In central Java in Indonesia, I was pleasantly surprised by the silver factory tour in Kotagede. The reason that most people visit Central Java is for the volcano Mount Merapi, Borobudur the largest Buddhist temple in the world and the Hindu Temples of Prambanan. Throw in a visit to a real silver factory in Kotagede and suddenly this becomes an eclectic day of travel.
Most day tours of the region will include some kind of visit to the silver factories, mainly for profit reasons.
How to get to a Silver Factory in Kotagede
This will more than likely be included in your tour of the region. If it isn’t, ask about it – the tour only takes about 30 minutes and you can also buy genuine silver items all made within the factory’s compounds.
If you’re not on a tour, getting to the Silver Factories can be tricky since it’s about 5 kilometres from the centre of Yogyakarta in a village called Kotagede. There is a local bus that stops there so best to stop around – but beware of thieves – Yogya is a densely populated city and tourists can be targeted.
Each tour and possibly each day might be different, but the kinds of things you learn about include a talk and video detailing the history of the silver factory, the ability to watch the local workers make handcrafted items with silver, and then watching the local workers melt silver. They make a number of silver items, including plates, knives, spoons, forks, mugs, badges, hair accessories, elephant badges, key rings, ear-rings, rings, necklaces, and more.
Is there anything else to see at Kotagede?
There is also the grave site of Senopati who is locally known as the first King of Mataram.
My Videos from the silver factory tour in Kotagede:
Speech on the Silver Factory Tour in Kotagede:
On the Silver Factory Tour in Kotagede:
Jonny Blair is a self confessed traveling nomad who founded and blogs at Don’t Stop Living. He sees every day as an adventure. Since leaving behind his home town of Bangor in Northern Ireland ten years ago he has traveled to all seven continents, working his way through various jobs and funding it all with hard work and an appetite for travel. Don’t Stop Living, a lifestyle of travel’ contains over 1,000 stories and tips from his journeys round the globe. He wants to show others how easy it is to travel the world, give them some ideas and encourage them to do the same but most of all he aims to constantly live a lifestyle of travel. He is currently based in Hong Kong and on Twitter @jonnyblair.
