Explore Yogyakarta

Gembira Loka Zoo is a zoological garden in the Kotagede area of Yogyakarta, opened in 1956 on about 22 hectares along the Gajah Wong River. It keeps around 470 animals, among them Sumatran tigers, Komodo dragons, orangutans and Sumatran elephants, and has a lake, an aquarium, a petting zoo and bridges across the river.

Fort Vredeburg Museum occupies a square Dutch fortress with four corner bastions opposite the Gedung Agung in central Yogyakarta, first built in 1760 and completed in stone in 1787. Opened as a museum in 1992, it presents Indonesia's struggle for independence in and around Yogyakarta in diorama showcases, from Diponegoro's capture in 1830 to 1949.

The Sonobudoyo Museum is a museum of Javanese history and culture beside the north square of Yogyakarta, opened in 1935 on the initiative of the Java Instituut. Its collection includes Neolithic ceramics, 8th-century bronze sculptures, wayang puppets, keris daggers and masks, and wayang and dance performances are staged there in the evening.

Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat is the palace of the Sultans of Yogyakarta, built in 1755–1756 for Hamengkubuwono I and still the residence of the reigning Sultan and his family. Visitors tour the Kedhaton courtyards and pavilions, with rooms of royal heirlooms, court dress and paintings including works by Raden Saleh, and see dance and gamelan performances.

Taman Sari is the former water garden of the Sultans of Yogyakarta, built between 1758 and 1765 for Hamengkubuwono I as a place of rest and refuge for the royal family, just south-west of the palace. Its central bathing complex, Umbul Binangun, has three pools with mushroom-shaped fountains behind carved gateways.