Fiercely independent and protective of its customs and still headed by its sultan, whose kraton (walled city palace) remains the hub of traditional life – contemporary Yogyakarta is nevertheless a huge urban center complete with shiny malls, fast-food chains and traffic jams, even as it remains a stronghold of batik, gamelan and ritual.
Put it all together and you have Indonesia's coolest, most livable and lovable city, with street art, galleries, coffee shops and cultural attractions everywhere you look. It's also a perfect base for Indonesia’s most important archaeological sites, Borobudur Temple and Prambanan Temple.
Central to the island’s artistic and intellectual heritage, Yogyakarta (pronounced ‘Jogjakarta’ and called Yogya, 'Jogja', for short), is where the Javanese language is at its purest, the arts at their brightest and its traditions at their most visible.