Language · 11 published
Country guide
Indonesia is between 13,000 and 17,000 islands spread across 1,904,569 km2, the largest archipelagic state in the world, so the question is never what to see but which island to fly to. Over 280 million people live in its 38 provinces and more than half of them on Java alone, the most heavily populated island anywhere and the one carrying Jakarta, the world's most populous city. Sumatra, Sulawesi and the Indonesian portions of Borneo and New Guinea are each a separate trip, across wilderness supporting some of the highest biodiversity on earth. The gaps between them are measured in flights, not in drives.
Reviewed by Elena Voss · SSMTour Travel Editor
Every city catalogued in this country so far, ranked by how much there is to see.
Photograph · Gunawan Kartapranata · CC BY-SA 3.0
Photograph · trezy humanoiz from Denpasar, indonesia · CC BY 2.0
Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.
86 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
Interests
Pura Tanah Lot is a Balinese Hindu sea temple on a rock off the coast at Beraban, Kediri, in Tabanan Regency. Indonesia's official tourism service places the temple about 30 kilometres from Denpasar and about 300 metres offshore.
Pura Luhur Uluwatu
Pura Luhur Uluwatu is a Balinese Hindu sea temple perched on a steep cliff approximately seventy metres above the Indian Ocean. The temple is one of six key temples believed to be Bali's spiritual pillars.
Mandala Suci Wenara Wana
The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary, locally known as Mandala Suci Wenara Wana, is a nature reserve and temple complex near Ubud in the Gianyar Regency.
Terasering Tegallalang
Tegallalang Rice Terraces, known locally as Terasering Tegallalang, are a renowned agricultural landscape situated north of Ubud in Bali's Gianyar Regency. The site features cascading rice paddies carved into hillsides, demonstrating the traditional Balinese subak irrigation system recognized by UNESCO.
Pura Tirta Empul
Tirta Empul Temple, known locally as Pura Tirta Empul, is a Balinese Hindu water temple located near Tampaksiring in the Gianyar regency, northeast of Denpasar.
Mount Batur, known locally as Gunung Batur, is an active volcano located in Bali, Indonesia. It sits within the Batur UNESCO Global Geopark, recognized for its significant geological heritage.
Taman Fatahillah
Fatahillah Square, known locally as Taman Fatahillah, is a historic public plaza in Jakarta's Kota Tua Old Town district. The square centers on colonial-era architecture and serves as a gathering place for residents and visitors.
Pura Agung Besakih, known in English as Besakih Great Temple, stands as the largest and holiest temple complex in Bali. Perched on the southwestern slopes of Mount Agung, it serves as the spiritual centre for Balinese Hinduism.
Puri Saren Agung
Puri Saren Agung, known internationally as Ubud Palace, stands as a historical royal residence in Ubud, a town within the greater Denpasar region of Bali, Indonesia.
Terasering Jatiluwih
Jatiluwih Rice Terraces, known locally as Terasering Jatiluwih, comprise an extensive agricultural landscape in the Tabanan Regency of Bali. The site represents a traditional subak irrigation system recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage cultural landscape.
Pelabuhan Sunda Kelapa
Sunda Kelapa Harbour is Jakarta's historic port district located in the northern part of the city along the Ciliwung River estuary.
Pura Ulun Danu Beratan
Pura Ulun Danu Beratan is a significant Shaivite water temple in Bali, Indonesia. The temple complex sits on the shores of Lake Beratan in the mountains near Bedugul.
Goa Gajah, also known as the Elephant Cave, is an archaeological site of significant historical importance located near Ubud in the Gianyar Regency area, commonly associated with greater Denpasar visits.
Pura Taman Ayun
Taman Ayun Temple, known locally as Pura Taman Ayun, is a Balinese Hindu temple located in Mengwi, Badung Regency, approximately eighteen kilometers northwest of Denpasar.
Galeri Nasional Indonesia
The National Gallery of Indonesia, known locally as Galeri Nasional Indonesia, is a prominent art institution in Jakarta. It serves as a major venue for Indonesian and international art exhibitions, cultural events, and educational programs.
Pantai Sanur
Sanur Beach, known locally as Pantai Sanur, is a coastal stretch on the southeastern side of Bali, Indonesia. It lies within the city of Denpasar and represents one of the island's earliest developed beach resort areas.
Pantai Kuta
Kuta Beach, known locally as Pantai Kuta, is a coastal area on the western side of Bali's southern peninsula. It lies within the administrative boundaries of Badung Regency, near Denpasar, the provincial capital.
Bukit Campuhan
Campuhan Ridge Walk, known locally as Bukit Campuhan, is a popular walking trail located in the Ubud area on the outskirts of Denpasar's broader region.
Taman Budaya Garuda Wisnu Kencana
Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park is a cultural park in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia. The park is known for its large statue of the Hindu god Vishnu riding the mythical bird Garuda.
Glodok is Jakarta's historic Chinatown and a living commercial and religious district within the old Batavia area. Chinese-Indonesian communities have shaped its markets, temples, food culture and trading streets over centuries.
Tirta Gangga Water Palace is a former royal palace in eastern Bali, Indonesia. The name means Water of the Ganges, referencing the sacred Indian river.
Pura Lempuyang Luhur is one of Bali's oldest and most sacred Hindu temples, occupying a significant position among the island's religious sites. It belongs to the Sad Kahyangan Jagad, the six sanctuaries of the world that form Bali's spiritual pillars.
Pura Gunung Kawi is a significant archaeological temple complex located in the Tampaksiring area near Denpasar, Bali. The site features ancient rock-cut shrines carved into cliff faces, dating from the 11th century during the Udayana dynasty.
Pantai Seminyak
Seminyak Beach, known locally as Pantai Seminyak, is a coastal area on the western shore of Bali, Indonesia.
Jimbaran Beach, known locally as Pantai Jimbaran, is a coastal area located on the southwestern side of the Bukit Peninsula in southern Bali, near Denpasar.
The National Library of Indonesia is the country’s national library and a public research institution in central Jakarta. Its visitor-services building stands at Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan No.
Museum Seni Neka
The Neka Art Museum, known locally as Museum Seni Neka, is an art museum located in Ubud, within the broader Denpasar region of Bali, Indonesia.
Museum Seni Agung Rai
The Agung Rai Museum of Art, known locally as Museum Seni Agung Rai, is an art museum located in Ubud, within the broader Denpasar metropolitan area of Bali, Indonesia.
Pura Goa Lawah
Pura Goa Lawah is a Balinese Hindu sea temple of significant religious importance, located near the village of Pesinggahan in Klungkung Regency, east of Denpasar.
Taman Safari dan Bahari Bali
Bali Safari and Marine Park is a zoological attraction located in the Gianyar Regency area near Denpasar, Bali. The facility combines wildlife conservation, animal exhibits, and entertainment programming.
Pantai Padang Padang
Padang Padang Beach, also called Pantai Padang Padang, is a small cove on Bali’s Bukit Peninsula in the Pecatu area. Limestone cliffs frame the sandy shore and give the beach a more enclosed character than the peninsula’s open coastal stretches.
Pantai Bingin
Bingin Beach, known locally as Pantai Bingin, is a coastal area on the Bukit Peninsula in southern Bali. The beach sits below a steep limestone cliff and features a stretch of sand with direct Indian Ocean exposure.
Pantai Balangan
Balangan Beach, known locally as Pantai Balangan, is a coastal area located on the Bukit Peninsula in southern Bali, within the broader Denpasar region.
Monumen Nasional
The National Monument, or Monas, is Jakarta's principal independence memorial, rising from the centre of Merdeka Square. Its 132-metre obelisk culminates in a gold-covered flame symbolising the continuing spirit of the Indonesian people.
Museum Nasional Indonesia
The National Museum of Indonesia, known locally as Museum Nasional Indonesia, stands as one of Jakarta's most prominent cultural institutions. Located in Central Jakarta, it houses extensive collections representing Indonesia's archaeological, historical, ethnographic, and geographical heritage.
Taman Monas
Merdeka Square, known locally as Medan Merdeka, is a vast public square in central Jakarta. It ranks among the city's most significant visitor destinations and serves as a major civic and symbolic space in Indonesia's capital.
Museum Sejarah Jakarta
The Jakarta History Museum, locally known as Museum Sejarah Jakarta, is a museum housed in the former Stadhuis of Batavia, the colonial town hall of Dutch East India Company era.
Museum Bali
The Bali Museum is a provincial museum located in Denpasar, the capital city of Bali, Indonesia. It stands as one of the island's oldest museums, established during the early twentieth century.
Museum Bahari
The Maritime Museum, known locally as Museum Bahari, occupies a historic site in Jakarta's old Sunda Kelapa harbor area. The museum celebrates Indonesia's seafaring traditions and maritime heritage in a city shaped by centuries of ocean trade.
The Wayang Museum, locally named Museum Wayang, is a cultural institution in Jakarta dedicated to the traditional Indonesian art of shadow puppetry.
Museum Tekstil
The Museum Tekstil in Jakarta is a museum dedicated to Indonesia's rich textile heritage. It occupies a historic colonial-era building that once served as a private residence.
Monumen Selamat Datang
The Selamat Datang Monument, known locally as Monumen Selamat Datang, stands as a prominent landmark in central Jakarta.
Museum Bank Mandiri
Bank Mandiri Museum, or Museum Bank Mandiri, occupies a historic building in Jakarta and presents the city’s banking heritage. Its story follows Bank Mandiri and its predecessor institutions, placing financial development within Indonesia’s wider social and economic history.
Museum Indonesia
The Museum Indonesia, known locally as Museum Indonesia, is a cultural institution located in Jakarta. It forms part of the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah complex, a large cultural park showcasing Indonesian provincial cultures.
musuem le mayeur
Le Mayeur Museum is the former home and studio of Belgian painter Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur de Merprès on Sanur Beach in Denpasar.
The Museum of the Proclamation Drafting, or Museum Perumusan Naskah Proklamasi, commemorates the preparation of Indonesia's 1945 independence proclamation.
Masjid Istiqlal
Istiqlal Mosque, known locally as Masjid Istiqlal, stands as Indonesia's national mosque and one of the largest mosques in Southeast Asia. Located in central Jakarta near Merdeka Square, it was constructed to commemorate Indonesian independence.
Monumen Bajra Sandhi
The Bajra Sandhi Monument, known locally as Monumen Bajra Sandhi, stands as a significant memorial in Denpasar, Bali. This monument commemorates the struggles of the Balinese people throughout history.
Museum Kebangkitan Nasional
The National Awakening Museum occupies the preserved STOVIA school building, a landmark site in Indonesian history. STOVIA, the School tot Opleiding van Inlandsche Artsen, trained indigenous medical students during the colonial period.
Museum Taman Prasasti
Taman Prasasti Museum is a heritage cemetery museum in Jakarta, Indonesia. Originally established as a colonial burial ground, it was converted into an open-air museum displaying historic tombstones, funerary monuments, and antique hearses.
The Bank Indonesia Museum occupies a historic colonial building in Jakarta's Old Town area. It serves as a museum dedicated to the history of Indonesia's central bank and the broader narrative of banking and finance in the Indonesian archipelago.
Museum MACAN
Museum MACAN—Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara—is Jakarta's major institution for modern and contemporary Indonesian and international art. Its purpose-built galleries present the collection alongside temporary exhibitions, commissions, performance and education programmes.
Museum Purna Bhakti Pertiwi
Purna Bhakti Pertiwi Museum, also called Museum Purna Bhakti Pertiwi, is a cultural museum in Jakarta and a listed destination in Indonesia’s tourism landscape. The museum forms part of the capital’s wider group of heritage and cultural attractions.
Museum Sasmita Loka Ahmad Yani
Sasmita Loka Ahmad Yani Museum is a Jakarta memorial museum devoted to General Ahmad Yani, an Indonesian national hero. It occupies the former residence where he lived before his death during the 1965 coup attempt.
Museum Hakka Indonesia
Hakka Museum, also known as Museum Hakka Indonesia, is a cultural institution inside Taman Mini Indonesia Indah in Jakarta. It focuses on the migration history, community life, and cultural contributions of Hakka Chinese Indonesians.
Museum Sumpah Pemuda
Youth Pledge Museum, also known as Museum Sumpah Pemuda, is a Jakarta museum centered on the Youth Pledge made by Indonesian youth representatives at the Second Youth Congress on 28 October 1928.
Lapangan Banteng is a historic public square in central Jakarta, Indonesia. The site holds colonial-era significance as a former military parade ground during Dutch administration.
Taman Suropati is a public park located in the Menteng district of central Jakarta, Indonesia. The park occupies a triangular plot formed by the convergence of three major roads.
Katedral Jakarta
Jakarta Cathedral, locally known as Gereja Katedral Jakarta, stands as a prominent Catholic church in Indonesia's capital. The neo-Gothic structure serves as the seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Jakarta.
Kebun Binatang Ragunan
Ragunan Zoo is Jakarta's large municipal zoological park, combining animal care, conservation education and public recreation across extensive tropical grounds.
Suaka Margasatwa Muara Angke
Muara Angke Wildlife Reserve, also known locally as Suaka Margasatwa Muara Angke, is a protected mangrove wetland in North Jakarta. It preserves coastal habitat inside one of Indonesia’s most densely populated metropolitan areas.
Taman Mini Indonesia Indah is a large cultural park in East Jakarta that presents the diversity of Indonesian provinces through pavilions, architecture, and traditional displays.
Taman Impian Jaya Ancol
Ancol Dreamland, known locally as Taman Impian Jaya Ancol, is a large integrated recreational complex situated along Jakarta's northern coastline. The area functions as Jakarta's primary seaside entertainment destination, combining multiple attractions within a single managed zone.
Dunia Fantasi
Dunia Fantasi is a theme park located within the Ancol Dreamland complex in Jakarta, Indonesia. It is one of the city's prominent recreational destinations, offering various attractions and entertainment options for visitors.
Atlantis Water Adventures is a water-based leisure attraction in Jakarta. It offers a break from the capital’s streets and suits travelers looking for an active day centred on swimming and aquatic recreation.
Blok M Square is a prominent shopping complex situated in the Blok M district of South Jakarta, Indonesia. The area has historically functioned as a significant commercial and transit hub within the city.
Central Park Mall is a large indoor shopping and leisure destination at Jalan Letjen S. Parman Kav. 28 in Jakarta’s Tanjung Duren area.
Kota Tua Jakarta, or Old Town Jakarta, is a historic district in North Jakarta preserving Dutch colonial architecture from the period when Batavia served as the capital of the Dutch East Indies.
The Pancasila Sakti Monument and Museum, known locally as Monumen Pancasila Sakti, forms part of the Lubang Buaya memorial complex in Jakarta. The site commemorates the events of 30 September 1965, when seven Indonesian National Army officers were killed.
The Indonesian Soldiers Museum, locally called Museum Keprajuritan Indonesia, is a fortress-like museum within Taman Mini Indonesia Indah in Jakarta.
The Electricity and New Energy Museum, locally called Museum Listrik dan Energi Baru, introduces visitors to electrical power and newer energy technologies in Jakarta. It is a focused educational attraction rather than an art gallery or general history museum.
Museum Seni Rupa dan Keramik
The Fine Art and Ceramics Museum, known locally as Museum Seni Rupa dan Keramik, is a cultural institution in Jakarta dedicated to Indonesian visual arts and ceramic heritage.
Heirlooms Museum, also known locally as Museum Pusaka, is a keris-shaped museum inside Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII) in Jakarta. Its subject is Indonesia’s traditional weapon heritage, with the keris as the central object and architectural symbol.
Badung Market, known locally as Pasar Badung, is Denpasar’s principal traditional market and one of Bali’s largest public trading centres. It is an everyday commercial hub as well as a useful place for travellers to encounter Balinese shopping culture.
Mayestik Market, known locally as Pasar Mayestik, is a traditional marketplace in Jakarta. The market occupies a multi-level building structure and serves as a commercial hub for textile and fabric trading.
Pasar Seni Ancol is an art market situated within Jakarta's expansive Ancol coastal recreation complex. The market serves as a dedicated venue for Indonesian artists and craftspeople to exhibit and sell their work directly to visitors.
Tanah Abang Market
Tanah Abang Market, known locally as Pasar Tanah Abang, is one of Jakarta's major traditional markets. It functions as a significant wholesale and retail trading center in the Indonesian capital.
Plaza Indonesia is an indoor shopping and lifestyle complex on Jl. M.H. Thamrin in central Jakarta, near the Bundaran HI commercial corridor. Its character comes from bringing retail, dining, services and indoor public circulation together in one polished city-centre destination.
Museum Polri
The Indonesian National Police Museum, also known locally as Museum Polri, presents the history and institutional development of Indonesia’s national police. In Jakarta, it offers travelers a focused look at the people, objects, and cases connected with policing in Indonesia.
The Indonesia Science Center, known locally as Pusat Peragaan Ilmu Pengetahuan dan Teknologi (PP-IPTEK), is a hands-on science museum located within Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII) in East Jakarta.
RUCI Art Space is a contemporary art venue in Jakarta’s creative ecosystem. Unlike a museum built around a permanent collection, it offers a flexible setting for changing artistic presentations and cultural activity.
Taman Situ Lembang is a public park located in the Menteng district of central Jakarta. The park centers on a historic artificial lake, Situ Lembang, which gives the area its name.
Museum Satria Mandala
Satriamandala Museum, also known as Museum Satria Mandala, is a Jakarta military history museum dedicated to Indonesia’s armed forces heritage. It combines indoor historical displays with an institutional memorial setting and outdoor military equipment.
Tribeca Park is an urban green space situated within the Central Park Jakarta complex in the city. The park serves as a recreational area for residents and visitors seeking respite from the dense urban environment of the capital.
Proclamation Monument, locally known as Tugu Proklamasi, is a commemorative landmark in Jakarta dedicated to Indonesia’s declaration of independence. It stands within an urban park and functions as both a historical monument and a public gathering place.
Dharma Bhakti Temple, known locally as Vihara Dharma Bhakti, is an active Buddhist temple in Jakarta's historic Glodok district. It serves the city's Chinese-Indonesian Buddhist community and forms part of the cultural character of the Chinatown area.
Source: OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata ·
Ten to fourteen days is enough for Bali plus one nearby island or for a focused Java route, not for the whole archipelago. Every added island introduces an airport or harbour transfer, so choose regions first and count transfer days before assigning sightseeing.
Indonesia Immigration’s official eVisa service is the source for passport eligibility, visa class and stay conditions. Complete any required arrival formalities through government channels and verify the authorised entry point; a Bali-focused commercial site is not evidence of national admission rules.
Flights bridge distant islands, Java has useful rail corridors, and ferries, buses or local boats complete many regional legs. Check the licensed operator and weather before sea travel, and leave recovery time when an island connection precedes an international departure.
Dry-season timing varies across Indonesia, although much of Java and Bali is commonly easier from roughly May to September. Sumatra, Sulawesi and eastern islands can follow different rainfall patterns, so select dates for the chosen islands rather than the country name.
Indonesia uses the rupiah, and large IDR figures make digit checking important. Keep cash for markets, drivers and smaller islands, use bank-linked machines where available, and confirm whether an accommodation or boat quote includes taxes and local charges.
The recorded emergency contacts are 112 where available and 110 for police; electricity is Type C and F at 230 V. Tap-water safety is Not recorded, so rely on local official or accommodation guidance and verify emergency coverage on remote islands.
