Temples, Volcanoes and Beaches: Java and Bali

The conservative rule of Yogyakarta’s traditional sultans has ensured the tidal wave of westernization sweeping across the rest of the country has made a more measured impact in this pleasant provincial capital. Visitors flock here to experience traditional gamelan, shadow puppetry, classical and contemporary Javanese dance and ritual theatre. It’s also a great place to sample traditional Indonesian cuisine. For your first supper, we recommend the wonderful Gajah Wong restaurant, which is famous for its grilled duck with nasi kuning (turmeric rice) and fragrant chicken curries. Live gamelan musicians perform most evenings.

Begin your guided tour of the city’s sights in the morning with a visit to the 18^th-century Sultan’s Palace, Water Palace and Sonobudoyo Museum, where the highlight is a collection of 1,200 wavey-bladed kris daggers.

In the afternoon your guide will accompany you on a tour of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Borobudur. Ash from the volcanoes on the western horizon buried the mighty stupa at the heart of the complex until the early 19^th century, when British and Dutch officials re-discovered the site. It’s now Java’s most visited attraction, and an active place of worship and pilgrimage hub. Borobudur encapsulates everything that’s most exotic about Java. At sunset you can watch the warm evening light illuminating the faces of 1200-year old stonework, which presides over a plateau of rice fields and palm groves framed by the plume of smoke rising from the summit of Gunung Merapi – pure magic!

Dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, the UNESCO-listed Prambanan complex centres on an elaborately carved, 47-metre-tall sanctuary tower, surrounded by over 200 subsidiary shrines, all of them richly decorated. The spectacle of this extraordinary architectural behemoth soaring above the palm canopy ranks among the most memorable Southeast Asia has to offer.

Surakarta – aka ‘Solo’ – is Java’s second royal capital. It was established in the mid-18^th century and continues to be an important hub of Javanese culture. Music (particularly gamelan) and traditional courtly dance is still widely studied and performed here, but the great local speciality is batik. Some of the finest textiles in all Indonesia originate in the city, and you can admire superb antique pieces in the famous Danar Hadi museum. Two kraton palaces survive, dating from the years after 1745 when European power was in the ascendency.

An early start is required for the train ride to Jombang. Set amid 100-square-kilometres of lawned gardens, the sprawling archaeological site of Trowulan encompasses remains of the Mahapahit kings’ 14^th-century capital. The tranquil setting of winding lanes, cornfields and small, thatched farming compounds make this a particularly enjoyable site to explore. Still standing are the remains of huge, red-brick temples, halls and gateways, while the museum holds some of the treasures unearthed locally, including a famous stone statue of Airlangga in the form of Vishnu.

Peaking at 2,392m (7848ft), Gunung Bromo may not be Indonesia’s highest volcano, but it’s one of the most conveniently accessible, with a road running all the way up to the lip of the caldera’s encircling cliff, from where the views are magnificent. Bromo is actually one of three volcanoes cradled in a massive, 10-kilometre crater that’s carpeted in a covering of grey-brown sand and ash. Rising in the background, a plume of smoke and steam billows from the perfectly symmetrical snout of Gunung Semeru, Java’s loftiest peak (3,676m/12,000ft) – surely one of the most extraordinary views in the world!

From the Penanjakan Viewpoint, the full majesty of the Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park is revealed in all its glory – a particularly splendid spectacle at sunrise, when golden light illuminates to summits of the mighty volcano and lunar landscape around it. Afterwards, you’ll have the opportunity to drive through the ‘Sea of Sand’ to the foot of the mountain and tackle the ascent to the rim of the crater itself – a stiff climb up 245 steps!

Continue in the afternoon to the east coast, spending the night at a delightful hill resort outside the village of Kalibaru, set amid coffee, cocoa and rubber plantations. Before supper, enjoy sunset views from the veranda of your colonial-era bungalow.

In the rain shadow of Gunung Batukaru, the sparsely populated far west of Bali is the most pristine corner of the island. A large tract of it falls within the borders of the Bali Barat National Park, a reserve of primary monsoon forest, mangrove-lined bays, open savanna and deserted, sandy beaches frequented by several species of rare birds, including the endemic Bali starling. The highlight in this area is Pulau Menjangan (‘Deer Island’), named after the herd of dwarf deer that migrates here each year by swimming across the straits. The animals are quite tame and graze on the beaches and gardens around the beautiful resorts we use.

Spending a couple of nights in West Bali means you’ll be able to embark on a boat trip to the reefs off Pulau Menjangan, regarded as one of the top snorkelling and dive sites in the world.

Ranging from shallow coral gardens to vertical reef walls smothered with sea fans, seven world-class dive sites lie off the coast of Menjangan Island, a short boat ride from your hotel. This small, uninhabited islet supports a dazzling array of marine life, which you’ll be able to experience by snorkelling or diving. Pygmy seahorses, schools of snappers, gorgonian corals, reef sharks, sand banks with garden eels and magnificent coral gardens may all be sighted. With some of the clearest waters in the region, visibility is normally excellent.

Ubud is the best place in Bali to experience traditional dance and ritual arts. The town is jam-packed with pretty little stalls and workshops where you can watch artisans at work and browse an astonishing range of quality local handicrafts. The thatched villages around it offer windows on the island’s more traditional way of life.  The Mother Temple for Balinese Hindus, Besakih, at the foot of Gunung Agung, is a popular daytrip. Crowds of worshippers laden with floral offerings file around the site’s 20 different temples and innumerable subsidiary shrines, spread over a 3-km area interconnected by ascending terraces, colonnaded walkways, long, steep flights of steps and ceremonial gateways.

One of the most magical locations to start your day’s sightseeing is the town’s beautiful Botanical Park, a wonderland of lilies, weeping figs, orchids and rainforest plants. Linger for lunch at the Chocolate House Café, housed in century-old teak hut. Then sample the local art scene at the nearby Neka Art gallery. Another must-see is the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary, on the south side of town, where over 200 macaques congregate in a patch of dense forest scattered with old stone shrines.

Around half a dozen different dance companies perform in Ubud each night. We particularly enjoy the Semara Ratih troupe, known for the expressiveness of its dancers, and Suara Sakti, a Gamelan group that invites members of the audience on stage to try the instruments. Another must-see in Ubud is Kecak, a ritual dance recounting episodes from the Hindu epic, the Ramayan. It is performed by a male chorus of upwards of 100 men dressed in traditional clothes and accompanied by a Gamelan orchestra.

Sometime dubbed ‘Snore’ by its (mostly youthful) detractors, Sanur is the most laid back of the main resorts on Bali’s south coast – one of many reasons why we like it so much! The others are the spellbinding views of Gunung Agung’s conical top to the northeast, excellent diving sites and facilities, and the abundance of space on the beach itself – a beautiful, 5-km spread of golden sand fringed by palm trees and vivid turquoise water. A wide choice of courses are also on offer in the village: from Balinese cookery to traditional Indonesian circus skills.

Dating from the 15^th century, Tanah Lot is the most famous of three Balinese shore temples. It is perched precariously on a craggy, wave-lashed outcrop of rock, becoming cut off from the mainland when the tide rushes in, which adds greatly to the mystery and allure of the shrine. The sublime setting and distinctive, typically Balinese shape of the sanctuary towers have made the temple the most iconic on the island.

For fine Indonesian cuisine, try ‘Kami Sama’, which does a delicious ‘siap sambal matah’ — a Balinese specialty of shredded fried chicken spiced with chopped chillies, shallots and lemon grass.