Borobudur

World's biggest Buddhist temple. Spectacular to visit. I visited in Nov 23, so was supposed to be raining and low season, but no rain. It was quite quiet. I stayed in Borobudur rather than Yogyakarta to get there early. 

However, since COVID, regulations have changed. There are NO sunrise tours any more. They now limit the number of people who can go onto the temple to 150 an hour - the earliest entry onto the temple is 9am - you get your ticket to allow you to enter starting from 8:30am. I went at 7am walked around the base of the temple and the grounds, before at 8:30am returning to the entry to get a guide and then return to enter the temple at 9am. There are various levels, with the lower ones have many kms of carvings showing the story of how Siddartha became Buddha. On the top level you have the Stupas themselves, each containing a Buddha. 

Highly reccomended visiting. The museum too is simple but shows interesting photos of 'before' and 'after' - beware, though, if you use the exit from the museum it forces you to walk through hundreds of tourist stalls wihout escape. 

Magnificent temple complex. Story of Lord Buddha is sculpted in different panels across the different layers/levels. Kudos to the Indonesian government for the way it is maintained.

Maintainance(score): 8
Site Experience: 10
Date Visited: 27/07/2019 (Morning 6 AM)
Hours stayed at the site: 5 hours
Ease of reaching the site: Very easy. Both public and private transport are all available. 

I visited this WHS in August 2018. Borobodur is Indonesia's most visited site and is known as the world's largest Buddhist archaelogical site. That said, I must confess that what impresses most is not its size but its architecture and the quality of its reliefs.

Borobodur is built in the form of a step pyramid with an important focus on symbolism and cosmology. It is built as a single large stupa with 9 platforms, the lower 6 being squarish and the remaining upper 3 being circular. It is symbolically divided in 3 realms of Buddhist cosmology: Kamadhatu (the world of desires), Rupadhatu (the world of forms), and Arupadhatu (the formless world) and the reliefs' themes follow these 3 realms. Unfortunately, these magnificent reliefs are often overlooked or ignored nowadays as most visitors rush to the top platform to see the 72 photogenic small bell-shaped stupas surrounding the larger central stupa and the panoramic views especially at sunrise and/or sunset.

Don't get me wrong, the views from the upper platform at sunrise and sunset are sublime and worthwhile. They can be less noisy and crowded then other sites famous for sunrise/sunset such as Bagan or Angkor Wat to name a few as there is no specific iconic building/temple or spot were everyone gathers. Moreover there are two huge volcanoes and 3 uncovered small stupas with Buddha statues so this helps.

However, in ancient times pilgrims to Borobodur circumambulated the narrow corridors on each level in slow succession. Keeping …

Apart from Bali, Borobudur is maybe the most well-known cultural site of Indonesia, its iconic image is widely used to represent Buddhism or exotic of Southeast Asia which turned Borobudur to be a must-see place in this country. It was a dilemma that should we stay near Borobudur and join the famous sunrise tour or not, but since we visited Indonesia on monsoon season which normally has raining in the early morning and late afternoon, so we decided to stay in the city of Yogyakarta instead and made a day trip instead. On the late showering morning, our driver took us to Borobudur, when our van left Yogyakarta’s city limits the rain stopped and finally, we could ensure that our visit will be dry.

The first sight of Borobudur was a big surprised for us as we expected Borobudur to be gigantic likes Great Stupas in Anuradhapura of Sri Lanka, but the structure is still big enough and not totally destroy our imagination. The size of Borobudur reminded me lesser complex of Khmer Civilization of Angkor Wat or Pyramid of Maya in Mexico. When we approached near Borobudur, the blackish of the whole structure made we felt a bit bore on its overall visual design. The colors of tourists’ dresses who walked on Borobudur’s upper area were far more eye-catching! Then our guide showed us the first floor of the whole complex which full of beautiful cravings depicting stories of Buddha and many Buddhist legends. The quality of art …

The Borobudur had been on my top wish list to see WHS for a long time. Finally in May 2016 it was time. I visited most of the Indonesian WHS.

Not going into the history but a few practical things. I suggest going on a sunrise tour. This is simply amazing (see photos on the link). After the sunrise you have time to explore the complex; that's the time the groups come in too. So you have less tourists. Much better for photography.

The sunrise was amazing. First the clouds turn purple-orange-red when the sunrises, but still behind the Merapi volcano. Then it gets boring for 20 minutes; don't leave! Then, you will see the sun coming from behind the Merapi and the sky again turns orange-magenta! It's magical! See my photos on the link.

THis is one of the most gorgeous sites in the world, particularly during sunrise. I went three mornings in a row- its irresistible - with the smoke of an active vulcano, the Mirapi, in the distance, and the gog over the tropical landscape of central Java, with hundreds of serene Buddhas watching - glorious!

Together with the Taj Mahal and Angkor, the Borobudur is probably one of the three most iconic WHS. I visited it at sunset. At first, I was amazed that the monument cannot be seen from the road - I had always thought that it is very big? Also, when I finally got it in my view, it looked much less spectacular than I had imagined. Most of the stones are dark from exposure to the elements.

I climbed the monument by going round clockwise at every level. That's when the site certainly started to grow on me. The sheer number of carvings on the walls, and their little details, kept me interested layer after layer. At some points there are whole reliefs, like paintings, displaying parts of a boddhisatva's life or a historic scene.

The top, the central stupa surrounded by little stupas, is where all the visitors congregate. It looks like a completely different place than the levels below. It's a fine spot to relax after the climb and to contemplate all that you've seen underway. There are great views over the surrounding fields and mountains too.

One of the most beautiful WHS. So grand and full of lovely details in its wall.

The best time to see it from above is in the early morning when you could see the sun rise... and as the fog descending, you could see the Temple as if it's rising from the cloud...

The Temple of Borobudur

One of the Ancient Wonders of the World, not to be missed in life time. A wonderful creation with beautifully architectured with a blend of true culture.

The Borobodur Temple complex is one of the greatest monuments in the world. It is of uncertain age, but thought to have been built between the end of the seventh and beginning of the eighth century A.D. For about a century and a half it was the spiritual centre of Buddhism in Java, then it was lost until its rediscovery in the eighteenth century.

The structure, composed of 55,000 square meters of lava-rock is erected on a hill in the form of a stepped-pyramid of six rectangular storeys, three circular terraces and a central stupa forming the summit. The whole structure is in the form of a lotus, the sacred flower of Buddha.

This coming 26-29 september 2004 Indonesia Tourism Board along with Event Organizer Pacto Covex are organising a special event called Royal Tourism Indonesia Mart & Expo [TIME] 2004 at Yogyakarta, the city of Borobudur. Royal TIME 2004 is a strategic international event that will help showcase Yogyakarta and Java to the international tourism market.

So, Selamat Datang!, welcome to Yogyakarta! Hope you enjoy your stay there and trust you will enjoy TIME 2004 and the Javanese way of life. Finally, you are guaranteed to receive warm hospitality and a genuine welcome from the people of Yogyakarta and are proud to show their heritage to the world.