Yogyakarta was laid out along a line. In the eighteenth century, Sultan Hamengkubuwono I founded the city on an axis running from the smoking cone of Mount Merapi in the north to the Indian Ocean in the south, with the Tugu monument, the Kraton palace and the Panggung Krapyak stage pavilion placed along it, embodying Javanese ideas about the cycle of life and the relation between people, ruler and the cosmos. The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and its Historic Landmarks was inscribed on the UNESCO list in 2023, and the sultanate still functions: the sultan is also the governor of the Special Region of Yogyakarta.
The Kraton, the sultan's palace, is a complex of pavilions, courtyards and museums, with performances of gamelan music, dance and wayang shadow puppetry on certain days. Jalan Malioboro, the busy street running north from the palace along the axis, is lined with shops and street vendors selling batik, leather and food late into the night. Taman Sari, the old water castle, with its bathing pools and underground passages, is a short walk from the Kraton.
Yogyakarta is a city of motorbikes, with hundreds of thousands of scooters swarming the streets, so riding here is about patience, flow and alertness. Traffic moves on the left, intersections are chaotic, and the rule is to go steadily and predictably. International riders need a valid licence, and helmets are mandatory. Fuel is everywhere, from Pertamina stations to roadside stalls selling petrol in bottles.
Beyond the city, the riding is excellent. The roads up the slopes of Merapi, an active volcano, lead to viewpoints and villages rebuilt after the eruption of 2010. To the north-west lies Borobudur, the great Buddhist monument, and to the east, Prambanan, the Hindu temple complex, both UNESCO sites. South, the roads lead to the coast at Parangtritis, a black-sand beach with strong currents and legends of the sea queen Nyi Roro Kidul. Try gudeg, the jackfruit stew that is Yogyakarta's signature dish, and ride early before the heat and rain of the afternoon.