Yogyakarta

Yogyakarta is the capital city of Yogyakarta Special Region, which is located in Central Java. The city is spread over an area of 32.5 sq km near the foothill of the Merapi volcano. There are around 500,000 people residing in this modern city at present.

The cultural capital of Java, Yogyakarta was officially established in the year 1755. However, the place gained importance at the time when Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms were prominent in the area. It was at this time, when most of the sites like Borobudur and Prambanan were built.

It was in the 18th century, when the Muslim Mataram Kingdom was flourishing under the rule of Paku Buwono II that the city of Yogyakarta developed tremendously. After some years, the Dutch defeated Mataram and divided the kingdom into Surakarta Hadiningrat and Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat. The former was ruled by Sunan Pakubuwono III and the latter by Sultan Hamengku Buwono I. After this division, the Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat grew to become Yogyakarta.

Yogyakarta was made the capital in 1950, during which it actively participated in the independence struggle of Indonesia. At present, the city is a centre of art and education in the Yogyakarta Special Region. The city is also known as the centre of Javanese fine arts and culture. With the presence of Indonesia's reputed university, Gadjah Mada University, it has also gained the reputation of a prominent learning centre in Indonesia.

Yogyakarta has a tropical climate, with plenty of sunny days round-the-year. The place has two prominent seasons, namely dry and rainy season. The former season, from May to August, is the best time to visit the city as the humidity is low and it is comparatively more comfortable than the rainy season.