Palangka Raya or Palangkaraya is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of Central Kalimantan. The city is situated between the Kahayan and the Sabangau rivers on the island of Borneo. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 293,500;Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. the official estimate as at mid 2025 was 318,247 (comprising 161,314 males and 156,933 females).Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 27 February 2026, Kota Palangkaraya Dalam Angka 2026 (Katalog-BPS 2101023.6271) Palangka Raya is the largest city by land area in Indonesia (approximately four times the size of Jakarta); however, most of the area is forested (particularly in the northern districts of Rakumpit and Bukit Batu) including protected forests, nature conservation areas, and Tangkiling Forest.
The city is the center of economic, governance, and education of Central Kalimantan province. It is a relatively new city, founded from a small Dayak village of Pahandut in 1957. The city was planned from scratch and the construction was assisted by the Soviet military due to Sukarno's relation to Eastern Bloc at the time. Despite relatively developed infrastructure and high Human Development Index rating, the city suffers from environmental problems such as haze, forest fires, and floods.
Etymology
The name Palangka Raya is a combination of two words from two languages: palangka (Dayak Ngaju), meaning sacred site, and raya (Malay), meaning vast; therefore, Palangka Raya means a vast sacred site. The city stands on the site of a small Dayak village called Pahandut that was surrounded by rainforest.
According to a local legend, Bayuh and Kambang, a married Dayak couple, founded the village because the surrounding region was not suitable for building a house, as its soil was made up of peat and swamps. Over time, the village grew into a small Dayak outpost with its surroundings being used for farming and as a small plantation. At first, it was believed that the name of the village was Dukuh Bayuh. Dukuh Bayuh was thought to be derived from Eka Badukuh, meaning "place to settle" in Dayak (with daily usage called Dukuh ain Bayuh, shortened Dukuh Bayuh). Pahandut on the other hand, according to local stories, was a respected elder and cultural figure from the village. He was often called Bapa Handut, which literally means Mr. Handut. Handut died of illness, and to respect his death as an important figure from the village, it was named Pahandut.
History
Colonial Era According to documents from the Dutch East Indies, Pahandut village's existence was discovered by Zacharias Hartman, a Dutch explorer, on his journey around Kahayan and Kapuas River in 1823. This conflicts with the statements that claim the village was previously known under the Sultanate of Banjar, which became a Dutch protectorate under an agreement with Sultan Tahmidullah II in 1787. The region was leased to the Dutch East Indies by Sultan Sulaiman in 1817, and was ceded by Sultan Adam of Banjar under a contract signed on 4 May 1826, written in Dutch on second point which reads in English as:
It was integrated into Zuid Ooster Afdeeling in accordance with Bêsluit van den Minister van Staat, Gouverneur-Generaal van Nederlandsch-Indie No. 8, 27 August 1849. ("Decision of the Minister of State, Governor-General of Netherlands-India No. 8) In 1898, it became part of Afdeeling Dajaklandeen in accordance with Staatblad 1898 No. 178. (Official Gazette 1898 No. 178) Dutch rule remained weak in this region and several revolts from native rulers took place, such as under Raden Djaija and Pambakal Sulil in 1849. The region saw a conflict over succession and against Dutch rule called the Banjarmasin War. There has been debate about whether the fighting constituted one war or two, with the potential auxiliary war called the "Barito War". The village of Pahandut was also used by German missionaries as an outpost for the region around the Kahayan River. In the Tumbang Anoi Peacemaking Agreement between Dayak tribes in 1894 to end the practice of headhunting, it was noted that Pahandut village consisted of eight longhouses and was inhabited by around 40 families.
Later, during Indonesian National Revolution, there were armed clash within the region between Indonesian nationalists under unit TNI/MN 1001 and Royal Netherlands East Indies Army on 17 January 1946.
Establishment The province of Central Kalimantan was established on 23 May 1957. At first, the capital for the Central Kalimantan province was not agreed and it was debated where it should be located. R.T.A. Milono, acting governor of Central Kalimantan, discussed the matter with several native organizations and cultural figures from the region. This however evoked tension from several native tribes and organizations that each wanted their own region to be chosen as capital. On 23 January 1957, a committee to discuss the matter was created, consisting mostly of Dayak cultural figures, in addition to military figures such as Tjilik Riwut and Dutch-descendant architect D.A.W. Van Der Pijl who also later designed the then-proposed new capital of South Kalimantan, Banjarbaru. From the committee's meeting, it was decided that Pahandut village would be the capital to avoid cultural association within tribes in the province, hence avoiding conflicts. At the time, the village only had an estimated population of around 900.
The first pillar in the development of Palangka Raya City was erected by Sukarno, the President of the Republic of Indonesia, on 17 July 1957, marking the inauguration of the monument to the provincial capital of Central Kalimantan in Pahandut. Then, in accordance with Law No. 21 of 1958, Pahandut was renamed to Palangka Raya City, maintaining its status as the provincial seat. The construction of the city was directly led by Tjilik Riwut, whom by then had become governor of the Central Kalimantan province. The city was claimed by him to be "free from colonial legacies". At first however, he was rumoured to be insane by residents of the province for trying to build a city on top of nothingness. It was officially made the capital of Central Kalimantan on 1 January 1960, relocated from its temporary seat in Banjarmasin. By late 1962, the city had by this point largely finished construction of its basic infrastructure such as schools, government offices, inner city roads, and residential areas, with an estimated 500 buildings having been constructed.
On 23 July 1965, it gained official city status (kotapraja) and formed its own municipal government. The city was constructed with the assistance of Soviet military, especially regarding road construction due to the terrain of the region - dominated by swamps and peat. The road which today is named Jl. Tjilik Riwut, was previously planned to be constructed from the city to Pangkalan Bun and Sampit. This however, was never realized due to 30 September Movement, coup d'état against Sukarno, and subsequent communist purge that followed. Many local workers resigned and abandoned their work due to fear of being accused as communist and the road construction stopped at the town of Tangkiling.
Recent history
Surrounded by forests and peat land, the city can be heavily affected by haze in the dry season, notably in 2015 and 2019. In 2015, the haze made the sky look yellow and affected road traffic.
In 2019, the haze caused several people to evacuate the city. Forest fires and haze have been annual threats to the city and the city government formed a special agency to deal with forest fires and haze. The city government constructed 23 canals and three retention basins around the city to deal with threat of forest fires in 2019.
The city was a candidate to become the new Indonesian capital until the 2019 announcement that the new capital will be partly in Penajam North Paser Regency and partly in Kutai Kartanegara Regency, both in East Kalimantan.
Geography Palangka Raya borders Gunung Mas Regency to the north, Katingan Regency to the west, and Pulang Pisau Regency to the south and east. The area's soil consists mostly of peat and alluvium in its southern part and podzol on the northern part of the city. Overall, podzol soil dominates the city soil with 218,486 out of 285,312 hectares of city's landscape. Most of the city's topography is flat, with a general slope of less than 40 percent. Palangka Raya is mostly located around 35 meters above sea level.
10,105.34 hectares of land in the city is designated as protected forest, while 90,722.15 hectares are production forest. In addition, there are also 63,816.40 hectares of national park, 1,771.13 hectares of nature reserve, and 726.20 hectares of preserved nature.
Climate Palangka Raya has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen Af) with heavy rainfall year-round. According to Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency, the average temperature in Palangka Raya is . The minimum temperature recorded is , and the maximum . Humidity is between 65 and 95 percent with a yearly average of 82.89 percent. Wind usually flows between , with a yearly average of . Increased wind speed is expected between August and November.
Demographics Population growth was 2.84% as of 2019, with sex ratio of 106 males per 100 females. As of 2020, the city's population is dominated by younger demographics above the age of 15, making up an estimated 222,285 people of reproductive age. There were estimated to be 199,140 Muslims, 73,641 Protestants, 5,511 Catholics, 3,453 Hindus, 485 Buddhists, 8 Confucians, and 27 followers of other religions such as folk religions. The population of age 20 – 24 keeps increasing; this is thought to be caused by students from other regions in Central Kalimantan moving to the city to pursue higher education. In addition, the city has the highest human development index and standard of living in the entire Kalimantan, making it an attractive destination for migrants. Majority of city population are Dayak ethnic, accounts more than half of city's population. Other ethnics such as Banjar, Malay, Buginese, and Javanese also exist in the city. More than half of the city population are from Jekan Raya District.
Economy Economic growth was 7% in 2019, above the national average, and inflation rate in the same year was 0.85%. Unemployment rate was 6% in 2020. The service sector is the largest contributor to city's gross regional product, contributing 28.36% of it in 2020, in contrast with neighboring regions which still rely mainly on agriculture and extraction. The next largest contributor to city's economy in 2020 was trade, with figure of 17.85%, followed by construction with 11.06%. The financial and banking sector provides around 6% of the city's economy. Agriculture, forestry, plantation, and fishery all combined contributed to 2.45% of the city's economy in 2019. Crop yields decreased rapidly from year-on-year; production of red chili dropped from 2,864 tons in 2018 to just more than 200 tons in 2020. Fish catch also decreased by 19.8% from 2018 to 2019. Tourism is a small but growing sector, with 389,235 domestic tourists and 3,865 foreign tourists visiting the city in 2019. The city government owns 2.47% of the shares of Central Kalimantan Bank together with provincial government.
There are 56,430 small and medium enterprises in 2017, from which 72% are on trade, restaurant, and hotel sector. On the same year, there are more than 250 registered cooperatives in the city.
Governance
Administrative districts