Jogja is an excellent place to see traditional Javanese performing arts. The tourist information office can advise you of what's on or check on tourist bulletins or website ( www.gudeg.net , www.yogyes.com or www.dijogja.com ). Daily rehearsals of gamelan, dance or Wayang are performed at Kraton. Performances are also take place in hotels, restaurant and art centre. Various ritual arranged in relation with Kraton's activities and local traditional.

The most famous dance performances is, undoubtedly, The Ramayana Ballet . At the open theatre of Prambanan. It is performed over four successive nights, twice each month of dray season, from my to October leading up to the full moon. Alternatively, the prambanan's Trimurti Theatre has performances throughout the year on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night from 7:30 PM .

Purawisata Ramayana Ballet shows an excellent short version of the kind performed at Prambanan. Daily, Every 8 to 10 PM at Purawisata, Jl. Brigjen Katamso. For those who like traditional songs. Try to attend Macapatan (Javanese chants), Every Wednesday Wage of Javanese Calendar (Once every 35 days), Starting at 7 PM to 10 PM at Jarahnitra building, Jl. Brigjen Katamso 28.

Leather puppet shows in a short duration. Every Sunday to Saturday, starting at 8 to 10 PM at Museum Sono budoyo, Kraton's North square. The longer versions are performed every Saturday on the second week every month; started at 9 pm to 4 am at Sasana Hinggil Dwi Abad . Kraton South Squere.

A scheduled traditional performances also presented at Srimanganti Pavilion inside the Kraton every 10 to 12 am

Classical Dance Performed every Sunday, 11 12 am
Classical Wayang Orang on every Sunday, 11 12 am
Karawitan on Monday and Tuesday 10 12 am
Golek Menak Puppet on every Wednesday, 09.30 – 12.30 am
Javanese Classical Dance on Thursday, 10 12 am
Macapatan on every Friday 09.30 – 11.30 am
Leather Puppet every Saturday, 09.30 – 12.30 am

Thrice annual, Garebeg or royal offering to people held by the Kraton, i.e. Garebeg Syawal , Garebeg besar and Garebeg maulud. The last is the biggest event off all to celebrate the birthday of th Prophet Mohammad, on 12 Syawal, according to the lunar calendar held after a full month of Sekatenan night fair. In each Garebeg crowds were cheeringly snatch parts of Gunungan (food offerings in cone shapes), Symbolizing the sultan's magnanimity to his people.

Kraton has a mass of sacred heirlooms, some of them inherited from the 12 th century Majapahit and the Islamic Mataram Kingdoms, which only bring out on royal ceremonies. Every first Friday or Tuesday Kliwon, one of the Javanese day of the Javanese month of Sura, a unique ritual of the heirlooms bathing, commonly known as Jamasan , held in the inner yard of the kraton. Unfortunately, this ceremony is prohibited for tourist. Instead, you can see royal horse carriages bathing I front of the Museum of kraton's Horse carriage at the same day.

Labuhan is held to celebrate the birth of the incumbent Sultan. “Lubuh” in Javanese means throw something sacred to a river or the sea as offerings. Labuhan were also held on the top mount Merapi and Lawu.

Cultural Sites
Kraton or the palace of Jogja sultan's is the center of intriguing area of old Jogja. The palace is situated in a small walled–in city within a city, locally known as Jeron Beteng, wich nowadays houses nearly 30,000 people, has in own market, shops, batik and silver industries, school and mosques. Beside the Sultan's palace, around ten of noblemen houses are interesting to visit. The Kraton is open daily from 8 am to 2 pm , except Friday, when it closes at 1 pm , Entry fee is Rp7500 including an Informatif guide.

In the inner pavilion, the Srimanganti , between 10 to 12 am , you can see traditional performances and rehearsals. Museum dedicated to Hamengkubuwono IX, the current sultan's father, shows among other replicas of royal paraphernalia used by Sultan in formal occasions.

Some 400 meters south west of Kraton, lies Taman sari , or water palace, was a complex a canals, pools, gardens and palaces built within the Kraton between 1758 and 1765. Damaged first by Diponegoro's Java war and then further by an earthquake (1876), it is today a mass of ruins, crowdedwith small houses and batik galleries. Recently, the main bathing pools have been restored and he other parts were scheduled to follow.


Kraton Pakualaman
Is a smaller, another royal lineage in Jogja, open to visitors and has a small museum, a pendopo (open-sided pavilion) which can hold a full gamelan orchestra (Performance are held every fifth Sunday) and a curious colonial house with fine cast-iron work. The Kraton is open on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday from 9.30 am to 1.30 pm .






Imogiri Royal cemetery
Is where the sultans of Mataram buried, lies on a beautiful hill about 20Kilometers south-easts of Jogja. Visitors are obliged to wear traditional Javanese clothes, hired on location, and ascend 345 steps to reach the top of the hill where the tomb of the king lies. The main tombs are only open from 10 am – 1 pm on Monday and on Friday and Sunday on 01.30pm-04.00 pm

Royal cemetery of Kotagede
Kotagede (Literally “big city”) was a capital of old Islamic Mataram Kingdom (1572) grave of Senopati and interesting old buildings of Kalang people . This bustling town is a must for those after silver jewelries or ornaments.

Museum
Jogja has plenty museums to visit. Mostly are dedicated to some independence hero hero or military escapade and, rarely, famous artists. If you care to observe what life should be in the old Jogja, some of them are worth visiting.

•  Sono budoyo museum, Inaugurated in 1935 by the dutch's Java Institut, it has a first rate of Javanese arts, including puppets, Kris (Traditional dagger) and batiks and the outside courtyard is packed with Hindu statuary. It's opened from 8 am to 2.30pm daily except Monday.

•  Royal Horse Cart Museum . Situated between the Kraton's entrance and Sono Budoyo Museum , it holds 18 opulent chariots of the sultans. It's open from 8 am to 2.30 pm daily and admission fee is 3000rp.

•  Museum Hamengku Buwono IX (HB IX) is a 4 rooms museum inside the Kraton Complex to commemorate the late father of the present sultan HB X. it displays private possession of the sultan and a set of replicas of royal paraphernalia

•  Fort Vredeburg is an old Dutch forth wich houses a museum with dioramas showing the histori of the independent movement. Nowadays is a popular place to organize art and craft exhibitions.

•  Ullen sentalu Batik Museum houses a collection of the entire range of the royal dresses of the place from past to present. Located at Kaliurang some 28 Km north of Jogja.

•  Museum Sasana Wiratama. Also known as Monument Diponegoro, built to commemorate the bitter revolt of the prince Diponegoro (1825-1830) against the Dutch at Jogja. A motley collection of the Prince's belongings and other exhibits are kept at a small museum built at the site of his former residence.

•  Jendral sudirman museum. Array of military paraphernalia. Formerly it was a residence of Panglima Besar jenderal Sudirman, the first general of Indonesia Army service.

•  Affandi museum. Located at Jl. Solo, was the home and studio of the late Affandi, a painter of international fame. Two main buildings, to keep some of affandi's works and his doughter Kartika's paintings, have unique roof design modeled out of banana leaves and beautifully stand on the bank of the Gajah Wong river. Jogja's, indeed Java's, biggest draw cards are complex of Prambanan and the huge Buddhist structure at Borobudur , but a number of interesting, though of little-known sites can be visited outside the city.





Prambanan
Is a complex of Hindu temple built by Sanjaya Dynasty in the 9 th Century AD. It has three shrines, dedicated to the Hindu Trinity; Shiva, Vhisnu, and brahma. The main tample, the shiva, soars 47 high is in the inner courtyard and aurrounded by several small temples called “Perwara” temples, some of these were contributed by local chieftains as a token of their acquiescence to the king.
About two Kilometers south of Prambanan, lies Keraton Ratu Boko , a supposed palace of King Boko, mixed Buddhist and Hindu style built between 8 th and 9 th centuries. Being on a 96meter lime stone hill, visitors will get a mystical view to Prambanan plain and surrounding temples, mount Merapi to the north and Jogja on the west. Around the complex, scattered in a radius of 4 Km, minor temples and statues were found amidst houses, bushes and paddy field. Ask local people to get to the temples of Banyunibo, barong, ijo, Abang, the ruin of Dawangsari or to gupala statue and site of Watu Gudig.

Kalasan Temple
A Buddhist 24 meters structure just three Kilometers west side of a Prambanan, built in the honor of the marriage between king Pancapana of the Sanjaya Dynasty and a princess of the Cailendra Dynasty, dyah Prmudia wardhani. It is beautifully ornamented with finely carved relief and coated with “Vajralepa”, a yellowish material made of the sap of certain tree. A hundred meter on the opposite side of the temple, you can find Sari tample , an 8 th century sanctuary for Buddhist priest with nine stupas at the top and two chambers beneath. About three kilometers west of the temple, un underground 10 th century Hindu temple, Sambisari , only excapated on 1976 after buried 10 meters deep by an eruption of Mt. Merapi.


Borobudur Temple
Although situated 42 Km outside of city, Borobudur is always referred to Jogja. An anormous construction, ranking with began and Angkor wat as one of the greatest south-East Asian Buddhist monuments, covering a hill 13 Km southward of Magelang and constructed around 9 th century AD. With the decline of Buddhism, Borobudur was abandoned and only rediscovered in 1814 when Raffles governed Java. The temple consist of six square bases by three circular ones. Nearly 1500 narratives panels on the terraces illustrate Buddhist teachings and tales while 432 Buddha images sit in chambers on the terraces. On the upper circular, latticed stupas housed 72 more Buddha images.


Jogja is noted as batik centre, but other craft industries in and around the city includes silver, leather., pottery and puppets. Even if you don't intend to buy, galleries and workshop are open free of charge for visitors to observe traditional Javanese crafts in present.

Malioboro is a great long-colorful bazaar of souvenir shops and stalls offering a wide selection of cheap batik bags, leather works, cotton clothes, silver wares, wood masks and puppets. Skillful bargainer gets lower prices here. A good range of batik could venture at Margaria Batik and several other shop, like Terang Bulan, Taruntum, and Batik Keris, Mirota batik, at the opposite of the street, offers a wide variety of handicrafts and a good point to get an idea of general prices. A labyrinthine Beringharjo traditional market, left side before the bottom of the street, is always woths a browse, especially for cheap batik textiles. Another popular site for Batik is Tamansari, only minutes away from the centre of kraton. You can arrange a batik course with Pak hadjir ( Intensive Batik course ). Close to the main pool, for only US $ 30.

Jogja is an influential axis in the developmentof the traditional musical instrument Gamelan. The instrument played in foyal houses to people night fairs in remote village, from hotels, to humble pendopo ( open pavilion ) of a village head in hundred kilometers out of Yogyakarta . To see how to make the musical set, you can visit Mpu Triwiguno Studio at jalan Ori I/119 Papringan, Depok, Sleman, some 5 kilometers from The Adisucipto Airport. Tp appreciate the sounds, you can attend a gamelan rehearsal at Kraton Pavilions ( please check on traditional performances section for exact schedule ) or the department of Karawitan at Indonesian Art Institute ( ISI ) at Jalan Parangtritis km.6, Sewon Bantul


Another height of Javanese Craftsmanship is, undoubtedly, Keris the traditional dagger. A master of the weapon's art is the 70 year old Empu Djeno Harumbrodjo, who lives in a tranquil and green village Gatak, Sumber Agung, Moyudan, in the regency of Sleman, about 15 Km westward of Yogya City . He can make only 2 pieces of classical Keris in a year. His work of art are really masterpiece, physically and spiritually. Check in any art shop in malioboro or prawirotaman if you wish to get Keris of lower qualities, and of course, prices.




Visit kasongan, Seven Kilometers south-west of Jogja, to see astonishing array of potteries. The village has developed as a centre of earthenware since late 1970's. Another pottery village is Pundong, Approximetely 15 Kilometers easrtern of kasongan.

Silver work can be found all over the town, but the best area to shop is in Kotagede, a long known as silver works centre 5 km south east of jogja. Hundred of silversmiths, work on their tiny rooms to spacious workshops of bigger industries, were producing filigree work, a speciality here, and other designs and stules. Several large factories, like Tom's Silver, HS Silver and MD Silver, offered as guided tour to see the process with no obligation to buy their products.

Bantul's Gabusan Craft market was opened in the end of 2004. the newly built complex 10 kilometers south of jogja, includes promotional outlets for hundreds of crafts maker from bantul Regency.