Candi Borobudur in Central Java is the world’s largest Buddhist archaeological site, as recorded by the Guinness Book of World Records. In 1991, UNESCO include Candi Borobudur in its list of World Heritage Site. Borobudur temple is also one of the Seven Wonders of The World.
Candi is a term in Bahasa Indonesia that refers to a place of worship for Buddhists and Hindus. Usually, Candi is an ancient structure made of stones. Some are only seen as archaeological sites, but others are still used as places of worship. Thus, Candi is translated as a temple in English.
Candi Borobudur is the biggest Buddhist shrine in the world. The area of its base is 123 meters x 123 meters. This temple was built during Sailendra dynasty (circa 9th century). It was fully made of stones. The majority of its stone walls are decorated with relief (a wall-mounted sculpture). According to archaeologists, Borobudur temple was built in the shape of mandala and in the middle of an ancient lake. From an aerial view it looked like a stone lotus in the middle of a pond.
Borobudur temple comprises three zones representing Buddhist Cosmology:
Many more Buddha statues decorated Borobudur temple, there are 504 Buddha statues in total. Some intact, but many statues are missing some body parts, thus many of them are headless or armless.
Candi Borobudur is in-line with two other temples: Candi Pawon (approx. 1.15 km from Borobudur) and Candi Mendut (approx. 3 km from Borobudur).
Every year there is a big procession during Vesak Day (the day to commemorate the birth, enlightenment, and the death of Buddha Gautama). The procession starts from Candi Mendut, then they all walk to Candi Borobudur.
Candi Borobudur has a vast garden surrounding it. The garden makes the temple more picturesque. Vehicles must be parked far away from the temple because too many vehicles create too much vibrations that will damage the temple. If you don’t want to walk through the park, you can buy a ticket and ride an open vehicles that will take you from the entrance gate to the backside of Borobudur. From there, you only need to take a short walk (less than 50 meters) to the temple yard (the foot of Borobudur temple).
In the past, you can admire the relief sculpture by circling Borobudur temple level by level. There is one set of stairs on each side of the temple. Some people just climb straight to the top, but it's better to stop at each level and walk around it. You will be surrounded by stone walls covered with relief sculpture depicting the life of Buddha. The top level doesn’t have relief sculpture, it only has many stupas, each filled with a Buddha statue, except the stupa at the peak. It is the largest stupa, plain without any relief and there is not any Buddha statue inside.
However, in 2022, the number of visitors to Borobudur temple is limited to 1,200 people per day. Plus, you are not allowed to climb Borobudur temple. Please note that from Tuesday to Sunday, you can only admire this world of wonder from the temple yard (at the foot of Candi Borobudur) and the surrounding temple parks. On Mondays, you can only stroll around the surrounding temple parks.
Taman Wisata Borobudur, the office that manages Candi Borobudur, also manages Candi Prambanan and Candi Ratu Boko. Hence, it offers a bundling ticket to visit two of these three temples in one day.
Since the open vehicle only goes one way from the entrance gate to the temple, once you are satisfied visiting Borobudur, you should walk through the exit passage, passing through various stalls of souvenirs and local foods. You also can rent an andong (a Javanese traditional horse cart) near the open vehicle station. It will take you through the villages surrounding Borobudur temple to reach the parking lot.
Since you will walk in the outdoor a lot, it’s better to come early in the morning to avoid the heat.
Borobudur temple is located in Muntilan, Magelang, Central Java. It is a huge complex, hence, if you look up the address, it would be at Jalan Badrawati, Kawasan Candi Borobudur, Borobudur, Kecamatan Borobudur, Kabupaten Magelang, Jawa Tengah. The GPS Coordinates are 7°36'28.7"S 110°12'13.4"E (-7.607960, 110.203730). There are many road signs that will lead you the Borobudur complex.
Although Magelang is the closest city (17 km) to Candi Borobudur, people prefer to stay in Yogyakarta (40 km) or Solo / Surakarta (85 km), because both Jogja and Solo are the center of tourism and rich with Javanese culture. Plus, there are many flights and train schedules to Jogja and Solo. Today, plenty of accommodations are also available near Borobudur temple.
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