Things to do in Yogyakarta

Culture · City centre, south of Malioboro

The Sultan's palace, still a working court with its own staff and ceremonial calendar, and the ruined eighteenth-century water castle behind it.

Local tip: The palace is open in the morning only and the abdi dalem court servants who guide you are the point — they work in traditional dress for a nominal stipend as a matter of service. Taman Sari's underground mosque is easy to miss; ask for the Sumur Gumuling.

Neighborhood · City centre

The pedestrianised main street running from the station to the palace, with the city's great covered market halfway down it.

Local tip: Malioboro itself is for visitors. Beringharjo market behind it is where the city actually shops, and the batik on the upper floor is a fraction of the street price. Go before nine, when the market is trading rather than performing.

Landmark · 17 km east, on the Central Java border

A ninth-century Hindu temple complex of soaring stone spires, the largest in Indonesia and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Local tip: Go at opening or in the last hour before closing — the light is better and the heat is survivable. The Ramayana ballet performed against the temples in the dry season is genuinely worth the ticket, and the outdoor stage is far better than the indoor one.

Food · City-wide; the classics near Tugu station

Cart-and-mat street stalls serving tiny rice parcels and skewers, the slow-cooked jackfruit dish the city is named for, and coffee with a burning charcoal dropped in it.

Local tip: Gudeg is eaten at breakfast and the famous places open at dawn or late at night, not at lunchtime. Kopi joss is exactly what it sounds like — the charcoal goes in glowing — and it is at the angkringan by the north side of Tugu station.

Nature · 25 km north, in Sleman

The cool hill town on the volcano's flank, with pine forest, lava-flow tracks and a temperature ten degrees below the city.

Local tip: The jeep tours over the 2010 eruption deposits are touristy but the landscape is not. Note that the upper slopes are formal hazard zones where permanent housing is restricted — this is a place to visit rather than a suburb to move to.

Culture · South-east, straddling the city and Bantul

The first capital of the Mataram sultanate, now a quiet quarter of silversmiths, narrow lanes and Javanese-Dutch hybrid houses.

Local tip: Almost nobody comes here and it is fifteen minutes from Malioboro. Walk the lanes between Jalan Mondorakan and the old cemetery, look for the joglo houses behind their gateways, and buy silver from a workshop rather than a shop — the price difference is large and the work is the same.