A new tourism model: how Indonesia’s Nglanggeran village is run by locals, offering a range of authentic experiences
- Winner of UN Tourism’s Best Tourism Village award in 2021, Nglanggeran offers visitors experiences from hiking to tours of its cacao and durian farms
- Everything is led by local leaders and operated by villagers, with each experience created and managed by a designated committee
From the welcoming smiles of families as they open their homes to overnight guests, to the beaming cacao farmers showing off their beans as they sit in the shade, the joy in Nglanggeran, in Indonesia, is palpable.
It is not merely a sense of hometown pride or satisfaction in secure employment. Residents of this central Javan village are the driving force behind a nascent and seemingly successful tourism industry.
Nglanggeran is around 25km (16 miles) east of the city of Yogyakarta – about 45 minutes by bus or taxi – in hills whose natural resources support some 700 villagers.
Until about 30 years ago, most people here made their living by farming paddy fields, tending to sheep on the plains, and sourcing stone and wood from the volcano that gives the village its name.
Now everyone benefits financially through Pokdarwis, the village’s tourism working group. From short-term efforts to long-term plans, everything is led by local leaders, with the villagers responsible for their present and future.
