Solo City, Indonesia

Close map Solo, a traditional and unhurried city 65km northeast of Yogyakarta, often plays second fiddle to its more conspicuous neighbour. But this is just plain unfair. With its backstreet kampung, wide thoroughfares, laid-back locals and rich cultural heritage, Solo has more than enough to warrant at least an overnight visit. Plus the usual cries of Hello mister, Becak, becak and Come to my gallery – so ingrained in many of Java s cities – are less frequent here, as are the tourists; more often than not you won t bump into another traveller as you wander the alleyways and markets of this attractive city. In many ways, Solo is also Java writ small, incorporating its vices and virtues and embodying much of its heritage. On the downside, the islands notoriously fickle temper tends to flare in Solo first – the city has been the backdrop for some of the worst riots in Java s recent history. This fact will come as quite a surprise to most visitors, who will find the locals some of the friendliest on this crowded island. On the upside, the city s long and distinguished past as a seat of the great Mataram empire means that it competes with Yogyakarta as the hub of Javanese culture. As well as visitors to its two beautiful palaces, Solo attracts many students and scholars to its academies of music and dance. The city is an excellent place to see traditional performing arts, and traditional crafts, especially batik, are also well represented, as Solo is a major textile centre.