As Eid al-Fitr approaches, millions of Indonesian Muslims have embarked on journeys back to their hometowns to celebrate the Eid holiday with their relatives.
The occasion, known as Lebaran in Indonesia, signifies the conclusion of the sacred month of Ramadan.
This year, it falls on Wednesday, the week-long festivities will be observed by over 220 million individuals in Indonesia, a nation boasting one of the largest Muslim populations globally.
According to Reuters, drone footage captured on Monday showed thousands of vehicles queuing to enter the ferries, while many more were on the road heading to the port, stretching far outside Merak.
Residents of Jakarta, a city with a population of 11 million people, began departing the capital over the weekend, as per the Transport Ministry.
According to a survey conducted by the ministry, approximately 193 million people were anticipated to travel during this year's festivities, marking a 56% increase compared to the number of travelers during last year's Eid holidays.
As reported by Reuters, a 21-year-old Indonesian named Aditya Nugraha, was traveling from Jakarta, the capital city, to his hometown of Palembang on Sumatra Island, which is over 500 km (310 miles) away.
He was making this journey to celebrate the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr this week.
Aditya, speaking to Reuters on Monday, mentioned, "We departed from home last night around 9, and now it's been 13 hours and we are still stuck in this very long traffic. Hopefully, there will be a solution to this soon."
Meanwhile, he was waiting to enter the port in the town of Merak for a ferry to cross from Java to Sumatra.
