Sunda Kelapa and Maritime Museum
Sunda Kelapa is the name of Jakarta’s old seaport near the bay area of North Jakarta, formerly the cradle of civilisation of the Hindu rajadom of Sunda, which ruled much of the tip of West Java. Here you will find the iconic view of phinisi, elegant wooden two-masted schooners of the great Bugis seafaring tribes from South Sulawesi, docked in neat rows. Sunda Kelapa forms part of the historical area of the capital city, sharing the neighbourhood with Kota Tua, Jakarta’s old town.
Due to its strategic position as a trade point with regular crossings by merchant ships from the Far East, Sunda Kelapa was prized by many kingdoms and European colonial powers, before falling into the hands of the Dutch East Indies, who expanded the port with various canals. Now the area covers 760Ha of land and 16,470Ha of sea.