Purwokerto

Purwokerto is a sleepy town in the Central Java province of Indonesia. It is a major transport hub, connecting major cities such as Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, and Cirebon.

Understand
Purwokerto is a town of around 230,000 inhabitants (2020 census) and the capital of Banyumas Regency. It lies between Jakarta and Yogyakarta, making it a famous and bustling transit town in southwestern Central Java.

Some famous Indonesians originated from Purwokerto, such as Jenderal Gatot Subroto. These people are honoured in street names all over Indonesia.

The town is at the base of the Mount Slamet, the second highest volcano in Central Java. Purwokerto is a popular gateway to climb it, since the summit crater is about from the town centre. The rivers that flow down its slopes into the town provides some welcome greenery in the industrial drabness and hectic bustle.

Get around
Purwokerto is a relatively small town, so travelling around town should not be too expensive. You can jog around town in approximately 40 minutes.

By angkot
Although Purwokerto is a small town, instead of walking in the heat and high humidity, travelling around town can be faster and easier by angkot (battered minibuses - derived from the words angkutan kota, or city transport). These have fixed routes but pick up and drop off anywhere along that route; sometimes they can be very crowded, but it's a great way to meet the locals. There is a certain etiquette to be observed, though. Costs Rp2,500 per passenger, paid when you alight.

By online taxi / mototaxi
Gojek and Grab online taxis are ubiquitous in this town and highly recommended if you are in a rush to other places.

By public bus
There are 2 public bus services in operation.


 * TransJateng is a BRT service operated by provincial government that serves mainly Purwokerto-Purbalingga (eastbound route). Operational hour starts from 05:15 to 18:00. The bus stops at the designated, high-level platform bus shelter. Rp4,000 per person, flat rate.
 * Trans Banyumas is a bus service under the supervision of Ministry of Transportation. There are three operational routes: Pasar Pon-Ajibarang (westbound route. Operational hour starts from 05:15 with last departure from terminal at 19:45), Baturraden-Notog (north-south route. Operational hour starts from 04:45 with last departure from terminal at 18:00), and Bulupitu-Kebondalem (loop route. Operational hour starts from 05:00 with last departure from terminal at 19:20). The bus stops at the bus stop sign, some of them are integrated to TransJateng bus stops. Rp3,900 per person, flat rate.

Unlike Transjakarta in Jakarta (and just like the majority of BRT creepers in many Indonesian cities), they don't have a designated lane that separates their lane from regular traffic and has very low timetable. You may want to use these bus service if you're not in a hurry and really want to enjoy this town with its AC-equipped buses. Both BRT providers have their own app with bus tracker.

By trishaw
Traditional three-wheeled pedal-powered rickshaws known as becak can be found in most parts of Purwokerto. Haggle furiously.

See


Purwokerto is simply a major transit town, not a tourist town. Even so, it still has many destinations to be seen or visited. It has a lot of beautiful monuments on some of its roundabouts and a few well-preserved Dutch colonial buildings.

Museums




Parks
Purwokerto also has many parks that are basically local hotspots for hangout, jogging, cycling, or even just to stroll around to enjoy its scene. You can also buy foods and snacks and have a picnic in the evening (specifically in its town square).



Do

 * Sport centre: . You can also visit
 * Golf:
 * Karaoke: One of the most popular entertainment programs in town. Plenty of well-known chains throughout the city, such as and
 * Coffee house: If you want to hangout with your friends, are a workaholic, or just simply want to enjoy a cup of coffee or tea, there are a lot of coffee houses in Purwokerto.

Traditional markets
Purwokerto has many ranges of traditional markets.

Boutiques
There are a number of boutiques along Jl. Dr. Bunyamin, in the northern part of the town. They're popular with youths and college students.

Shopping malls




Handicrafts
There are plenty of handicraft and souvenir stands in nearby Baturaden, a cool resort town just to the north.

Eat
Purwokerto is the heart of culinary destinations of Banyumas Regency, so don't miss any chances to explore more restaurants beyond the lists and indulge on every dish that's served in this town. The following dishes should be on every traveler's agenda:


 * Gudeg, a curry of jackfruit, chicken and egg served with rice. The most famous local dish. The most famous seller is in front of Pasar Manis, Jl Gatot Subroto.
 * Mendoan is made from very thin tempe (fermented soy bean cake), battered and fried. The best mendoan is only found in the village, even though city mendoan is quite tasty. Mendoan can be bought on Jl. Sawangan, in outlets including Mirasa and Echo21. You can buy it raw (with separate ingredients) and fry it at home.
 * Sate Kambing Sate kambing in the Purwokerto area (Banyumas, Sokaraja, Purbalingga) is also famous for very tender young goat. One of the best is Sate Tiga Saudara.
 * Soto Sokaraja, or locally called Sroto, a soup which originated from neighboring town Sokaraja, is very popular here. There are many local restaurants that serve this dish.
 * Gethuk Goreng is a fried variant of gethuk, traditional snacks made from cassava. It's as omnipresent as mendoan (specifically in Sokaraja).

Mid-range

 * There are 2 KFCs in this town.
 * There are 2 KFCs in this town.
 * There are 2 KFCs in this town.
 * There are 2 KFCs in this town.
 * There are 2 KFCs in this town.

Drink
Like in any other Javanese highland interior towns (even though Purwokerto is relatively lower in altitude than Baturaden region), wedang is quite popular due to its warming effects and rich flavours.


 * Wedang Ronde is a hot ginger drink with gluten rice balls, peanuts, jelly.
 * Wedang Uwuh in English literally means "junk drink", due to its messy herbs appearance left unfiltered in the drink. Despite of its unfortunate name, this hot, ginger-based drink added with sappan wood, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemongrass, cardamom, and sugar/honey is very healthy and gives you warming effects. You may find this drink everywhere (especially in Baturaden region).

Coffee shops
Just like many other cities in Indonesia, Purwokerto is experiencing a boom in coffee shops. Due to the high number of coffee shops in this town, it is highly recommended to explore by yourself beyond this list.

Stay safe
Mount Slamet erupted in 2009 and again in 2014, and for periods afterwards residents and tourists were warned to not approach within 2 km of the crater. Check conditions to determine the threat level before planning a visit.

Purwokerto is relatively safer than any other major cities in Indonesia. However, there were multiple cases of motorcycle theft in 2019. If you rent a motorcycle or any other vehicles, make sure to always lock its steering or wheels and triple check before you leave it.



North

 * Mount Slamet, a stratovolcano which is still active with recent volcanic activity in 2014. Travelers in Purwokerto will never miss a sight of this volcano since it's only about 15 km north of the town centre and is the highest mountain in Central Java, making it an ideal benchmark for the north direction. If any travelers are brave enough to climb it (since it's notoriosly known as one of the hardest mountain to climb in Java), you can visit Bambangan Base Camp in Purbalingga Regency or many other base camps as the starting point (there are at least 12 climbing routes).
 * Baturaden is the most famous natural tourist area just north of Purwokerto. Thanks to its temperate climate and abundant amount of waterfalls, there are many villas and tourist attractions that travelers can visit. Lokawisata Baturaden is a nature preservation on a Mount Slamet slope with waterfalls & swimming pools, plus panoramic volcano views. Wana Wisata Baturraden is an ecotourism spot with campgrounds and out-bond facilities, and also serves as a gateway to Baturaden Botanical Garden. Natural tourist attractions in here include Curug Telu, Telaga Sunyi, Hutan Pinus, Curug Kembar, Pancuran Pitu, Curug Ceheng, and many other waterfalls.

East

 * Purbalingga, home of the famous Owabong Waterpark, Sanggaluri Park, and Purbayasa River World.
 * Banjarnegara, do rafting on Serayu River and go further to Dieng Plateau.

South East

 * Sokaraja, a transit town, is famous for its soto and gethuk goreng.
 * Tambak, on the border of Kebumen Regency, 1-hour travel by bus from Purwokerto Bus Terminal for Rp7,000. Offering its famous duck satay. Price Rp10,000.

South

 * Cilacap on the south coast is a growing industrial city, with oil refinery, power station and cement factory. The adventurous can hop off to the south coast beaches of West Java by taking a boat through the Segara Anakan bay.