Map - Palangka Raya (Palangkaraya)

Palangka Raya 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; the official estimate as at mid 2021 was 298,950. Palangka Raya is the largest city by land area in Indonesia (approximately four times the size of Jakarta). Most of the area is forested (including protected forests, nature conservation areas, and Tangkiling Forest). It also has the highest Human Development Index rating of any city in Kalimantan.

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 the 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.

The name Palangka Raya is a combination of two words from the Dayak Ngaju and Sanskrit languages. Palangka (Dayak), meaning sacred site, and raya (Sanskrit), 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 passed away because of an illness, and to respect his death as an important figure from the village, it was named Pahandut.