The Kratons of Surakarta

Solo, formally Surakarta, has two courts rather than one. The Kasunanan Kraton, founded in the eighteenth century when the Mataram court moved here, sits behind whitewashed walls in a compound of pale blue woodwork, old shade trees and courtyards spread with sand carried from the south coast. Its museum holds royal carriages, gamelan sets, court dress and heirlooms, and a slim watchtower rises above the roofs. A short drive north, the Pura Mangkunegaran is the seat of a second princely house: its pendopo is one of the largest open pavilions in Java, its ceiling painted in zodiac colours, with masks, coins and manuscripts in the rooms behind.

What you actually see

• The Kasunanan compound - pale blue pavilions, sand courtyards and old shade trees.
• The royal carriages - the museum's coaches, gamelan sets and court dress.
• The Mangkunegaran pendopo - a huge open hall under a painted ceiling.
• Dance and gamelan - court rehearsals held on set days in the pavilions.

When to go

May to September is drier. Both palaces keep short hours, usually mornings into the early afternoon, and close for court ceremonies without much warning, so check on the day. Dance and gamelan rehearsals at the Mangkunegaran fall on fixed days and are worth timing a visit around. Fridays often mean reduced opening.

Honest expectations

Only a fraction of each palace is open, the rest being lived in, and the displays are old-fashioned, dimly lit and thinly labelled. A guide is effectively compulsory at the Kasunanan and the standard of English varies. Photography is restricted in parts of both. Anyone who has already seen the Yogyakarta Kraton will find the format very familiar.

Nearby

The batik quarters of Laweyan and Kauman and the Klewer cloth market are close; Sukuh and Cetho are ninety minutes up Mount Lawu.