Yogyakarta City and Kota Gede Full Day Tour

Pick up from your hotel then drive to the heart of Yogyakarta: The Sultans Palace. Enjoy the sightseeing tour in the palace, which is a world heritage site, built in 1755. Explore Yogyakarta’s history and see one of the finest examples of Javanese architecture with its luxurious halls, spacious courtyards and pavilions.

Move on to the neighboring former royal garden, the water castle of Taman Sari, built in 1758 by the prince, with the sole purpose of being used as a palace for his pleasure with his harem. Take a short walk through Kampung Wisata (Wisata village) to visit an unique mosque built in the early 20th century with a single pillar that is different from the usual Javanese traditional architecture. Kampung Wisata is a lovely village, known for their batik and traditional painting craft traditions. We stop for local made yogurt with different fruit flavors before visiting the underground mosque. It features a series of staircases leading from the underwater entrances. Staircases lead up from five different doorways to a central platform and another staircase connects the five lower staircases to a higher doorway.

After the mosque, head to the old town of Kota Gede. You will start 2-hours walking tour through the town with a local tour guide, showing you how Yogyakarta’s history began, even before the modern Sultan’s palace was built. You will sense the unique and mystic atmosphere of ancient times. This makes the area very special. The exceptional multicultural architecture of Kota Gede generates a cozy, playful and historic atmosphere. You will also witness the remains of the tragic earth quake in 2006 that destroyed parts of the city.

After the walking tour, get some rest and fortify yourself with a traditional lunch at an exquisite restaurant with a semi-open beautifully arranged garden area, located in the heart of Kota Gede. After lunch, head on to our natural dye batik specialist and spend half the day discovering the art of Indonesian Batik, which was declared an ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’ by UNESCO in 2009.

You will head to a truly authentic local batik production manufacture in a village close to Yogya. The founder, Mr. Suprapto, is well known in the region as the ‘Batik Legend’ or ‘Natural Color Guru’. During his 20+ years of research experience in the batik and textile industry, he specialized in natural dyes and knows well about the harmful effects of chemical colors for humans and nature. Therefore, they strictly and only use natural dyes to prevent the Indonesian batik tradition while taking care of the environment and the people. Make your own batik, see the plants used for the dye production and learn directly from the wise and knowledgeable Mr. Suprapto!

 After this exciting day full of new impressions and authentic experiences, you will get taken back to your hotel.