Kemaro Island is a small, low river island a few kilometres downstream of central Palembang, in the middle of the Musi. The standard ketek trip from Pasar 16 Ilir takes about an hour each way. The island is dominated by a nine-storey Chinese pagoda built in 2006, with a small Buddhist temple, a row of food and incense stalls, and the legend-shrouded tomb of Princess Siti Fatimah on a low rise behind it.
The atmosphere is normally sleepy, but the island erupts into life around Chinese New Year for the Cap Go Meh festival — one of the largest in Indonesia outside Java — when riverboats from across the region tie up along the bank. Even on quiet days, the riverside view back towards Palembang is worth the trip.