"Solo (Surakarta)" a Solo Travel Page by trisanna

Solo was an unplanned stop for us. We had spent a few days in Yogyakarta and thought of doing a day trip to Solo. It's around a two hour drive from Yogya. Traffic can be quite heavy in the city center. The reason for coming east was to see two temples that are in the hills outside of Solo. Candi Sukuh and Candi Ceto were built in the 15th century at the end of the Majapahit empire. These Hindu-Buddhist temples are quite different than surrounding temples. They have flat tops and seem to resemble Mayan temples. They are also considered to be fertility temples.

Before we drove back to Yogya to catch our flight home, we stopped in Solo for two hours to see what we could and tour the Kraton, the Sultanate's palace. Solo like Yogyakarta is a Sultanate city. Solo is considered more of a traditional city than it's brother Yogyakarta. The city was founded in 1745 by King Pakubuwono II, who left the Mataram court and looked for a site for a new city. The myth says the king heard voices in his head from Allah, that it would be a successful city. The area is quite historic, the famous Java Man, which is the island's oldest homo erectus-one of the oldest specimens of man kind was found north of the city.

If we had the time, we should have spent atleast a few days here. Besides touring the two palaces in Solo there is a lot to do in the surrounding area.