Jakarta. Indonesia’s annual Eid homecoming, known as mudik, is gathering pace with toll roads out of Jakarta, railway stations, ports, and airports already seeing rising traffic a week before Eid al-Fitr, which is expected to fall on March 20 or 21.

Mudik is more than a travel rush. It is a nationwide ritual in which millions of Indonesians return to their hometowns to celebrate Eid with parents, grandparents, and extended family, often after months or years away. The government has again urged travelers to leave early and shift to public transport to reduce congestion and accident risks during the peak holiday period, when traffic volumes routinely overwhelm road capacity across Java.

The Transportation Ministry has projected 143.9 million trips during the 2026 Eid holiday period, equivalent to about half the country’s population, underlining the sheer scale of one of the world’s biggest seasonal travel movements. Officials expect the main outbound rush to come in waves next week, though traffic data on Saturday showed many travelers had already begun leaving the capital.

Private vehicles are expected to remain the dominant mode of transport. The ministry estimates that more than 76 million people will travel by private car, followed by motorcycles at 24.1 million and buses at 23.3 million.

On the main overland routes from Jakarta to Central and East Java, vehicle numbers were climbing from the early hours of Saturday. Traffic monitors on the Cikopo-Palimanan, or Cipali, toll road recorded 1,645 vehicles between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. local time heading east from Jakarta. On the Jakarta-Cikampek route toward Bandung via the Cipularang toll road, 2,526 vehicles entered through the Kalihurip Utama gate between 3 a.m. and 5:59 a.m.

Large trucks and container vehicles were still seen on some stretches despite restrictions on heavy vehicles during the peak holiday travel period. The government has imposed limits on the movement of trucks with three or more axles on major routes to ease congestion and reduce accident risks, while exempting essential goods and fuel deliveries.

On Java’s northern coastal highway in Cirebon, an important alternative corridor for travelers heading east, local transport officials recorded more than 5,000 motorcycles between midnight and 6 a.m. on Saturday. Traffic was dominated by two-wheelers, with around 300 motorcycles passing every 15 minutes at some points, a sign that many travelers were opting to leave early to avoid the worst of the congestion closer to the holiday.

One traveler bound for Magelang, Amam, said he chose to leave early to avoid congestion during the peak homecoming period. He also wanted a smoother trip back to his hometown.

“I left after the pre-dawn meal, so it wasn’t too hot yet. I’m heading to Magelang in Central Java,” he told Beritasatu.com on Saturday.

Rail traffic has also surged. At Jakarta’s Pasar Senen Station, one of the country’s busiest departure points for Eid travel, 18,171 passengers were scheduled to leave on Saturday alone. State railway operator KAI Daop 1 Jakarta has added seven extra train services from Pasar Senen and 12 from Gambir Station to handle the seasonal spike. The Eid rail transport period began on March 11 and runs through April 1. Pasar Senen Station is forecast to be the busiest departure rail station, serving about 2.38 million passengers, while Yogyakarta Tugu Station is projected to be the busiest arrival station

The homecoming wave is also spreading across Indonesia’s eastern transport hubs. In Parepare, South Sulawesi, migrant workers returning from Malaysia arrived by sea from Nunukan in North Kalimantan, using the port as a gateway to reunite with families across Sulawesi. Many said the trip home carried special meaning after years of working abroad.

Air travel is climbing as well. Yogyakarta International Airport is forecasting 259,000 passengers during the Eid holiday period, up 2.2 percent from a year earlier, with Jakarta, Makassar, Balikpapan and Singapore among the busiest routes. The airport expects around 15,000 passengers on Saturday and has added flights to absorb higher demand.

At ferry crossings, the Merak–Bakauheni route linking Java and Sumatra is projected to handle more than 6 million passengers, making it the busiest sea crossing during the holiday.

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