Solo, between Culture and Nature

Solo or traditionally called Surakarta is a city from the ancient kingdom of Moslem Mataram. The kingdom was separated in 1956 into two smaller kingdoms, the Surakarta Kingdom and Yogyakarta Kingdom. In 1957, the Surakarta Kingdom divided again into two and Raden Mas Said became the Prince of Mangkunegaran, an independent kingdom of Surakarta area.

Ruber Plan – Tawangmangu – SOLO

Solo is a city located 60 km east of Yogyakarta. The name derived from the name of a river that passes through the city and is the longest river in Java. The river is well-known because we found the fossil of the first Javanese man that we called “Pithecanthropus Erectus”.  We have done a lot of research along the river and we found a lot of Mammoth’s and hippopotamus fossil. The government then built a museum of Sangiran to conserve the result of the research.

In the exit of Mangkunegaran Palace, you will find a market of wooden antique good like puppets, statues, masks and another decorative object for houses. You could find metal object too, like gamelan, lamps, and statues.

And in the exit of Solo Palace, you can find the biggest cloth market “Pasar Klewer” and also “Pasar Gede” a traditional market sells tropical fruits, vegetables, spices and the other groceries. Market symbolize the daily life of Indonesian.

Photos du Palais Mangkunegaran, Kasunanan, Le marche traditionnel.

MOUNT LAWU

Sukuh Erotic temple – SOLO

Mount Lawu, 40 km east of Solo, is a favorite destination of the citizen of Solo. Tawangmangu is a regional park, known for the beautiful waterfall of Grojogan Sewu and the center of vegetable farming, like carrot, potato, and sprout. You could walk around the village and the farm to discover the daily life of the villagers.

Mount Lawu is also known for the erotic temples of Sukuh and Cetho. You will find a relief in form of man and woman’s sexual part. The temples were built around 15^th century, by the heir of the Majapahit Kingdom. Majapahit is considered as the last Hindu kingdom of Java. The people who didn’t want to change their religion to islam moved to central Java, Bromo volcano, and Bali.

Photos: Temple Sukuh, Cetho, Cascade de Grojogansewu, la culture en terrasse de legumes.

The west flank of Mount Lawu is also known for the beautiful terraced rice fields, the clove, and the plantation of rubber and tea. You could walk around the beautiful nature on the unordinary path, less tourist.

Rice paddy – Tawangmangu – SOLO