JAVANESE ART & VILLAGE TOUR // HISTORY & LEGEND REDISCOVERY

THE JAVANESE ART & VILLAGE TOUR

Tour Code :  JOG-02

TOUR ITINERARY (8.30-12.30 or 14.00-18.00)

Start off with a visit to the evocative ruins of TAMANSARI, the water castle. This huge and once magnificent pleasure park and playground of the Sultans and their families, is now and intriguing collection of roofless halls, eerie underground passage ways and shattered arches.

Dozen of "Kampongs" village houses have sprung up along the once - royal pathways and against equally royal walls, surrounded by bananas, bamboo and papayas, giving it a rustic village atmosphere. Small workshops flourish in this tropical foliage and ancient glory, a wonderful place to browse and buy fine handmade batik.

If you've admired the jauntingly coloured pottery in the form of elephants, rooters and mythical beasts, which can be found in Yogyakarta, than KASONGAN at the outskirts of the city, is the village where you can see them being modeled by hand, fired in an open blaze of roots and palm leaves, and then painted with verve and panache.

Then, at one of the few "WAYANG KULIT" workshops, you'll see how this piece of leather figures used at the puppet shadow play, as delicately worked as guipure lace and finely coloured as a butterfly's wing, became undisputable examples of craftsmanship.

HISTORY & LEGEND REDISCOVERY

Tour Code : JOG-03 

TOUR ITINERARY (08.30-11.30/14.00-17.00)

Tour to one of the main attraction of Yogyakarta.

Seventeen kilometers of Yogya, set amongst green rice-fields, is PRAMBANAN, a complex of over 200 temples and shrines. The largest and tallest temple, a masterpiece also known as "LORO JONGGRANG" or "SLENDER VIRGIN", is covered with wonderful relief's depicting the Ramayana episodes. Another main aspect of this main temple's appeal is its glorious symmetry and grace, making it the most elegant and beautiful temple in Java.

Nearby is a large outdoor theatre where the famous Ramayana Ballet is performed annually from May through October during four clear nights on and around full moon.

Some kilometers of Prambanan is CANDI SEWU, the "Thousand Temple" with a central temple surrounded by minor shrines, a very romantic sight, and a delight to explore.

CANDI PLAOSAN, about 1 km east of Sewu, contains a number of beautiful small Stupas.

Just of the main road on your way back to Yogyakarta is CANDI KALASAN, featuring a huge, ornate Kala-head above the southern doorway.

A tour of Prambanan is a fascinating adventure into history and legends of the Hindu pantheon.