DIY Drivers Lost in Rice Fields Following Maps to Toll Gate

Hundreds of motorists found themselves lost and driving down rural roads, even into rice paddies, in Sleman, Yogyakarta, on Tuesday, March 24, after following digital navigation apps towards the Purwomartani Toll Gate. Vehicles were observed navigating the narrow roads through the Karang Kalasan rice fields in Tirtomartani, Kalasan, since Tuesday afternoon. The route leads towards Jalan Cangkringan, passing through residential areas and a construction zone, before connecting to the Purwomartani Toll Gate. From Cangkringan, drivers still had several hundred meters to travel to reach Jalan Solo and access the toll gate. As the afternoon progressed, the number of vehicles attempting the route increased, prompting local residents to water their front yards to mitigate dust stirred up by the unexpected traffic. Satrio, a Jakarta resident, explained he was directed by his navigation app onto the rural path while returning to the capital. “I’m heading back to Jakarta, and the maps led me here. There weren’t any officials directing traffic,” he said. Damar, another traveler from Jakarta, expressed surprise when the paved road ended and turned into a dirt track. “The maps directed me, and suddenly I was in a rice field. I hesitated, but turning back was difficult. I’m going from Jakarta to Yogyakarta and then back again,” he stated. Haryono, a Sleman resident traveling to Surabaya, East Java, said he was diverted due to heavy congestion on Jalan Solo, the main access road to the Purwomartani Toll Gate. He activated his map application while departing from Tajem, Maguwoharjo, Depok, and was directed past Candi Sambisari in Purwomartani, Kalasan. “It’s a dirt road, still uneven in places,” he noted. Local resident Ehsan Abdurrohman reported that vehicles entering the area through the rice fields and residential areas began appearing on Sunday, March 22. He estimated that hundreds of vehicles had passed his home on Tuesday alone. Ehsan, along with other residents, volunteered to guide drivers towards Jalan Cangkringan, which connects to the Prambanan-Purwomartani segment of the Yogyakarta-Solo toll road. “It’s quite chaotic. Without guidance, people could easily get lost. It was worse on Sunday, with potentially thousands of vehicles. Today, it’s been several hundred so far,” he said. The extended operating hours of the Purwomartani Toll Gate, now open until 8:00 PM, were implemented to support the 2026 Eid homecoming traffic flow. The toll gate, part of the Yogyakarta-Solo toll road, has been open for functional use since March 16 and is scheduled to close on March 29. Police reported an increasing trend in traffic volume entering and exiting the Yogyakarta Special Region this week, with nearly 1,500 vehicles passing through the Purwomartani Toll Gate per hour. Data from the Smart Province Back Office indicated over 1,000 vehicles per hour passing through the gate between 8:00 AM and 9:00 AM on Tuesday, peaking at 1,899 vehicles per hour between 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM. A cumulative total of 11,802 vehicles used the Purwomartani Toll Gate between 6:00 AM and 3:00 PM.