Parangtritis
The South Coast Beach The Sultans Of Yogyakarta Are Ritually Bound To, Ruled By Nyai Roro Kidul, The Queen Of The South Sea Where People Drown Regularly And The Two Facts Are Locally One · Bantul, Special Region of Yogyakarta
Parangtritis is not a swimming beach. It is a SACRED SITE that happens to have sand. THE SOUTH SEA IS HELD TO BE RULED BY NYAI RORO KIDUL, THE QUEEN OF THE SOUTH, and the SULTANS OF YOGYAKARTA ARE RITUALLY BOUND TO HER - the kraton sends offerings down to this coast in the labuhan ceremony, and the relationship is treated as a real and constitutive part of what the sultanate is. DO NOT WEAR GREEN. The belief is that the Queen takes those who wear her colour into the sea, and you will be told this by everyone. AND PEOPLE DROWN HERE REGULARLY - the undertow off this coast is genuinely lethal - WHICH IS NOT A COINCIDENCE SO MUCH AS THE SAME FACT TOLD TWICE. There are also sand dunes, which are rare in the tropics, and horse carts, and an enormous domestic crowd. Go on a weekday morning to see the place and at sunset to see the crowd, and treat what people tell you about the Queen as belief rather than as a story kept for visitors.
Parangtritis, Kretek, Bantul, Special Region of Yogyakarta, Bantul, Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia
OPEN ALWAYS with an entry and parking charge collected on the road in; it is about FORTY-FIVE MINUTES TO AN HOUR FROM YOGYAKARTA. IT IS EXTREMELY BUSY with domestic visitors at weekends, on Indonesian holidays and at sunset, and quiet on a weekday morning. HORSE CARTS AND ATVS OPERATE ON THE SAND and are hired by the ride. SWIMMING IS EFFECTIVELY PROHIBITED AND ALWAYS UNWISE - lifeguards patrol and will order people out of the water, and they are not being officious. THE GUMUK PASIR SAND DUNES behind the beach are a separate area with their own access. LABUHAN CEREMONIES sent from the kraton follow the Javanese calendar and are not scheduled for visitors. DO NOT WEAR GREEN - this is taken seriously by everyone here.