Experience the best of Malang

Malang lies about 450 metres up on a plateau in East Java, cooler than the coast, ringed by mountains including Mount Arjuno and the Tengger massif. The Dutch developed it as a garden city, and the centre keeps tree-lined avenues and old colonial buildings around the Tugu monument and the Alun-Alun Merdeka square. Two painted kampungs, Jodipan and Tridi, climb a hillside along the river.

Mount Bromo, an active volcano in the Tengger caldera, is the great excursion, with sunrise viewpoints over the sea of sand below, and Mount Semeru, the highest peak in Java, rises beyond. The cooler town of Batu to the north-west has apple orchards and a night market. The old Hindu-Buddhist temples of Singosari and Jago recall the Singhasari kingdom, and Balekambang beach on the south coast has a small temple on an islet.

Bakso Malang, a meatball soup with tofu and fried wontons, is the signature dish, followed by cwie mie noodles and crispy tempeh chips from the kampung that makes them. Batu apples are sold in markets. The cool altitude suits long walks, and the dry season runs from about May to October.