Jakarta Indonesia – Top 10 Tourist Attractions

If you are traveling to Jakarta for the first time then you will be spoiled for choice when it comes to tourist attractions to visit, as this is the capital city of Indonesia and there are a plethora of different highlights here that span Indonesia’s historical past all the way to the modern day.

But even if you have visited ‘the Big Durian’ before, you will never be short of things to do in this city. The great thing about Jakarta is that it has some of the best places to visit in Indonesia and in a country where it is often difficult to find museums and other places of interest in smaller towns, this offers you the chance to really dive beneath the surface of Indonesian culture and check out some of the top attractions in the whole country. Some people whizz through Jakarta and only use it to enter and exit the country but we recommend spending a few days here to truly soak in the atmosphere and check out some of the highlights that this city has to offer.

Here is our list of top 10 tourist attractions in Jakarta.

1. Taman Mini Indonesia Indah

Taman Mini Indonesia Indah was one of our favourite sights in Jakarta and this makes a great place to visit if you are traveling with children. This is a theme park that is made up of models of the 26 provinces of Indonesia, so it is an ideal place to visit if you don’t think you will have time to see much of the country outside of Java. We loved walking around and enjoying the model houses, and checking out the cooking and farming equipment. One thing we would say however is that you need to leave a full morning or afternoon to see everything.

2. Museum Nasional

Museum Nasional is the National Museum in Jakarta and we came here to learn more about the history and culture of this enigmatic country. One of the best things about this museum is the fact that it allows you to get a whistle-stop tour of the history, culture, geography and topography of the country, so if you are short of time in Jakarta then we highly recommend this as one attraction that you do not want to miss. The museum opened in 1868 which is worth the trip alone and you can see diverse works of art here as well as pottery pieces, weaponry and farming equipment.

3. Istiqlal Mosque

Istiqlal Mosque is known for being the biggest mosque of its kind in all of Southeast Asia and 120,000 people can fit inside the mosque in one sitting. We walked over to the mosque from neighboring Monas and it was a great place to visit as part of a day tour of Jakarta. You can visit the mosque and take in the pretty Islamic architecture even if you are not Muslim but make sure that you dress modestly and don’t visit at prayer times.

4. Ragunan Zoo

Ragunan Zoo is one of the main attractions in Jakarta and is known for its 3,600 different species of animals. Some of these are native to Indonesia such as the fearsome Komodo dragons which usually live in Flores, and you can also see orang-utans which are an endangered species. If you like animals then we recommend that you come here for a visit but one thing we noticed is that there are a lot of insects here as you would expect, particularly mosquitoes so make sure you bring lots of repellent with you to avoid getting bitten.

5. Museum Bank Indonesia

We were pleasantly surprised when we went to visit Museum Bank Indonesia which is a museum in Jakarta dedicated to explaining its banking and financial history. The museum is actually located inside what would have been the main bank in Jakarta which is a heritage building that has been restored and you can find out how Indonesian bank notes and coins were made and how these have changed over the years. We found this a fascinating addition to our tour of the top 10 attractions in Jakarta and loved the interactive exhibits on show.

6. Monas Tower

Monas Tower is perhaps the most iconic building in all of Jakarta and we were very impressed when we visited it. The tower was built as a sign of Indonesia’s independence after the Dutch colonial period and this is also the ideal spot to learn more about Indonesia’s history. We visited the observation deck here and loved taking in the views across the city but make sure you have a head for heights before you attempt it!

7. The National Gallery of Indonesia

We rate the National Gallery of Indonesia as one of the best museums or galleries in the city so we highly recommend swinging by for a visit. If you are an art lover then you definitely don’t want to miss this part of Jakarta and you can take in some 2,000 different works of art from all over Indonesia. These include gorgeous painting, puppets, ceramics and photo galleries and it gives you a way of exploring some of the varied culture for which Indonesia is famous without having to venture all across the archipelago.

8. Istana Merdeka

One of the most interesting places to visit in Jakarta is Istana Merdeka which is also called the Presidential Palace. This looks on to the wider Merdeka Square and this is the home of the current president of Indonesia. Although this is listed as one of the top 10 tourist attractions in Jakarta, we actually didn’t realize that you couldn’t go inside, but the palace is closed to visitors and you can only see it from outside. Still, we enjoyed walking around and checking out this important place in Indonesian history which dates from 1879 when it was built by the Dutch.

9. Jin De Yuan

For something a little different, head to Jin De Yuan which is one of the most famous temples in Jakarta and is dedicated to the Buddhist faith. This colorful temple dates from 1755 and we loved checking out all the ornate design touches for which the temple is famous. As you walk in you can look up on the roof and see some pretty ceramic dragons and there are also a number of calligraphy paintings here which we thought were simply stunning.

10. Museum Wayang

Indonesia is known for its gorgeous puppets and you can check out puppet shows all over the country. With that in mind, if you are interested in this part of Indonesian culture then you may want to head to the Museum Wayang (as ‘wayang’ is the Indonesian word for puppet). We really had fun spending a few hours here walking around and learning more about how these puppets are made, but we were also disappointed as we didn’t realize that there is a puppet show that takes place here on Sundays at 10 am and which lets you see some of these amazing puppets in action. If we had known we would definitely have come at this time so try to schedule your trip for a Sunday if you can.