Alun-Alun Utara

The northern royal square of Yogyakarta, this broad open field lies before the sultan's palace and forms part of the traditional cosmological layout of the court city. Two sacred banyan trees enclosed by white fences stand at its center, the focus of a well-known local custom in which people attempt to walk between them blindfolded. The square hosts royal ceremonies and festivals, including processions tied to the palace calendar. Sand covers the ground where crowds gather beneath the mountains framing the old sultanate.