Borobudur Buddhist Temple

Renown as one of the seven mysteries in the world, Borobudur Buddhist temple is the biggest Buddhist relics, where the Buddhism having been transferred across the Indian Ocean blossomed more brilliant than in its origin, India, and its historic value can be comparable to Ankor Wat in Cambodia.

42 km away from the city of Yogyakarta, the place is home to the world class Buddhism remains kept in Gedou basin where coconut trees are densely standing. The monument became known to the outside world and attract so many visitors after it was first discovered in 1814 by the then British Governor General Raffles in the forest when it finally got up from a long sleep that lasted one thousand years.

Then, it was administered by the authority of the Netherlands that took over the control over the territory, underwent a recovery work for four years starting from 1907 and again in 1973 the UNESCO carried out another large-scale maintenance and repair work for the first time for the Asian historic remains, by which it was renovated with the addition of a new civil technologies such as drainage. It was registered with UNESCO as a cultural heritage.

It is estimated that the temple was established during the age of Syailendra kingdom that flourished in central Java area, however, still it remains as a question as to the exact time and period of its construction, and the reason why the astonishingly big-sized temple had been buried underground for 1000 years.

Prambanan temple (Candi Prambanan)

Both worldly renown Borobudur and Prambanan temples were erected in the ninth century when Central Java was under the control of the Buddhist kingdom Syailendra and southern Java was under the control of also the Buddihist kingdom which was put under Sanjaya kingdom.

In old India, Buddhism was regarded as a branch of Hindi, however, we can see from Prambanan the combination of the two religions, from which we can imagine the way of thinking of the people of the times. Shiva shrine (in other word Lorojonggrang) in the center in the shape of gigantic sky-rising flames looks down on the Keu plain that stretches from the smoke-laden Merapi mountains (volcanic mountain) to the Indian Ocean, boasting of the beautiful temples and the wide and sate-of-the-art sceneries.

Prambanan temple has three shrines, gigantic high-rising Shiva shrine in the center, Brahma shrine and Visnu shrine at both sides, with three bahanadang (sermon hall) across each of the shrines that contains the vehicles for the gods: cow Nandi for Shiva shrine, white horse Hansa for Brahma shrine and eagle garuda for Visnu shrine.

If we approach the Shiva shrine in the shape of the sky-rising fire flames, we would lose the sense of distance, so the architectural work the height of 47m would look as if it is two times as high. Really it is the largest Buddhist temple in South East Asia, with the precisely carved relieves where the story of the old Indian epic poem Ramayana is carved in dynamic fashion.
Also on stair balconies, stone statues of the god of lions, half man and half bird are placed and in the side rooms inside the shrines are the statues of god Shiva in the east, Agastia (son of Shiva, the god of the elephant head) in the south and (Shiva's wife). Especially, the fact that Shiva's statute is standing on a lotus flower, an interesting relationship with the Buddhism, and the statute of the sensual durga is known as a cursed virgin from jonggrang.

Dieng Plateau

A village situated in the center of a crater on the altitude of 2,000m where one can reach climbing high through curved bus roads and breathe cool, fresh air, this time not in the tropical landscapes.
Dieng originated from Sanskrit meaning "the place of the god", from which one can easily imagine the fact that it was once a center for the worship among the mountain natives from the time of old Java and can once again confirm from the south India type remains and temples that are kept until now in the calm village.
Established in the 8th to 9th century in the era of Mataram kingdom, the 'Pandawa" temples, the oldest in Java, is the most remarkable relics of Hindi, with it five temples having the names of heroes of the Indian epic Mahabarata.
Passing through the places, well preserved Gatungkaja temple greets the visitors, where a museum is on the sideline and the statue of Shiva and part of the relieves are found that are placed in disorder. Going further to the south and a three-roads junction, visitor arrive at Bima temple on the quiet hill surrounded by woods where a great number of face statues are carved, which are incomparable in Java.
For one day trip to Dieng Plateau, it is recommended to start early in the morning.

Others include Kraton Palace, Yogyakarta Downtown, Mendut Temple, etc.