Volcano Tour Package after Merapi eruption

After Merapi Eruption, Yogyakarta Tourism was down. Some tourist was afraid with Merapi eruption. Merapi eruption that was happen at last November 2010 caused over 190 peoples died and more of 200thousands people leave their house for fleeing. This eruption leaves a trauma for peoples who live around Merapi Volcano and tourist who will visit Yogyakarta.

Now, Merapi eruption was end. Yogyakarta Province government and business tourism owner who invested their business in Yogyakarta, preparing volcano tour package or lava tour for special tourist whose interesting in volcano. Head of Indonesian Tourism Company Association (Asosiasi Perusahaan Perjalanan Wisata Indonesia / Asita) Chapter Yogyakarta, Edwin Ismedi Himna, at Monday 6 December 2010, has told to Antaranews.com that this association and Yogyakarta Province Government have reviewing the idea for volcano tour or lava tour. “Now, we still coordinating with Sleman Region Government and other government around Merapi Volcano, to ask the availability of selling volcano tour, “ Edwin said.

This tour package wills became a part of “Go Jogja” tour package that used for helping Yogyakarta tourism recovery after Merapi eruption that caused Yogyakarta Tourism buried.

“We have reviewed the safe place for volcano tour become new destination. It can be Pakem, Kaliadem or Cangkringan we still looking,” Edwin said.

The important things, this planning should wait the Merapi Volcano status. This planning must be waiting the status of Merapi Volcano in safe level for tourist.

While, Setdirjen Pengembangan Destinasi Pariwisata Kementrian Kebudayaan dan Pariwisata, Winarno Sudjas said that he accept this idea and ready in trained the local guide from youth lives around Merapi Volcano become volcano tour guide.

He said that this idea was very potential become interested things for helping in arriving tourist with special interest in volcano tour and also helping in Yogyakarta tourism recovery after Merapi eruption.

“With this new tour package will make some souvenir shop, hotels and other tourism supporting facility start working and help Yogyakarta economy,” Winarno said.

“For starting this plan must have a commitment from all sector include tourism business owner around Merapi Volcano,” he said.

Source : antaranews.com - peristiwa

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Soko Tunggal Mosque

The majority of Yogyakarta people’s religion is Islam. So, there are a lot of mosque was built in around Yogyakarta. One of the great mosques is Soko Tunggal Mosque. Soko Tunggal Mosque lies in the south of the path, which leads to the Taman Sari Pesanggrahan (a rest-house).

This mosque is called Soko Tunggal because of its single pillar. This mosque built in 28th February 1973 by Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono IX. This mosque built in honor of suhada or heroes that fall in battle opposes Dutch army in battle that known General Attack 1 March. Different from other Javanese traditional buildings, the pillar of the mosque is supported by a bar of stone called “umpak”. It is interesting to know that the umpak used to be the one to support the pillar of the old-Mataram kingdom in the Islamic period. Up to now, the mosque is still in use by many Moslems at Yogyakarta. Has vast 288 meters square this mosque also showed to simplify tourist’s middle paid a visit to Taman Sari. This mosque can adopt until 600 jamaah (the members of a religious community).

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Nglanggeran the beautifull hills

Nglanggeran Hills are hills at Gunungkidul Residence that has beautiful view. This hills placed at the north side of Gunungkidul Residence in direction of Klaten Residence, Middle Java. This place was not far away from the center of Yogyakarta City. It’s about 20km to the southeast from Yogyakarta City. When we go there, we can through curving street with beautiful hills scene. Before we arrive to Nglanggeran Hills, at the hills area at Pathuk Subdistrict, we have viewed with beautiful scene of Yogyakarta City like in Puncak-Bogor-West Java.

When we arrive in a crossroad not far away from Old Pathuk Village Office, we must turn left, pass through small road around 6 km for reach Nglanggeran Hills. Before we reach Nglanggeran Hills we presented some TV transmitter tower and some cellular operator antenna at the edge of this small road. After we arrive at Tawang Crossroad, we must turn right follow small road as far as 2 km and we arrived at the bottom of Nglanggeran Hills.
At the bottom of Nglanggeran Hills, there are so many big stone spread. Some big stones bigger than a house and elephants. Between the big stone there is a house like a public building. This public building used as traditional ritual/ceremony place. As some villager said, we can park our vehicle at the village near the hill. We only paid Rp2000 for park a motorbike and Rp5000 for park a car for along day. Through that village we can start climb the hill pass through small footstep to aim Nglanggeran Hills. It is not long time to reach the top of the hills. The distance of hill climbing around 2,5 km for parking area and it can reach only in 1,5 hours.

During climbing the hills we presented leafy trees and sedimentary rock formation at the edge of footstep. The leafy trees make the ambience more chilly. And when we reach the top of the hills we will be impressed. Beautiful nature scene can viewed from here. The road bendeds like snakes, wet rice fields like green ladder and trees spread out area like green beautiful carpet. At the top of this hills we can see Wonosari City surroundings by the green hills. We also can enjoy the fresh air, composure and peacefully.

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Kiskenda Cave | The Wonderful Cave in Yogyakarta

Kiskendo Cave located about 35 kilometers at northwest side of Yogyakarta, located in Menoreh Mountain at Kulon Progo Regency. An also only 15 kilometers to the south from Kendal via Kaliwungu city, exactly at Trayu village, the location is very easy to reach too. The area lies about 700 meters above sea level, so the air is always cool and fresh.

The environment around this cave was so beautiful. To the East, vast lowlands extending around the Progo River can be admired and to the South, the Indian Ocean looks so wonderful. Motorbikes or cars can reach this cave. But if you are using big vehicles (i.e. bus) you are advised to stop at the Girimulyo district and continued by smaller vehicles because of the narrow road. Along the way to the cave the beautiful view of the mountainous area and the terraced rice field are a beautiful sight.

After tracking, visitors begin entering the mouth of cave; inside will be found some little caves and a little river flow. Sometimes, you can found some collegians were climbing the vertical wall and slope of cave. When you entering Kiskendo Cave, you will be greeted by wonderful stalactites and stalagmites.

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Island Vacations On Lanzarote

Anyone thinking of an island holiday should give serious consideration to visiting Lanzarote. As it hardly resembles the other Canary Islands at all and has numerous unique attractions to boot.

In addition, it is one of the closest destinations to mainland Europe that offers a distinctly different climate. Instead of spending ten hours on a flight to the Caribbean, flights to Lanzarote are a comfortable four hours from all major UK airports.

The year round clement weather is one of the major reasons why the island is so favoured by visitors. And unlike more tropical destinations, there is no rainy season or humidity to deal with. The climate is compared to that of the desert.

Holidaymakers have been attracted to this volcanic outpost for well over forty years and as a result the tourist infrastructure is already well developed. The resort of Puerto del Carmen was the first resort to be created, along the south eastern coast.

It has long stretches of golden sandy beaches and a microclimate of its own, which makes it one of the island’s hotspots. Puerto del Carmen holiday villas offer some of the most comfortable and private accommodation to be found in the town, with many perched in the enclave of Los Mojones.

More recently, the town of Playa Blanca has grown from a small fishing village to be the second largest resort. Its mixture of good quality hotels and holiday villas in Playa Blanca makes it extremely popular with holidaymakers.

The town was a natural choice as a third resort for Lanzarote as it has some of the most incredible beaches just to its eastern edge. These are the Playas de Papagayo, with six untouched sandy coves and sparkling waters that can only be reached by dirt track, walking or water taxi.

There is also the opportunity to visit the neighbouring island of Fuerteventura for those billeted in Playa Blanca. A short journey across the Bocaina Straits on the ferry and travelers will find themselves in Corralejo.

Also close to the resort is the volcano park at Timanfaya. This was the site of the world’s longest volcanic eruptions during 1730-36, when many of the island’s residents fled to other parts of the world.

Now fortunately the volcanoes are dormant and are merely harnessed for demonstrations of the geothermal heat under the earth’s crust. Whilst the restaurant serves food cooked on a barbecue that hovers over a fissure in the ground.

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Gembira Loka Zoo Yogyakarta

When you visit Yogyakarta you can visit a great zoo that called Gembira Loka. Gembira means happy and Loka is place. Hopefully one should be happy by visiting it. Gembira Loka Zoo is located at the eastern side of Kusumanegara Street on hinterland of Yogyakarta. It is located not far away from down town, it is within the reach of andong or becak relax tour. It’s also not so far from Malioboro, Tugu Rail Station and Kotagede (center of handicraft in particular of silversmith located in eastern).

Gembira Loka Zoo that first opened in 1955, is a popular weekend destination for domestic tourist (more than 650.000 visitors a year) and a point of interest to tourists to the area, but there are also some foreign tourists watching closely the famous reptiles Komodos (Varanus Comodoensis), originally live only in Komodo Island, nearby Flores. There is a large central lake and numerous weird and wonderful entertainment devices for children dotted around the 20 hectare 400 species site.

In about one hour browsing, a visitor could see tigers, snakes, crocodiles, goat, Sumatra’s elephants, Java’s one-horned Rhinoceros, and several kinds of monkey such as Orang Utan, Beruk (Sumatra’s monkeys), the black singing monkey with big air bubble on his neck etc. There are also have collections of deer’s, birds etc.

The well-arranged zoo, amidst a park of green garden, with a large artificial lake for boating has adequate collection of some tropical animals. The zoo management tries to put the animals in more spacious stables, to feel more comfortable.

The vast green shadowy park and the lake water and the river Gajah Wong that passes right in the middle of the zoo should regulate the temperature to be a bit cooler or at least fresher.

Sometime, in special event or in weekend, live music performance with some famous singers and artist organized in this park. This should bring a big crowd. But during working days, everything is calmer and a visitor could enjoy the visit comfortably.

GEMBIRA LOKA YOGYAKARTA

Jl. Kebun Raya no. 2 Yogyakarta, 55171 - Indonesia
Telp: +62 274 373861
Fax: +62 274 384666
Email: info@gembiraloka.co.id
Website: www.gembiraloka.co.id
Facebook: Gembiraloka Zoo Yogyakarta
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Inna Garuda Hotel – The part of Yogyakarta’s history.

Inna Garuda Hotel is legendary as an integral part of Yogyakarta since 1908, so this Hotel cannot separately from Yogyakarta History. This hotel was located in the heart of Yogyakarta. Yogyakarta is famous for its genuine friendliness and you may not be worried about its streets at all day long. In fact, some say that it is never sleeps city.

Inna Garuda is located in the heart of the city "in the shopper's paradise of Malioboro" street, near the Sultan's Palace, 42 kilometers from the famous Borobudur Budhist temple, 17 kilometers from the Hindu temple of Prambanan. Everything you need to see in Yogyakarta is close at hand. All the amenities expected in an international standard hotel are at your fingertips because You are everything to us!

So far, the hotel's name had been changed six times.

In the settlement of Dutch in Indonesia, the colonial government wanted to build a hotel at the strategic location on the center of Yogyakarta, in the Malioboro Street. The cottage hotel, which built in 1908, was the biggest and the most luxurious hotel in Yogyakarta named Grand Hotel De Djokdja which means "Yogyakarta Hotel". It started to operate in the year of 1911 and only accommodate the Dutch military guests. In the 1938 the hotel was reshaped in two wings in the right and left side and the main building in the center of it.

At 1942, Japanese came and conquered Indonesia, including Yogyakarta and the Grand Hotel De Djokdja. Japanese military changed the hotel name into Hotel Asahi.

At 1945, this hotel was took over by Indonesian and in line with the spirit of freedom at that time the name of the hotel was changed to Hotel Merdeka. In the 1946, Yogyakarta became the capital of Indonesia due to the political and national security situation and the Hotel Merdeka temporarily became the office complex for the governmental cabinet at that time. Dutch tried to conquer Indonesia again and war occurred betwen the colonialist and the Indonesian soldiers. The late Great Commander General Sudirman stayed in the hotel for several months.

Indonesian government changed the name of Hotel Merdeka into Hotel Garuda in 1950 and in 1975 the government gave the trust to PT. Natour to run the hotel.

In the 1982, PT. Natour was trusted by government to renovate Hotel Garuda and upgraded from one star to three stars hotel. The renovation cost about 9 billions rupiah and finished at the end of 1984. Natour Garuda, did the Trial Ceremony with the Great Grand Opening Ceremony on 29 June 1985 at Saturday Legi (which was a good day for Hamengkubuwono IX), and officially opened by Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX as the governor of Yogyakarta. In the 1987 Natour Garuda was officially stated by the government through the tourism, Post and Telecommunication Department as a three stars hotel. Together with the fast tourism development in Indonesia, especially in Yogyakarta, PT. Natour extends the Natour Garuda by adding 120 rooms so that the total is 240 rooms. Sri Paduka Pakualam VIII, the governor of Yogyakarta, officially opened the extension of Natour Garuda on 29 June 1991. It is a special honor that two Kings of Keraton Yogyakarta inaugurated Natour Garuda.

In March 2001, PT. Natour merged with PT. Hotel Indonesia; the name of the hotel was changed to Inna Garuda. As an almost-100-years-old hotel, we have all experiences and traditions to satisfy our guests. Whenever you visit Yogyakarta, please stay at Inna Garuda: the legendary hotel in Yogyakarta!

Room and Facilities

This hotel has facilities to meet all your convention need. 17 meeting rooms of various sizes fully equipped with convention facilities as well as Internet services plus HOTSPOT/WI FI. INNA Garuda is the right place for conventions and business.

This hotel also has suitable room for your need. 223 rooms with variety of accomodation : superior, deluxe, junior suite, executive suite, and Sudirman Suite. Fully equipped as for a 4 star international Hotel Standard.

This hotel also has Malioboro Coffee Shop, Mataram Lounge,and 24 hours Room Service. And anything else you may need, we will provide. Swimming pool, tennis court, traditional massage, spa and aroma therapy, 24-hours security, spacious parking area, shuttle service to the airport, medical, banking, postal services, travel office, airline offices, money changer, beauty salon, and shopping arcades.


For detail rate and booking, feel free to contact us, because You are everything to us!

• Phone: +62 274 566353
• Fax: +62 274 512114 (direct reservation) / +62 274 563074 (general)
• e-mail: sales@innagaruda.com
• Website : www.innagaruda.com
  

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TransJogja! The comfortable transportation system in Yogyakarta.

Like as TransJakarta, TransJogja is a bus rapid transport system, cheap and air-conditioned around Yogyakarta, Indonesia. TransJogja is one part of the application program Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) that proclaimed the Indonesian Department of Transportation. This system began operate in early March 2008 by the Indonesian Department of Transportation, especially the Provincial Government of Yogyakarta.

Systems that use a bus (medium size) is implementing a closed system, meaning passengers can not enter the bus without going through the shelter, as well as TransJakarta. In addition, the payment system implemented different: one-way tickets to students, and general tickets to subscribe. There are three types of tickets can be purchased by passengers, the fare one-way (single trip), and general tickets to subscribe.

General ticket to subscribe is different from regular bus ticket because they are used a smart card. A machine will review the smart card automatically and the door will opened automatically. Passengers can change buses without having to pay additional fees, if still in a shelter.

Now these busses become main option of transportation in Yogyakarta. Not only the cheap cost but also the good service that become the reason of the passengers. With this bus you will not find pickpockets that sometimes found in general busses around Yogyakarta.

click this picture to enlarge route

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