Caves and Underground Rivers in Yogyakarta

Part of the Yogyakarta travel guide — see every topic in All Yogyakarta Guides.

South-east of Yogyakarta the land rises into Gunungkidul, a limestone karst plateau of sinkholes, dry valleys and underground rivers — a landscape that gets no surface water in the dry season because it all runs beneath. It is now the region's adventure playground: cave tubing on a subterranean river, a vertical abseil into a cave lit by a shaft of sunlight, and a coastline of white-sand coves below the plateau. All of it is one to two hours from the city and almost none of it appears on a standard Yogyakarta itinerary.

Goa Jomblang

Jomblang is a collapsed sinkhole about fifty kilometres from the city. You are lowered sixty metres on a rope through the hole in the forest floor into a cave chamber, then walk through a passage to a second collapse where, between roughly ten and noon on a sunny day, a single shaft of light falls straight down onto the cave floor. It is one of the most photographed natural phenomena in Java and it only works in that window and only when it is not raining. Numbers are limited and it must be booked ahead; expect around 500,000 rupiah including equipment and boots, and be prepared for deep mud.

Goa Pindul and cave tubing

Pindul is the accessible one: you float through a 350-metre water-filled cave on an inner tube, through chambers with stalactites and a large collapse that lets daylight in, taking about forty-five minutes. It requires no skill and children can do it. It costs around 100,000 rupiah with equipment and a guide. It is also extremely popular with domestic tourists and can be genuinely crowded at weekends and holidays; go on a weekday morning. The nearby Oyo river tubing runs above ground and pairs well with it for a half day.

The Gunungkidul coast

The plateau ends in cliffs above the Indian Ocean, and between them sit a string of small white-sand beaches — Indrayanti, Timang, Nglambor, Siung, Wediombo — that are entirely different from the black volcanic sand nearer the city. Timang has a famous hand-hauled wooden gondola crossing to an offshore rock, originally built by lobster fishermen and now a paid attraction. Nglambor is one of the few places on this coast where snorkelling is possible, being protected by two offshore rocks. The surf everywhere else is strong and the currents serious — this is not a swimming coast.

Practicalities

Gunungkidul is one to two hours south-east by car; a driver for the day is 500,000–700,000 rupiah, and the roads are good. Combine one cave with two or three beaches for a full day. Book Jomblang in advance and go on a sunny weekday between ten and noon; there is no point otherwise. Bring shoes you can ruin, a change of clothes and a dry bag. The dry season, May to September, is better for the light shaft and worse for water levels in the tubing caves; the wet season reverses that, and heavy rain closes the caves entirely.

Caves and Underground Rivers at a glance

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