Kalimas River, Surabaya Overview

The Kalimas River or more commonly known as the Mas River is an essential and significant river for Indonesia, as a lot of their trades depended on it. Large ships transporting huge consignments of different commodities were a common sighting here in the olden times. You can also sight many historical buildings over here along the river banks.

Kali Mas translates to ‘Golden River’ in traditional Javanese. The river is a distributary of the Brantas River and flows in the North-East direction towards the Madura Strait. The port city of Surabaya is believed to have been built along the Kalimas River. Back in the 13th century, the river mouth acted as an entry port into the kingdom of Majapahit. The river itself boasts of a long history as a major transport route.

Things to Do

There are several historical buildings located along the banks of River Kalimas, including the Kali Mas harbour, the governor’s residence and old trading houses. Jembatan Merah or the Red Bridge is a popular historical landmark of this area, although it is no longer operational. The Surabaya City administration took up an extensive program to clean up the Kalimas River and to develop the area for recreational activities. Apart from the sightseeing activities, visitors can also take part in boat carnivals, river cruises and boat racing.