A Guide to Monas Area
Monumen Nasional, or Monas, is the national monument of Indonesia. It is a 132m high tower topped by a gold foil covered flame opened in 1975 by President Soekarno. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Jakarta. Indonesians and even tourists from abroad have stamped Monas as the must-visit destination when you’re visiting Jakarta. A lot of people doesn’t know about this, but at the top of Monas is visitable by the tourists. You can climb to the top of the monument and see the city of Jakarta as a whole. It’s the perfect holiday destination to go to with your loved ones. Maybe you’re one of the people who haven’t visited Monas yet even though you live in Jakarta. So to make your trip easier, we have made a guide to Monas for you.
Opening Hours
One of the most important things, when you’re visiting Monas, is knowing when it is open. The National Monument is closed on Mondays and opens from Tuesday to Sunday. If a national holiday happens to be celebrated on Monday, it is open to the public. There are two sessions to get inside the monument. The first session is from 08.00 to 16.00 and the second session is 19.00 to 22.00. At 16.00 to 18.00 the operational monument is temporarily closed to cool down the elevators.
Ticket Prices
Another important thing is the ticket prices for entering the monument. There are two types of ticket prices here in Monas. One is the monument entry pass ticket and the other is the Monas peak entry pass ticket. You will have to buy both passes if you want to visit the top of the monument. The monument entry price is Rp 5.000,00 for grown-ups, Rp 3.000,00 for college students, and Rp 2.000,00 for children and students. While the peak entry price is Rp 15.000,00 for grown-ups, Rp 8.000,00 for college students, and Rp 4.000,00 for children and students.
Picking the perfect time
Choosing the right time to visit Monas is essential for making sure you’ll have a great time there. You should choose a time to visit other than in national or school holidays, as the monument will be very crowded by tour groups that can reach almost 5.000 visitors. You should visit the monument earlier during the morning as the place will be filled by 12.00.
Finding a parking spot
Finding a parking spot when visiting in Monas might be hard since there are lots of visitors. Usually, you can park your vehicles just below the monument, but they changed the rules as it made the monument crowded. Now you can park your vehicles in the parking lot located on Jalan Merdeka Selatan. We recommend finding a parking spot in the west area as the visitor’s entrance is located there. The parking fee is around Rp 2.000,00 per hour and you can give the parking attendants inside Rp 1.000,00.
Finding the ticket counter
You can buy your tickets at the Monas ticket counter. The ticket counter of Monas is near the Halte Tugu Monas which is located in the north of the area. The visitor’s entrances are divided into two, the underground lane and the east side door. This was made to anticipate rush hours of visitors coming in.
Checking the queue to the summit
After buying tickets from the counter, you should immediately check the queue to the top of the monument. If the queue isn’t that long, you’d better go to the top quickly as it will get crowded later. If the queue is too long, you can visit other places first while waiting for the queue to reduce down. Don’t take too long if you’re visiting other places though as the quota for the summit is limited to 2.600 tickets a day.
You don’t need to bring food or drinks from home
People tend to bring food as they might think the food being sold in Monas is expensive. But you don’t need to worry about food or drinks while visiting Monas. They have a canteen with great food at reasonable prices. There are also a large number of food stalls all around Monas. Here you can try various delicious local culinary delights with your loved ones.
Buy souvenirs
There is a gift shop all over the monument that is being sold by street vendors and sellers. If you want to buy some mementos for your loved ones back home, you can find these vendors easily. The prices of the souvenirs are relatively cheap so you can buy a lot of things. The vendors usually sell things such as Monas keychains and refrigerator magnets.
Ride the free tourist train
You might be a little tired after walking for hours while exploring Monas. Don’t worry, you can ride their train that goes all the way to the parking lot and the food court. And the train is free, so you don’t have to pay a single cent to ride it.
Watch the water show at night
This attraction is open for the public every Saturday and Sunday free of charge. They show is usually done within 2 sessions each day. The duration of each session is played for approximately 30 minutes, with the first session starting at 19.30 and the second session at 20.30. Several traditional songs will be played accompanying the water fountain show. Addie MS, a legendary Indonesian musician, is the one responsible for arranging the songs. The fountain is also equipped with colorful lights and lasers that make this attraction very beautiful.
Don’t forget to take pictures
There’s one thing in common that everyone will want to do when they visit Monas, which is taking pictures. Don’t forget to bring your camera and take some pictures while you’re there. The whole place is filled with Instagrammable spots such as the top of the monument. You can post it an all your social media platforms to immortalize your experience.
So this is your guide to Monas! We hope this guide can help you with your visit to Monas in the future.
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