Choose wisely. Connect locally.Add your business 
Jambi is the capital and largest city of Jambi province on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, a river port on the Batang Hari, the longest river in Sumatra, and it is famous as the gateway to the ancient Muaro Jambi temples, for the Gentala Arasy bridge and tower and for its batik. About 642,000 people lived in the city in 2025.
The region was the heart of the old Melayu kingdom, which the Chinese monk Yijing visited in 671, and later part of Srivijaya, when the Buddhist temples of Muaro Jambi rose. The Sultanate of Jambi grew rich on pepper and gold from 1615, until Dutch troops conquered it in 1904 and killed the last sultan, Thaha Syaifuddin.
Jambi became a city in 1956 and the provincial capital in 1957. Its people are Malay, Javanese, Minangkabau, Chinese and Batak, and the city still faces its river. Visitors cross the S-shaped Gentala Arasy footbridge, see the open-sided grand mosque on the site of the sultan's palace, visit the Siginjei Museum and Danau Sipin lake, and take day trips to the brick temples of Muaro Jambi.
Muaro Jambi Temple Compounds near Jambi is one of the largest and best-preserved ancient temple sites in Southeast Asia, spread over 12 square kilometres along the Batang Hari, 26 km east of the city. Its red-brick Buddhist temples date from the 7th to 13th centuries.
Candi Gumpung near Jambi is one of the three main restored temples of the Muaro Jambi site, dated to the 9th and early 10th centuries. Its main shrine measures about 18 by 17 metres inside a walled court, and gold plates with Old Javanese mantras were found during restoration.
Candi Kembar Batu near Jambi is a walled temple compound of the Muaro Jambi site, 250 metres south-east of Candi Tinggi and Candi Gumpung. Measuring 50 by 64 metres, it holds a main temple, seven smaller shrines and a gateway, and was listed as cultural heritage in 2000.
The Batang Hari River in Jambi is the longest river in Sumatra, rising in the Minangkabau highlands and flowing through the city on its way to the east coast. For centuries it carried the trade of Jambi, and the ancient temples of Muaro Jambi stand on its banks downstream.
Gentala Arasy Bridge in Jambi is a 503-metre footbridge across the Batang Hari, opened in 2015 as the first S-shaped pedestrian river bridge in Indonesia. It links the Tanggo Rajo riverbank in the city centre with the Gentala Arasy tower on the far bank, with long views over the river.
Museum Menara Gentala Arasy in Jambi is a tower museum on the far bank of the Batang Hari, opened in 2015 with the footbridge. It tells the story of Islam in Jambi with photos of scholars, manuscripts and art, and its bell marks the daily prayers, a sound that echoes to the sky.
Masjid Agung Al-Falah is the largest mosque in Jambi, built from 1971 to 1980 on the site of the Tanah Pilih palace of Sultan Thaha Syaifuddin. Known as the Mosque of a Thousand Pillars though it has 232, it is an open hall without doors or windows under one great dome.
Danau Sipin in Jambi is a 40-hectare oxbow lake left behind by a bend of the Batang Hari, and locals call it Solok Sipin. Fishermen keep floating cages of tilapia, carp and catfish on its water and rest in a stilt house in the middle, and visitors come for the breeze and the views.
Museum Siginjei in Jambi is the provincial museum, opened in 1988 and given its present name in 2012, on Jalan Urip Sumoharjo. Its collection runs from sculpture of the Srivijaya era to gold jewellery found in peat at Lambur, with the traditional arts of the peoples of Jambi.
Museum Perjuangan Rakyat Jambi is the museum of the struggle for independence in Jambi, opened in 1997 opposite the Al-Falah grand mosque. It shows rifles and pistols, krises, swords and spears, war clothing, historical dioramas and a replica of the Catalina flying boat RI 005.
Batik Jambi is the batik of Jambi, once worn by the nobles of the Malay sultanate, when red was its mark and plants and animals its main motifs. Tradition says Haji Muhibat from Central Java brought batik-making here in 1875, and the craft grew again after independence.
Tempoyak is the fermented durian paste of Jambi and the Malay world, made by mixing ripe durian flesh with salt and leaving it sealed for a few days. Sour and strongly scented, in Jambi it flavours dishes of patin and baung river fish, and it was listed as cultural heritage in 2011.
No reviews yet. Been to Jambi City? Be the first to share your experience.
Share what you loved, what to skip and tips for other travelers.
Log in to write a reviewBeen to Jambi City? Add your best shots to the gallery.
Log in to add photosPhoto: Anandajoti Bhikkhu from Sadao, Thailand, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo: Adhmi, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Firzafp, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Firzafp, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Firzafp, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Firzafp, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Firzafp, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Firzafp, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Muhamad Izzul Fiqih, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Muhamad Izzul Fiqih, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Muhamad Izzul Fiqih, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Firzafp, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Anandajoti Bhikkhu from Sadao, Thailand, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo: Anandajoti Bhikkhu from Sadao, Thailand, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo: Anandajoti Bhikkhu from Sadao, Thailand, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo: Anandajoti Bhikkhu from Sadao, Thailand, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo: Firzafp, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Anandajoti Bhikkhu from Sadao, Thailand, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo: Anandajoti Bhikkhu from Sadao, Thailand, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo: Anandajoti Bhikkhu from Sadao, Thailand, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo: Gunawan, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Anandajoti Bhikkhu from Sadao, Thailand, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo: Anandajoti Bhikkhu from Sadao, Thailand, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo: Anandajoti Bhikkhu from Sadao, Thailand, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo: Anandajoti Bhikkhu from Sadao, Thailand, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo: Firzafp, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Firzafp, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Muhamad Izzul Fiqih, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Firzafp, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Firzafp, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Adhmi, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Muhamad Izzul Fiqih, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Muhamad Izzul Fiqih, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Firzafp, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Muhamad Izzul Fiqih, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Muhamad Izzul Fiqih, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Muhamad Izzul Fiqih, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Muhamad Izzul Fiqih, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Firzafp, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Photo: Muhamad Izzul Fiqih, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Muhamad Izzul Fiqih, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Muhamad Izzul Fiqih, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Firzafp, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Aditya alakbar, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Sri Nanda Utami, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: YOGI NUGRAHA PUTRA, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: YOGI NUGRAHA PUTRA, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
