Things to do in Java

Java holds more than half of Indonesia's people, on an island about a thousand kilometres long. Tours in Java gather around two centres a day's travel apart: Yogyakarta and Mount Bromo. Temples and volcanoes fill most itineraries.

Around Yogyakarta

• Borobudur. A Buddhist monument of the ninth century. Sunrise tours pick up around 4 am. Access to the upper terraces is limited, so confirm the climb when you book.
• Prambanan. A Hindu temple complex of the same century, with spires rising above the plain.
• Merapi. An active volcano north of the city, explored on lava-jeep tracks.
• Caves. Jomblang is a sinkhole entered by a 60-metre descent into a shaft of light. Pindul is a tubing float through a river cave.
• Kitchens and bikes. A market-to-table cooking class and a cycling ride through the rice fields of Bantul.
• City by car. A private driver can run routes past the Sultan's Palace and the Water Castle, or out to Timang Beach.

East Java and Bromo

Bromo is a cone inside the Tengger caldera, and the visit starts in the dark. Jeeps climb to the Penanjakan viewpoint before dawn.

• Starts. Pick-ups are in Surabaya or Malang. Departures near midnight are common, and the private tour lasts about 13 hours.
• Add-ons. Madakaripura, a waterfall of about 200 metres inside a gorge, Tumpak Sewu waterfall, and rafting on the Pekalen river.
• Ijen. A four-day tour from Yogyakarta joins Borobudur and Prambanan to Bromo and the blue flames of Ijen at night.

Practical

• Weather. The dry season runs from April to October and is best for both Yogyakarta and Bromo. Yogyakarta days reach 31 to 33C. From November to March rain and fog can erase the Bromo sunrise, and mornings there sit near 5C, so bring a fleece and gloves.
• Closures. Volcano trails close when activity rises, at Bromo and at Ijen.
• Dress. Temples ask for covered knees and shoulders.
• Distance. Roads are slow, and the map understates the time between Yogyakarta and Bromo. Tours that link Yogyakarta with Bromo and Ijen run four days.