Right in the centre of the city you will find the Sultan's Palace Keraton Yogyakarta, often spelled more like Kraton and with the full official name "Keraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat".
Keraton is the de facto city within the city, behind whose walls you will find human dwellings, a market, shops, a mosque and schools. Some of the people who live within Kraton are employees of the Sultan.
Much of the Kraton Palace grounds are open to the public, even the part of the main building where the Sultan and his family live.
The entire Kraton Jogja Palace grounds were opened in 1755. Today, the palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
What to see in the Kraton complex
The Kraton Jogja Palace has two different entrances, each with a separate entrance fee.
You can enter the palace without a guide.
- Tepas Keprajuritan (see map) - Located directly on the south side of the large Alun-alun Lor Square, it allows access to some of the military and ceremonial palaces, but the tour is considerably shorter than the other entrance.
- Tepas Parawisata (see map) - includes entrance to the Sultan's main palace and other adjacent buildings and areas
Inside the palace you will see common rooms and some chambers open to tourists.
Outside areas include several religious buildings, beautiful quiet and shady squares or souvenir shops.
On the main street between the two entrances, you can also visit the museum of the Sultan's horse-drawn carriages. Entrance to this museum is included in the entrance fee from both of the above mentioned locations.
Walking from the center, you will pass the vast Alun-Alun Lor Square, an empty area filled with patterned volcanic sand with two banyan trees.
We recommend leaving the palace complex by heading southwest (see map) and continuing on foot for about 15 minutes to the magnificent Taman Sari Water Castle.
Entrance fees and opening hours
The entire Kraton Jogja complex as well as the main Sultan's Palace, Keraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat, remains closed on Mondays.
From Tuesday to Sunday, it always opens at 8:00 am. Closing times vary according to the days of the week:
- Tuesday to Thursday - closes at 14:00
- Friday - closes at 11:00
- Saturday and Sunday - closes at 17:00
Ticket prices are as follows and are valid for both entrances separately. So if you want to visit both the military part of the palace (Tepas Keprajuritan) and the civilian part (Tepas Parawisata), you will pay the following amounts twice each time:
- 25 000 idr - foreign visitors
- 15 000 idr - local visitors
The price also includes the performances you can watch in the inner pavilion (Tepas Parawisata entrance).
On Tuesdays and Thursdays (10:00-12:00) you can attend a performance of the traditional percussion orchestra, on Wednesdays (10:00-12:00) and Saturdays (9:00-12:30) you have the chance to see Javanese puppetry, while on Fridays (9:00-11:00) you can listen to local poetry and on Sundays (11:00-12:00) you can enjoy Javanese dance.
Beware of the shopkeepers who will lure you into the Sultan's fabric workshop, called batik; they'll take you to a regular but overpriced fabric shop.
Accommodation nearby
The surrounding streets will give you the atmosphere of old Yogyakarta. The houses here are low, small and crammed on top of each other, and the dense network of twisting alleyways provides quiet and welcome shade.
Around Kraton Palace you will find many small guesthouses and local hotels with very low prices starting from 25 usd per night.
We would recommend these accommodations with the best value for money:
How to get there
Keraton Yogyakarta is located in the central part of the city about 400 meters south of the end of the main shopping street Malioboro.
The nearest bus stops are located about 500 metres away directly in front of the Vredeburg Museum. In the details of this location we describe all the bus routes that pass through these stops.
What to see around
Discover all the places to see in Yogyakarta.
