Indonesia-Central Jawa-Solo

Surakarta, known colloquially as Solo, is a major city in Central Java, Indonesia. The 46.72 km2 city is metropolitan area, consisting of Surakarta City and the surrounding six regencies (“Greater Solo Area”, formerly Special Region of Surakarta).

I regularly visit Solo once-twice every year. This time I visited Solo for Javanese New Year celebration.

This event is held by the Surakarta Palace on the night before 1 Sura, the Javanese New Year.

The procession route is approximately 3 km long, passing through Surakarta Palace and then returning to the Palace.

In the morning I enjoyed car free day in the main road, Slamet Riyadi street

Lots of people strolling and enjoying the street food

PASAR GEDE

I also went to Pasar Gede which is also famous for culinary destination

Pasar Gedhe Harjonagoro is a traditional market located in the heart of Solo City, near the Chinese settlement known as Balong and the Avalokitesvara Temple (Vihara).

The name “Gedhe” means “big” in Javanese, referring to the market’s large roof structure.

It sells various daily necessities such as vegetables and fruits. What makes this market even more special is the wide variety of traditional Solo snacks sold here, such as risol, pastel, lumpia, cabuk rambak, klepon, grontol, es dawet telasih, and jamu (herbal drink).

Surakarta is famous for its traditional culinary delights. Some notable dishes include nasi liwet, timlo, bistik solo, selat solo, srabi, intip, tengkleng, sosis solo, sate buntel, sate kere, sup matahari, and many others.

I stayed at nice boutique hotel inside the wholesale market

This hotel is attached to historical building, gedung Djoeang

It also has nice view outside the building

TAWANGMANGU

Natural attractions near Surakarta include the Tawangmangu Tourism Area, located in Karanganyar Regency

Tawangmangu is a sub-district and popular tourist destination in Karanganyar Regency, Central Java, known for its cool mountain air on the slopes of Mount Lawu.

This area offers a variety of natural attractions, such as waterfalls and forests, as well as family recreation areas with interesting rides and views.