monas has been the landmark of jakarta for years. monas is an acronym of monumen nasional, the national monument. this monument began its construction in 1959 and fully erected in 1961. however monas was not open for public until 1975. the monumen nasional is a 450 ft (137 m) tall tower in central jakarta, symbolizing the fight for indonesia's independence.

the design of the monument is meant to combine elements of masculine and feminine. the design based on lingga-yoni, the symbol of fertility in ancient hindu-javanese belief. the phallic shaft comes toward the ground and is engulfed by square base meant to symbolize fertility. the monument body was made of steel and concrete covered with italian white marble.on the top of the tower there's a square terrace that can be reach by visitor with elevator. from here visitor can see aerial view of jakarta. the monument is crowned by gold-coated flame, right on the top of the peak terrace. this golden flame symbolize the spirit of freedom and the struggle for independence of indonesian people

tree men responsible for planning and designing this monument were; soedarsono, frederich silaban, and ir. rooseno as the consultant. however the idea to built such tall monument came from the first president of ri (republic of indonesia) as well as the nation’s founding father ir. Soekarno.

now days people coming to monas area to do morning or afternoon exercises. some sport facilities available in this so called the city’s lung. from futsal and basket ball filed to acupuncture and jogging track. some efforts to bring back the ‘natural life’ in to the area has started to gain results. doves, parrots, finches, and some other species of birds has made this area as their urban nest.