Getting Around Palangka Raya
Palangka Raya is the capital of Central Kalimantan, a planned city built from a small Dayak village on the island of Borneo, sitting between the Kahayan and Sabangau rivers. It is unusually spread out — the largest city by land area in Indonesia — but much of that area is forest, so the parts a visitor actually moves through are more compact than the city's overall size suggests. Practical transport here means a mix of a small bus system, ride-hailing apps, and the remnants of the old share-taxi network.
Ride-Hailing: The Easiest Option
For most visitors, ride-hailing is the simplest and most reliable way to get around. Gojek and Grab both operate in the city, and both offer cars as well as ojek — motorcycle taxis — which you order through their respective apps. This makes getting across town straightforward: you book through the app, pay through the app, and don't need to negotiate fares or hunt for a vehicle on the street.
Motorcycle taxis are the quicker choice in traffic and the cheaper one; cars are the better pick if you have luggage, are travelling in a group, or it's raining. Because the apps handle pricing and dispatch, this is the mode to fall back on when nothing else is convenient.
Buses: Trans Palangkaraya BRT
The city has a bus rapid transit system called Trans Palangkaraya. It runs a handful of routes with a set of dedicated bus stops, so it can be useful if your origin and destination happen to sit on one of those corridors. The catch for visitors is frequency: bus schedules are infrequent, so you should not count on a bus turning up promptly. Treat the BRT as a budget option when timing is flexible rather than as a dependable way to make an appointment.
Angkot (Share Taxis)
Angkot — shared minivans running fixed routes — were once the common way to get around Palangka Raya, but they have been heavily displaced by ride-hailing. Most angkot operators have stopped running, so while you may still encounter them, they are no longer a network you can plan a day around. If you do use one, expect to flag it down along its route and pay a small cash fare.
Rail, Metro and Trams
There is no rail, metro, or tram network in Palangka Raya. Getting around the city is entirely by road, river, or on foot — so don't plan your visit around any train-based travel.
Walkability
Walking is best thought of as a way to cover a specific neighbourhood or a short errand rather than as a way to cross the city. Palangka Raya was laid out from scratch with wide roads and generous space, and its built-up area is spread across a very large municipal territory, so distances between points of interest are often too long to cover comfortably on foot. Heat, humidity, and the haze that affects the city in the dry season are further reasons to keep walking short and use a vehicle for longer hops.
Arriving by Air: Tjilik Riwut Airport
Palangka Raya's airport is Tjilik Riwut Airport (airport code PKY), located close to the city centre — near enough that the transfer into town is short and inexpensive by any of the road options above. There are frequent flights from Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, along with direct domestic flights from Surabaya, Balikpapan, Pontianak, and smaller airports across Kalimantan.
Once you land, the practical choices for reaching the city are the same as for getting around once you're there:
- Ride-hailing — book a Gojek or Grab car or ojek through the app. This is usually the least stressful option, especially if you have luggage.
- Taxi — conventional taxis serve the airport, but ride-hailing is the more commonly used option in the city today.
- Angkot or bus — possible in principle, but given how few angkot remain and how infrequent the BRT is, these are not the options to rely on when you've just landed with bags.
Arriving by Bus or Car
If you're coming overland, buses run from Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, a trip of roughly three to five hours, and there are also buses heading west to Pangkalan Bun. These arrive at the Palangka Raya bus terminal in the southern part of the city. From the terminal, continue into town by ride-hailing or taxi.
Practical Summary
- Best default: Gojek or Grab, for both cars and motorcycle taxis, booked and paid in-app.
- Cheapest scheduled option: Trans Palangkaraya BRT — but schedules are infrequent, so allow extra time.
- Legacy option: angkot share taxis still exist but most operators have ceased, so don't build plans around them.
- No trains: there is no rail, metro, or tram service.
- Walking: fine for a neighbourhood, impractical for crossing the city.
- From the airport: Tjilik Riwut Airport is close to the centre; ride-hailing is the simplest transfer.