Kedondong Mosque in Kulon Progo Regency, Yogyakarta

Surrounded by beautiful natural landscapes, Kulon Progo Regency has a great tourism potential. Not only it consists of majestic highlands and exotic beaches, the region also offers some historical and religious tourist sites! For example, there is Kedondong Mosque in Kalibawang Sub-District. This Indonesia historical mosque resides in Banjararum Village, actually. Even though it looks like regular mosques, Kedondong has an important history related to Sunan Kalijaga (a famous Islamic propagator). The locals even believe it as the oldest mosque in Kulon Progo! They also called it Sunan Kalijaga Mosque in the past, but the named changed to Kedondong as the time went by. According to the locals, it has been built even before the famous Demak Mosque in Central Java Province!

The Nuance
As mentioned before, Kedondong Mosque looks simple when it comes to architecture. It even looks like a regular vast house, which may appear boring to some people. In terms of size, the mosque is built on an area of 1024 meters per square. The good thing is the building applies Joglo architecture and emits a traditional nuance as well. It consists of 4 big pillars, but no porch. For the information, the mosque has undergone several renovations so the condition remains sturdy and neat. The last renovation was done in 1990, actually. Despite the numerous renovations, the mosque doesn’t replace its pillars and “bedug” at all. No wonder, those objects have an important historical value!

Exploring Kedondong Mosque
The most common reason to visit Kedondong Mosque is to learn the history, without a doubt. As mentioned before, the mosque has a significant history related to Sunan Kalijaga during his mission in spreading Islam back then. It is said this person took a rest for a while at Tinalah River (which is located near to the location) during his journey. At the time, he and his apprentice decided to build a mosque on that area.

What is more? After learning the history of Kedondong Mosque, tourists should explore the building and watch some historical items including encis, umpak, mustoko, and bedug. Well, for further information regarding those objects, they can ask the local guide or keeper. Perhaps the most famous one is the bedug (which is said to be able to reverberate up to 3 km if someone beats it).

For visitors, they must pay attention to several things while exploring Kedondong Mosque. The most important one is to take care of the environment. Everyone is not allowed to litter and cause a disturbance in the location. They, at least, need to understand that the site is considered sacred and historical. Thus, no one is allowed to spoil it at all cost!

Nearby Attractions

• Kleco Peak
• Tinalah Bridge
• Arus Progo Rafting

How to Get There
For those coming from Adisucipto International Airport, they need to spend about 46 minutes to get to Kedondong Mosque as the distance is 29.7 km. Their first destination is Kalibawang Sub-District. Next, they can simply head to Banjararum Village where the mosque resides. As for the faster trip, it is recommended to take Ring Road Utara and Kebon Agung Street.

Where to Stay

• Ndalem Dasuriah
• Gado-Gado BnB