Sunda Kelapa Harbor

Along Sunda Kelapa Harbor you could see Phinisi ships in a line, which have unique shape and the body painted in some different colors. Phinisi ships were coming from many regions of Indonesia, carrying logs, rattan, copra and other agricultural products to Jakarta. When Phinisi goes back from Jakarta, it carries construction materials like steel and cement. You could see the hectic of loading and unloading activities that is still conducted traditionally at Sunda Kelapa.
Sunda Kelapa Harbor has been well known since the 12th century, but the existence estimated to be since the 5th century. Sunda Kelapa Harbor was belongs to Sunda Empire with capital of Pajajaran, located at around the current Bogor. At that time Sunda Kelapa Harbor was busily visited for the spicy trading. Foreign ships from China, South India, Japan, and Middle East was docking at Sunda Kelapa Harbor and conducting trading activities by carrying commodities like perfume, horses, wine, porcelain, coffee, silk, textiles and coloring materials to be traded with the spicy. In 1522, Sunda Kingdom built a closer relationship with Portugal and guaranteed a permit to build offices and houses complete with fortress at Sunda Kelapa area. The relationship between Sunda Empire and Portugal regarded as threat by Demak Kingdom, which was the neighbor of Sunda Kingdom. It drove Demak to finally decided to chase away Portugal and to take away Sunda Kelapa by force. On 22nd June, 1527, under the leadership of Fatahillah, Demak’s troop took away Sunda Kelapa by force. Since then the name of Sunda Kelapa changed to Jayakarta, which meant the city of victory or glory. On 30th March, 1619, under the leadership of Jan Pieterszoon Coen, VOC Holland troop took away Sunda Kelapa from Demak and changed the name to Batavia. In 1942, Japan took away Batavia from Holland and changed the name to Jakarta. In 1945 Indonesia became a free nation; however Holland was still trying to dominate back Indonesia. During the existence of Holland in Indonesia the name of Jakarta harbor stayed still. On 6th March 1974, based on the governor of DKI Jakarta’s decision, the name of Sunda Kelapa Harbor being used again as the name of the harbor.
Kota Intan Bridge, Syahbandar Tower, Jakarta Kota Station, Jalan Surabaya Other Places Near to Sunda Kelapa Harbor
Fish market, Syahbandar Tower, Maritime Museum, VOC dockyard, and Kota Tua.
Tips
• To visit Sunda Kelapa Harbor you could use personal vehicle or taxi. As an alternative you could ride Trans Jakarta Busway from the first corridor, with the route of Blok M to Kota Tua. You need to get off at the last station, Kota Tua, and from there you ride a taxi, bajaj or bicycle ojek to Sunda Kelapa Harbor. Sunda Kelapa Harbor is about 2km away from Kota Tua Station.
• It’s better to wear head cover like hat or umbrella to protect you from the sun beam, since the climate is hot enough in Jakarta. It’s recommended to wear clothing that can easily absorb the sweat, and to wear comfortable shoes or slipper.
• When you walk around the Sunda Kelapa Harbor area, there are usually some people try to talk with you and persuade you. They are local fishermen who try to offer a service to take you looking around at the sea by their boat. Usually the fishermen do not speak English, instead signs could be used to communicate. If you took the service the fisherman would take you around the fisherman village around the harbor and other sides of Sunda Kelapa Harbor that might be interesting to catch. The service fee is around Rp25,000 to Rp40,000 negotiable. Info: