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Banjarmasin is the largest city of South Kalimantan in Indonesia, on a delta island where the Martapura River meets the Barito in southern Borneo, and it is famous for its floating markets, its river life and the old mosques of the Banjar sultanate. About 682,000 people lived in the city in 2025.
The name is thought to come from Bandar Masih, the port of Patih Masih. In 1526 Raden Samudera embraced Islam with help from Demak, took the name Sultan Suriansyah and ruled the Sultanate of Banjar, which the Dutch abolished in 1860. Prince Antasari led the Banjarmasin War against them from 1859 until his death in 1862.
Banjarmasin was the provincial capital until 2022, when the seat moved to Banjarbaru, and it is still the third largest city on Borneo. Most of its people are Banjarese, and life still follows the rivers. Visitors take boats at dawn to the floating markets, see the stilted ironwood mosque of Sultan Suriansyah and the great dome of Sabilal Muhtadin, look over the city from the Menara Pandang, and try sasirangan cloth and soto Banjar.
Sultan Suriansyah Mosque in Banjarmasin is the oldest mosque in South Kalimantan, built in 1526 under the first Banjar king to embrace Islam. It stands on stilts in Kuin Utara, is made of ironwood, and its three-tiered roof follows the Great Mosque of Demak in Java.
The Grand Mosque of Sabilal Muhtadin in Banjarmasin was opened in 1981 on the site of the Dutch Fort Tatas beside the Martapura River. Named after the scholar Muhammad Arsyad al-Banjari, it holds up to 15,000 worshippers under a great dome, with five minarets up to 45 metres tall.
Masjid Jami Banjarmasin, also called Masjid Jami Sungai Jingah, is a historic mosque in Banjarmasin rebuilt in 1934. It replaced a mosque of about 1777 on the bank of the Martapura River, recorded on an inscription beside the pulpit, and it stands close to the grave of Prince Antasari.
The Sultan Suriansyah Tomb Complex in Banjarmasin holds the graves of Sultan Suriansyah, the first Muslim king of Banjar, and his queen in Kuin Utara. Nearby lie the preacher Khatib Dayan and the minister Patih Masih, who gave the port its name, and the site was restored from 1984.
Muara Kuin Floating Market in Banjarmasin is held on the Barito River at the mouth of the Kuin, where traders sell from small jukung boats from dawn prayer until about seven. Women sellers called dukuh still barter with each other, but the market is shrinking as river life gives way to roads.
Lok Baintan Floating Market near Banjarmasin is a traditional market on the Martapura River in Sungai Tabuk district, held from boats since the days of the Banjar sultanate. Each morning farmers paddle in from the side rivers with fruit, vegetables and snacks, trading for three or four hours.
Menara Pandang Banjarmasin is a viewing tower on the Martapura riverside in central Banjarmasin, opened in 2014 with Banjar-style ornaments. Its four floors include a photo gallery, and 155 steps lead to an open deck 21 metres up with views of the river, the boats and the city.
Pulau Kembang near Banjarmasin is a 60-hectare island in the Barito River, protected as a nature tourism forest since 1976. Its mangrove swamp forest is home to long-tailed macaques, proboscis monkeys and birds, and an altar with statues of Hanuman draws visitors with vows.
Museum Waja Sampai Kaputing in Banjarmasin opened in 1991 in a traditional Bubungan Tinggi house with a steep roof on the Martapura River. It tells of the fight for independence in South Kalimantan with photos, boat figureheads, amulets, maps and weapons, and can be reached by river boat.
The Antasari Heroes' Cemetery in Banjarmasin holds the grave of Prince Antasari, who led the Banjarmasin War against the Dutch from 1859 and died of smallpox in 1862. Other resistance leaders were later buried beside him, and he was named a National Hero of Indonesia in 1968.
Sasirangan is the traditional dyed cloth of Banjarmasin and South Kalimantan, named for the Banjar word for hand tacking. Patterns are sewn into the cloth, the thread is pulled tight and the fabric is dyed, and since 2010 it has been listed as intangible cultural heritage of Indonesia.
Soto Banjar is the chicken soup of Banjarmasin and South Kalimantan, served with rice cakes, shredded chicken, potato fritters, egg and vermicelli. Its thick broth is scented with lemongrass, galangal, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves without coconut milk, often with chicken satay beside it.
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