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Annual exodus starts ahead of Idul Fitri festivities
People living in Jakarta, a city of 11 million people, started leaving the capital over the weekend, according to the Transportation Ministry.
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A drone view shows vehicles waiting to board a ferry to cross to Sumatra island, as Indonesian Muslims travel to their hometowns to celebrate Idul Fitri, at Merak Port in Cilegon, Banten, on April 7, 2024. (Reuters/Yuddy Cahya Budiman)
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ditya Nugraha, 21, was traveling from Jakarta to his hometown of Palembang, South Sumatra, over 500 kilometers away, to celebrate the Idul Fitri holiday this week.
The festival, known locally as Lebaran, marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. It falls on Wednesday this year and the entire week will be celebrated by more than 220 million people throughout the country, which has one of the world's largest Muslim populations.
Aditya was one of the many millions traveling to his home town as part of mudik (exodus), which is usually marked by hours of traffic jams, especially across Java.
"We departed from home last night around 9 p.m., and now it's been 13 hours and we are still stuck in this very long traffic. Hopefully, there will be a solution to this soon," Aditya told Reuters on Monday, waiting to enter Merak Port for a ferry to cross to Sumatra.
Drone footage on Monday showed thousands of vehicles lining up to board the ferries, while many more were on the road heading to the port, stretching far outside Merak.
People living in Jakarta, a city of 11 million people, started leaving the capital over the weekend, according to the Transportation Ministry.
Around 193 million people are expected to travel during the festivities this year, according to a survey by the ministry, around 56 percent higher than the number of travelers during the Idul Fitri holiday last year.
