Java

Jakarta is with over 30 million inhabitants (metropolitan area) one of the largest metropolitan regions in the world — and one of the least visited capitals in Asia. Most tourists fly directly on to Yogyakarta or Bali. A mistake, because Jakarta has a raw, unfiltered energy that is addictive.

The Old Town Kota Tua (Old Batavia) with its Dutch colonial buildings tells of the VOC past. The Fatahillah Museum in the old town hall and the Wayang Museum (shadow puppet theater) are worthwhile. The Monas (National Monument) — a 132-meter-high obelisk with a golden flame — towers over Merdeka Square and offers a panoramic view over the endless city.

For street food fans, Jakarta is paradise: Pecenongan in the Chinatown district of Glodok transforms into an endless street food mile in the evening. Nasi Uduk (coconut rice), Soto Betawi (beef soup), and Kerak Telor (crispy egg rice omelet) are Jakarta specialties you won't find anywhere else.

The modern districts Menteng, Kemang, and SCBD show the other Jakarta: trendy cafés, rooftop bars, galleries, and an emerging creative scene. The Istiqlal Mosque — the largest mosque in Southeast Asia — stands directly opposite the Cathedral: a symbol of Indonesia's religious tolerance.

Yogyakarta (called "Jogja" by locals) is the cultural heart of Java and the best starting point for the two largest temples in Southeast Asia. The city is the only Indonesian province still ruled by a reigning Sultan — Sultan Hamengkubuwono X resides in the Kraton, the 18th-century Sultan's Palace, which is both a museum and a vibrant cultural center.

The Kraton is much more than a palace: It is the spiritual and cultural center of Javanese civilization. Daily gamelan performances, batik workshops, and the strictly hierarchical court culture provide insight into a world that has existed for centuries. The surrounding alleys of the Kampung are full of silversmiths, batik workshops, and wayang puppet makers.

The Jalan Malioboro is Yogyakarta's most famous street: An endless stream of becaks (bicycle rickshaws), vendors, street performers, and food stalls. In the evening, the entire sidewalk transforms into a night market where you can find batik shirts, silver jewelry, and the local Gudeg (sweet jackfruit curry).

The Taman Sari (Water Castle) was once the Sultan's pleasure garden — a labyrinthine complex of pools, underground passages, and mosques, now half-ruined, half-inhabited, exuding a surreal charm.

Borobudur is the largest Buddhist structure on Earth and one of the most impressive temples ever created by human hands. Built in the 9th century under the Sailendra Dynasty, forgotten under volcanic ash and jungle, rediscovered in 1814 by British Governor Thomas Stamford Raffles, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991.

The numbers are overwhelming: 2,672 relief panels tell the story of Buddha and the steps to enlightenment over more than 5 kilometers — the longest continuous sequence of reliefs in the world. 504 Buddha statues sit in meditative posture, 72 of them in perforated stupas on the upper terraces. The whole is a three-dimensional mandala: nine levels representing the path from worldly desire (Kamadhatu) through form (Rupadhatu) to formlessness (Arupadhatu) — in other words, to enlightenment.

At sunrise, Borobudur unfolds its full magic: mist drifts through the palms, the volcanoes Merapi and Merbabu appear as silhouettes behind the stupas, and the first sunlight gilds the Buddha statues. This moment is one of the most unforgettable travel experiences in Southeast Asia.

The ascent follows the Buddhist path: You begin at the base with the reliefs of worldly suffering and ascend level by level, past ever finer depictions, until you reach the open top where the stupas stand and the view sweeps freely over the Javanese landscape. Plan at least 2–3 hours.

Only 40 kilometers east of Borobudur stands its Hindu counterpart: Prambanan, the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built in the 9th century by the rival Sanjaya Dynasty — Buddhist Sailendra and Hindu Sanjaya built their monumental temples simultaneously, a few kilometers apart. This alone speaks volumes about the religious tolerance of ancient Java.

The main complex consists of three massive towers dedicated to the Hindu Trinity: Shiva (the central, 47-meter-high tower), Brahma, and Vishnu. The reliefs on the Shiva temple tell the Ramayana story in breathtaking detail — scenes full of drama, beauty, and humor that still appear as fresh as the day they were created over 1,000 years ago.

In contrast to Borobudur's meditative calm, Prambanan exudes vertical dynamism: The slender, upward-striving towers look like stone rockets. At sunset, when the warm light gilds the volcanic stone surface, Prambanan is simply breathtaking.

The Ramayana Ballet — a performance of the Ramayana story with traditional Javanese dance — takes place at full moon on an open-air stage with the illuminated temples as a backdrop. A magical evening (May–October, from 150,000 IDR / €9).

Mount Bromo (2,329 m) is not the highest volcano in Java — but the most dramatic. It stands amidst the vast Tengger Caldera, a ten-kilometer-wide lunar landscape of volcanic ash, the "Sea of Sand" (Lautan Pasir). Behind it rises the cone of Semeru (3,676 m), Java's highest mountain, which spews an ash cloud every 20 minutes. Together they form one of the most powerful volcanic landscapes on Earth.

The experience begins at three o'clock at night: By jeep or on foot, you head to the viewpoint Penanjakan (2,770 m). There you wait in the icy cold (5–10 °C — in Java!) until the sun appears on the horizon and turns the sea of clouds below you into gold and pink. The smoking Bromo crater, the endless caldera, the steaming Semeru — this moment takes your breath away.

Then you descend into the Sea of Sand and climb the 253 steps to the crater rim of Bromo. Below, sulfur boils, the ground trembles slightly under your feet, and the biting smell reminds you that this volcano is very much alive. The Tengger Hindus — one of the few Hindu communities in Java — throw offerings into the crater during the annual Yadnya Kasada Festival.

The best way to reach Bromo is from Probolinggo (East Java) or Malang. Most travelers stay overnight in Cemoro Lawang, the village right on the caldera rim.

The Kawah Ijen at the eastern tip of Java offers a double spectacle: one of the most beautiful crater lakes in the world — turquoise, one kilometer wide, filled with sulfuric acid — and a surreal natural phenomenon found only in two places on Earth: the Blue Fire.

The Blue Fire occurs when sulfur gases escape from the fumaroles and ignite upon contact with the air. The flames glow in ghostly blue, up to five meters high, and are only visible in complete darkness — that's why the hike begins at one o'clock at night.

The ascent to the crater rim (2,386 m) takes about 90 minutes. Then you descend on a slippery path into the crater — amidst sulfur fumes that take your breath away. There work the sulfur miners of Ijen: men who daily carry 75–90 kilograms of sulfur blocks in baskets on their shoulders up the steep crater and 3 kilometers down to the weighing point — for the equivalent of €8–12 a day. Many have no respirators. Life expectancy is short. It is an image that burns into the soul and raises the question of the price at which our cheap products are made.

At sunrise, the crater lake transforms into an unreal turquoise — the largest highly concentrated sulfuric acid lake in the world. The contrast between the toxic fumes, the glowing lake, and the golden morning light is disturbingly beautiful.

Bandung, Indonesia's third-largest city, is located at an altitude of 768 meters in a volcanic valley — offering something rare in Java: pleasantly cool temperatures. The Dutch called it "Paris van Java" because of its Art Deco architecture and European flair.

Today, Bandung is known for three things: coffee (Java coffee comes from the surrounding plantations), fashion (factory outlets and local designer labels along Jalan Riau), and street food (the best Sundanese food in Indonesia). The Tangkuban Perahu volcano, whose crater you can reach by car, is only 30 minutes north.

The Gedung Sate (Satay Building) is Bandung's landmark — an Art Deco masterpiece that resembles a satay skewer with its tower. The Asia-Africa Museum commemorates the historic Bandung Conference of 1955, where 29 Asian and African states laid the foundations of the Non-Aligned Movement — a key moment in decolonization.

For tea lovers: The tea plantations of Ciwidey south of Bandung, combined with the crater lake Kawah Putih (White Crater), make for a perfect day trip. The lake glows in milky turquoise, framed by white crater walls — a surreal sight.