Prambanan Temple, Indonesia

            Ex-Travel-Ganzer Buddy, ets continue our journey travelling around the world. We are going to continue our journey in the most romantic site – yes, a place we are going to visit is famous with it love story-. The power of love has bring some place is very special and very attractive. So i hope that you dont need to prepare any chocolate, a bucket of flower or romantic candle light dinner to tell the true about your heart. Let the temple speak for you....hahaha, iam just kidding, so lets jump to the our main stream point. So lets go to Jogjakarta.

 Yogyakarta is the most popular tourist destination on Java. Famous for its rich heritage, cultural performances such as gamelan music, classical dance, shadow puppet shows, can be enjoyed daily. It is also a good base for day trips to 2 of the world's most impressive archeological sites - Borobudur & Prambanan Temple complexes. Yogyakarta also has excellent budget food & accommodation options and has been a travelers favorite for many years. Right now, we are going to talk only about Prambanan Temple, Maybe next time we will move to Borobudur.

 Prambanan temple is extraordinarily beautiful building constructed in the tenth century during the reigns of two kings namely Rakai Pikatan and Rakai Balitung. Soaring up to 47 meters (5 meters higher than Borobudur temple), the foundation of this temple has fulfilled the desire of the founder to show Hindu triumph in Java Island..Candi Prambanan is the grandest temple in Java apart from Borobudur. Located on the Prambanan plain, this sprawling temple complex sits majestically in an open area about twenty kilometers south of Mount Merapi, which dominates the horizon. This temple also located 17 kilometers from the city center, among an area that now functions as beautiful park.

Originally there was total 240 temples stood in Prambanan. The Prambanan Temple Compound consist of:

1.      3 Trimurti temples: three main temples dedicated to Shiva, Visnu, and Brahma

2.   3 Vahana temples: three temples in front of Trimurti temples dedicated to the vahana of each gods; Nandi, Garuda, and Hamsa

3.   2 Apit temples: two temples located between the rows of Trimurti and Vahana temples on north and south side

4.      4 Kelir temples: four small shrines located on 4 cardinal directions right beyond the 4 main gates of inner zone

5.      4 Patok temples: four small shrines located on 4 corners of inner zone

6.    224 Pervara temples: hundreds of temples arranged in 4 concentric square rows; numbers of temples from inner row to outer row are: 44, 52, 60, and 68.

 Candi Prambanan is often called Loro Jonggrang temple after the local name of the Durga statue enshrined in one side of the Shiva temple (Loro Jonggrang means "Slender Virgin"). The substitution of Durga for a more locally-derived god occurred through the fame of an ancient legend. According to legend, the statue of Durga is actually the petrified body of Loro Jonggrang, the daughter of King Ratu Boko. When prince Bandung Bandawasa asked for her hand in marriage, the king answered that he could have her only if he could kill him in battle. In the ensuing fight, the prince killed Ratu Boko. Loro Jonggrang did not wish to marry the murderer of her father, so she asked of him an impossible task: build 1,000 temples in one night. If he fulfilled the task, he could marry her. 

 Bandung nearly accomplished the job by securing an army of spirits through the help of his dead father. The supernatural laborers erected temples at lightning speed, and Loro Jonggrang realized that Bandung would finish before daybreak. To stop him, Loro Jonggrang pounded on a rice block, making the cocks in the neighborhood wake up early and call the arrival of dawn. Hearing this, Bandung's army of spirits feared the daylight and rushed away from their work, leaving just a single temple unfinished. In fury, Bandung cursed Loro Jonggrang and had her body turned to stone. Through the intervention of Shiva, the petrified body became the idol that now stands in the north cella of the Siva temple at Candi Prambanan. 

In recent centuries, the fame of Loro Jonggrang spread far and wide, and the original purpose of the temple was forgotten as worshippers flocked to her small cella, leaving offerings of food, money, and gifts. Early foreigners who visited the temple often had trouble reaching the statue with all of the offerings clogging the narrow passage. Of the idol herself, the numerous hands of the worshippers had rubbed the breasts and stomach to a smooth sheen, giving the appearance of shining metal.

Right now, beside visiting the temple, enjoying the view, and feeling the true love behind the “making of this temple by Bandug bondowoso, you can also enjoying Sendratari that always performing in few special moments.

In the early 1990s the government removed the market that had sprung up near the temple and transformed the surrounding villages and rice paddies into an archaeological park. The park covers a large area, from Yogyakarta-Solo main road in the south, encompassing the whole Prambanan complex, the ruins of Lumbung and Bubrah temples, and as far as the Sewu temple compound in the north. In 1992 the Indonesian government created a State-owned Limited Liability Enterprise (PERSERO) of PT Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur, Prambanan, dan Ratu Boko. This enterprise is the authority for the park management of Borobudur Prambanan Ratu Boko and the surrounding region. Prambanan is one of the most visited tourist attraction in Indonesia.

The open-air and indoor stages on the west side of the temple right across the Opak river, were built to stage the Ramayana ballet. This traditional Javanese dance is the centuries old dance of the Javanese court, performed every full moon night in the Prambanan temple since the 1960s. Since then, Prambanan has become one of the major archaeological and cultural tourism attractions in Indonesia.

After the reconstruction of the main temples in 1990s, Prambanan once again reclaim its status as an important religious center for Hindu rituals and ceremonies in Java. The religious significance revival of Prambanan was due to Balinese and Javanese Hindu communities in Yogyakarta and Central Java that annually perform their sacred ceremonies in Prambanan, such as Galungan, Tawur Kesanga, and Nyepi.

The temple was damaged during the May 2006 Java earthquake. Early photos suggested that although the complex was structurally intact, the damage was significant. Large pieces of debris, including carvings, were scattered over the ground. The temple was closed to visitors until the damage could be fully assessed. Eventually, the head of Yogyakarta Archaeological Conservation Agency stated that it would take months to identify the precise extent of the damage. However, some weeks later in 2006 the site was re-opened for visitors. In 2008, 856,029 Indonesian visitors and 114,951 foreign visitors has visited Prambanan. In 6 January 2009 the reconstruction of Nandi temple finished. As of 2009, the interior of most of the temples remains off-limits for safety reasons.

 The prambanan temple site has been protected by Unesco as one of the world heritage that must be cared because the uniqueness. The list number is 642. So you dont have to have reason to neglect this place as one of your destination if you visit Indonesia because you will never regret, in case  you will get use to it. You can enjoy it with someone that you really love it. I suggest this place and i recommended it for you. Dont worry, everything near Prambanan is very cheap, the culinary, the hotels, the gifts and anything.

How To Get To Prambanan Temple

If you flight from abroad, just make sure you take a flight from your country to Jakarta. From jakarta there so many transportation mode you can take to reach Jogjakarta, the place of Prambanan Temple.

If you plan use Plane, is about 1 hours from Soekarno Hatta International Airport and you will arrive at Adi sucipto Airport. From airport just take taxi or busway. You will get there directly in one blink..hahaha, just kidding because it will take about 15 minutes to get there.

If you want to enjoy your traveling use train, you can buy ticket in gambir station in jakarta and choose Jogjakarta as your end destination. When you already in Yogyakarta Train Station after 9-10 hours travelling from Jakarta – Yogyakarta. You can use taxi to reach Prambanan or just cross the roads and take Busway from busway station in front of the station.

I will not recommend you to use bus. But if you still want to reach jogjakarta by bus, start your trip from Lebak Bulus Bus Station in Jakarta and it will take about 12 hours to reach Jogjakarta. Soon you arrive at Jogjakarta just take taxi to reach the Prambanan temple.

Posted in: Indonesia