A small town on the junction of the national road between Yogyakarta and Semarang, Ambarawa is mostly forgotten today but played an important role during the Indonesian independence struggle — the Battle of Ambarawa, commemorated at the Palagan Ambarawa Monument, is still remembered every 15 December as Hari Juang Kartika.
The main draws for visitors are Rawa Pening Lake, beautiful at sunrise, and the Ambarawa Train Museum where you can ride colonial-era steam locomotives through mountain scenery on one of the last surviving cog railways in Asia. The vast 1834 Dutch fort, Fort Willem I, is half-overgrown and atmospheric. From here you can continue up the hill to the Bandungan flower market and the Hindu temple complex of Candi Gedong Songo on the slopes of Gunung Ungaran. Salatiga and Magelang are also easily reached.