Solo City Tour – Sukuh & Cetho Temple

Today after breakfast, start the day with a visit of Solo. Also known as Surakarta, the city of Solo was founded in 1745 by a local king. The site for the new Mataram Kingdom’s capital was reportedly chosen through voices heard by the king. Solo is the capital of batik in Java and remains home to some of the most intact Dutch colonial architecture in Indonesia. Visit Keraton Mangkunegaran - a classical repository of classical Javanese art. Built as a palace for a ‘junior’ line of the royal family in the 18th century, the splendid building has an extensive collection of 14th century jewelry, majestic silverworks, traditional Javanese weapons and classical dancing body ornaments. End the morning with a visit to a well-known batik museum and learn about this famous Javanese art developed through the ages. Also, see craftsmen and women at work making new creations. Lunch will be served here as well. Early in the afternoon, depart for a half-day excursion to Sukuh and Cetho, two of the latest Hindu temples built in Java before the island's courts were converted to Islam in the 16th century.  Located on the western slopes of Mount Lawu (3,265m), this area, at the border between Central and East Java, offers spectacular landscapes with terraces covered by beautiful tea plantations . Explore Sukuh, located at 910 metres in elevation, and take a look at its unique pyramidal shape -similar in style to the Mayan temples of Central America and its stone carvings of Hindu phallic symbols. Continue the drive, passing through beautiful tea plantations to Cetho, another Hindu temple located even higher on the mountain and rarely visited.

Its carvings are similar to Sukuh Temple, but the multi-tiered temple differs in architectural layout. Return to your hotel in Yogyakarta for overnight.