Temple
Prambanan Temple Compounds consist of Prambanan Temple (also called Loro Jonggrang), Sewu Temple, Bubrah Temple and Lumbung Temple. Prambanan Temple itself is a complex consisting of 240 temples. All the mentioned temples form the Prambanan Archaeological Park and were built during the heyday of Sailendra’s powerful dynasty in Java in the 8th century AD. These compounds are located on the border between the two provinces of Yogyakarta and Central Java on Java Island.
While Loro Jonggrang, dating from the 9th century, is a brilliant example of Hindu religious bas-reliefs, Sewu, with its four pairs of Dwarapala giant statues, is Indonesia’s largest Buddhist complex including the temples of Lumbung, Bubrah and Asu (Gana temple). The Hindu temples are decorated with reliefs illustrating the Indonesian version of the Ramayana epic which are masterpieces of stone carvings. These are surrounded by hundreds of shrines that have been arranged in three parts showing high levels of stone building technology and architecture from the 8th century AD in Java. With over 500 temples, Prambanan Temple Compounds represents not only an architectural and cultural treasure, but also a standing proof of past religious peaceful cohabitation.
Jl. Raya Solo - Yogyakarta No.16, Kranggan, Bokoharjo, Kec. Prambanan, Kabupaten Sleman, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta 55571, Indonesia
Indonesia, Indonesia
It is easiest to get to Prambanan from neighboring Yogyakarta which is around 17 kilometers away.
You can fly into Yogyakarta from a number of domestic hubs in Indonesia like Jakarta, Surabaya and Denpasar, or you can fly internationally from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
From Yogyakarta you can take the TransJogja bus which will take you directly from Jalan Malioboro in Yogyakarta to Prambanan for a fee of IDR 3,600. The journey takes around half an hour and buses leave from 6 am and depart every twenty minutes or so. This is by far the cheapest way to get to Prambanan but it can also be more time consuming than hiring a car or a taxi, as the bus stops along the way and there can be a lot of traffic, particularly in the afternoon.
You can also take a taxi from Yogyakarta directly to Prambanan which costs around IDR 60,000 and this can be a good choice if you are travelling as a family or as part of a group.
Finally, it is also possible to take the train to Prambanan and then walk to the temple but this is a time consuming and rather uncomfortable option considering you can take a bus or taxi far more easily.
There are some hotels scattered around Prambanan Complex and you may want to think about staying overnight here if you want to beat the crowds and visit the park in the early morning. If not however then you can easily stay in a hotel in Yogyakarta or Solo and just visit for the day.
Most of the hotels around the complex are simple Indonesian style hotels and you can get a room in many for around IDR 200,000 per night. There are however some more upscale choices such as Poeri Devata Resort Hotel which has a swimming pool and has rooms from USD 80 per night if you want something a little more lavish.
Special
A long time ago, there lived a very powerful king named Prabu Baka. He was the king of the Prambanan kingdom. All people in the kingdom were afraid of him because he looked like a giant monster.
All the people of Prambanan lived peacefully. But then, the Prambanan kingdom was attacked and occupied by the Pengging kingdom. Prambanan then was ruled by Bandung Bondowoso of Pengging kingdom. He was a mean king. He also had great supernatural power. His soldiers were not only humans but also genies.
The king of Prambanan had a beautiful daughter named Roro Jonggrang. Bandung Bondowoso fell in love with her and wanted to marry her. “You’re so beautiful. Would you be my queen?” asked Bandung Bondowoso. Roro Jonggrang was shocked. She didn’t like Bandung Bondowoso because he was a mean person. She wanted to refuse, but she afraid that Bandung Bondowoso would be angry and endangered the people of Prambanan. Then, she came up with a plan. “If you want to marry me, you have to build a thousand temples for me in just one night,” said Roro Jonggrang. “What? That’s impossible!” said Bandung Bondowoso. But he didn’t give up. He consulted with his advisor. “Your Majesty can ask the genies to help built the temples,” said the advisor.
So, Bandung Bondowoso summoned his entire genies soldier and commanded them to help him built a thousand temples. The genies worked at unbelievable speed. Meanwhile, Roro Jonggrang heard from her servant that the building of a thousand temples was almost finished, she was so worried. But again, she came up with a great idea. She asked all of her servants to help her. “Please prepare a lot of straw and mortar. Please hurry up!” said Roro Jonggrang. “Burn the straw and make some noise pounding the mortar, quickly.” All those servants did what Roro Jonggrang ordered them there were burning straw and pounding the mortar, to making the genies think that the sun is going to rise.
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