Pasar Beringharjo

THINGS TO DO, INDONESIA Updated : Dec 23, 2015, 10.21 PM IST

Davide Vadala

Davide has been a long term traveller for the last seven years, sharing his stories and impressive photos on NomadTravellers.com and travelling sustainably and very low cost. He knows every corner of Europe, in particular Italy and Romania, he loves Nepali Himalaya and he has extensive experience in South East Asia, where he calls Indonesia his second home. He is specialized in sightseeing guides and reports from his first hand experiences, with a focus on nature, arts and architecture.

Situated at the end of Jalan Malioboro toward the south, Beringharjo market is a massive complex composed of several buildings connected by corridors and pedestrian passages. On the ground floor, mainly cheap clothes and batik imitations are on display, while the first floor is the place where to look for old “Ibu” selling fruits and vegetables. You will find yourself walking in between an amazing array of tropical fruits, some of them totally unknown to most―dragon fruits, rambutan, graviola and the “smelly king” of the Indonesian fruits, the durian. You either love it or you hate it, it smells like dirty socks but has a very distinctive aroma used and abused in local cuisine and delicacies. Continue further for a pleasant walk immersed in the smell of exotic spices.

It's quite easy to get lost in between stands selling motorbike parts, second hand items and antiques, so if you are looking for something in particular and you are lucky enough to find a local speaking English, you better ask for its location.

If you plan to buy anything, remember to bargain hard! A good advice is to offer 1/3 of the initial price. Pasar Beringharjo opens in the morning and closes in the afternoon around 5pm.
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