Uncovering Java’s Royal Heart Through Yogyakarta’s Sacred Temples
Written by Kaelie Piscitello
I had never heard of Indonesia’s special region of Yogyakarta until I started looking up unique places to go in Java. Indonesia labels Yogyakarta a “special district” because a royal sultan still governs it separately from Indonesia’s modern presidential republic.
Indonesians and travellers know Yogyakarta for its incredible ancient temples. Most of Indonesia today practices Islam, but Java has a rich Buddhist and Hindu history, as evidenced by “Yogya’s” ancient religious sites.
Prambanan Temple
When I saw this massive structure, I couldn’t believe no one considers it a wonder of the world. Indonesia preserved it well, and it boasts gorgeous carvings that are challenging to produce in the modern era. I took a combined day tour of the temples, starting at the Prambanan heritage site. Prambanan temple is built of stony grey rocks and depicts Hindu gods everywhere.
UNESCO designated this tenth-century temple as a protected World Heritage Site, and Java has done its best to preserve the remaining temples. Its central three structures illustrate the stories of the Ramayana and three Hindu gods: Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma. Many smaller temples surround the larger one, and it remains the largest Hindu temple complex in Indonesia.
Exploring Prambanan was fun at first, until locals started shoving their cameras in front of my face to take pictures with them. I thought the pictures were funny at first, but by the tenth family, I started getting annoyed. The Indonesians seemed more interested in me than the temple itself! However, people in this part of Java don’t often see westerners, so I’m sure the people had pure intentions.
Candi Sewu Temple
The Candi Sewu temple stands on the same archaeological site as Prambanan, and I managed to see it all on the same tour. As the second-largest Buddhist site in Indonesia, it consists of 249 structures and once had many more.
Two massive statues guard it and face each other, making an unofficial entrance gate. It has more ruins than Prambanan and fewer visitors, despite its proximity to Prambanan. Those who did stop by snapped a quick picture and then moved on, so I thankfully lost my celebrity-like picture status here.
I found it interesting to learn that while Buddhist and Hindu beliefs struggled for power when Java built the temples, neither religion is as popular in Yogyakarta anymore because of the rise of Islam all around Indonesia.
Borobudur Temple
Borobudur Temple is one of the most impressive Buddhist worship sites I have seen throughout my travels in Asia. It stands at 35 m tall and has nine levels to explore. It stands in the middle of nowhere and features thousands of engravings. The bell-like structures at the top look as though someone should ring them and sing a religious song for everyone to hear.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the only way to explore Borobudur has been through a guided tour, which I preferred because a knowledgeable guide led my group and taught us about its history.
My group admired several specific carvings and heard the famous stories they represent. When we arrived at the eighth level, the guide recommended that the whole group partake in the sacred tradition of walking in silence around the bell-shaped structures five times. Buddhists come here to do this and meditate about the highest level of Heaven.
