Taman Mini Indonesia Indah

Taman Mini opened in 1975 on about a hundred and fifty hectares in east Jakarta, a project of Siti Hartinah, Suharto's wife, and its concept is direct: a pavilion for each province of Indonesia built in that region's traditional architecture and holding its costume, crafts and displays, arranged around an artificial lake in which the islands of the archipelago are modelled to scale and can be seen whole from a cable car above. It presents the country's diversity in a single park. Around the pavilions are museums, an orchid garden, a bird park, an IMAX theatre and the Keong Emas dome. It was substantially rebuilt for a 2022 summit.

History

The idea of presenting Indonesia in miniature came from Siti Hartinah, Tien Suharto, at a meeting on 13 March 1970, and the Harapan Kita Foundation started the project. The park was inaugurated on 20 April 1975 with a pavilion for each of the 26 provinces of the time, and after a revitalisation it reopened on 31 December 2022 (Wikipedia, Taman Mini Indonesia Indah).

What to look for

• A pavilion for each province - traditional architecture and displays from every region.
• The archipelago in a lake - the islands modelled to scale, seen from the cable car.
• The 1975 park - the whole archipelago laid out in one place.
• Museums and gardens - the cluster of separate attractions across the grounds.

When to go

May to September; weekdays for space. A day.

Things to know

It is enormous and hot - use the internal transport. Each museum charges separately. The framing is official and dated. Weekends and holidays are heavily crowded.

Nearby

Central Jakarta is north-west; the Jagorawi road runs south to Bogor.

Key facts