Days out from aquiet basein Central Java

The point of staying in Pabelan is that the region opens up around you: temples, villages, fields and volcano views, all within a manageable drive or ride. You are not sealed inside a resort compound, and you are not stuck in traffic either.

A number of things can be arranged directly through the property. Several of them carry an additional charge, which we say plainly rather than burying in the small print, and none of them are compulsory. Guests who want to do nothing at all are well catered for by the garden.

On two wheels

Bicycle rental is available at an additional charge, and guided bike tours are offered on the same basis. Riding is the most natural way to see the lanes around Pabelan and Mungkid, where the traffic thins within a few minutes of the gate and the fields start almost immediately.

Mornings are the sensible time to go. The air is still cool, the light is low across the rice, and the villages are busy with the ordinary business of the day rather than with visitors. A guide is worth taking if you would rather look around than watch for turnings.

Walking route through fields and hamlets

On foot

Walking tours are available at an additional charge and move at the pace the landscape deserves. Tours or classes about local culture, also at an additional charge, give context to the craft, food and ritual you will notice everywhere once you know to look for it.

Guests who take one early in their stay usually get more out of the temples afterwards, simply because the carvings stop being decoration and start being a story somebody can read to you.

Everything you canarrange with us

A tour desk is available at the property for planning and questions, and it is the fastest way to turn a vague idea into a workable morning. Car rental can be arranged for longer trips towards Yogyakarta, Prambanan or the Merapi region, and luggage storage covers the gap between check-out and an evening train or flight.

Ask before you commit to anything: some days are better spent close to the house, and the team will tell you when that is the case rather than sell you a tour.

We would rather send you somewhere quiet at the right hour than somewhere famous at the wrong one.

From the tour desk

Bicycle rental: Take a bicycle out for a morning and follow the lanes wherever they go.
Guided bike tours: A guided ride for anybody who would rather not navigate and photograph at the same time.
Walking tours: Slow routes through the surrounding village and fields, at the pace the landscape deserves.
Local culture tours and classes: Craft, food and ritual explained by people who grew up with them rather than read about them.
Car rental: For longer journeys towards Yogyakarta, Prambanan or the Merapi region.
Open-air bath: An outdoor soak available on the property for guests who ask for it.
Meeting and banquet facilities: Space on site for a gathering, a small event or a working day away from the city.
Luggage storage: Cover the gap between check-out and an evening train or flight without minding your bags.

Places worthyour time

These are destinations in the region rather than services we provide. Visits, tickets and opening hours are managed by the sites themselves, so we link to their official information instead of repeating figures that go out of date.

Borobudur Temple

The ninth-century Buddhist monument that gives the area its name sits roughly five miles from the property, an easy drive rather than a walk. Visitor access and tickets are handled by the park authority, and it is sensible to check their current information before you go, since arrangements for climbing and for guided access change from time to time.

Early starts remain the best advice anyone can give you. Ask at the tour desk the evening before and somebody will tell you what time to leave the gate.

Official visitor and ticket information

Mendut Temple

Smaller and quieter than its famous neighbour, Mendut is often visited on the same route and repays a slower look, particularly its carved interior, where three large stone figures sit in a chamber that most visitors pass through in under a minute.

Give it half an hour instead and it becomes the part of the day people remember.

Ministry of Tourism reference

Come and stay in the garden

Rooms, dates and rates sit together on our reservations page. If you have a particular request, mention it while you reserve: special requests depend on availability and are easier to arrange in advance than on arrival.

Book Your Stay Contact the house