Geography

The special province of yogyakarta ( Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta ) is the second smallest of the 26 provinces of Indonesia, with only the country’s capital area, Jakarta being smaller. Yogyakarta , or “Yogya” as it is familiarly known is located in the central southern part of java and is surrounded on three sides by Central Java and on the fourth by the indian Ocean with a 100-km long coast line. In the north Mount merapi (2968m) Indonesia’s most active volcano rises above the surronding plains, easialy visible from the city, some 27 km away. The city of Yogyakarta also serves as the provincial capital. Other districs include Bantul , Wates, Sleman and Wonosari . provincial administration is devided into five districs, with the city itself being a single administrative unit.

Yogyakarta is linked by road and rail to jakarta (600km), Surabaya (320km), Semarang(120km) and Solo (60km). There are also dialy domestic flights to Jakarta (50 minutes, 6 flights ) and Bali, Indonesia’s primary tourist destination ( 1 hour, 5 flights ) , as well as to other major Indonesian cities.

Lying only seven degrees south of equator, yogya enjoys a tropical climate similar to other parts of java, with year-round temperatures between 26C and 28C. Humidity averages 84%, altoughs this varies according to the season.

The rainy season last from october to march and the dry season from April util september, annual precipitation is 1,759 mm, and the wettest period is between january and march, when monthly rainfall can exceed 300mm. During the dry season , a pleasant dry wind blows from the south, resulting in less humidity and only 3 mm of precipitation.