cool mountain air. The impressive waterfall is surrounded by forest and hundreds of small monkeys live there. You walk down lots of steps to the base of the waterfall, and then you can sit and watch the monkeys. You can also go in the waterfall if you want, and eat rabbit satay and other foods. The food sellers will spread out a rug for you on the ground. Grojogan Sewu is 1 - 2 hours drive from Solo.