Hotelupwell.com – The name Borobudur Temple is certainly familiar to you, right? Located in Magelang Regency, Central Java, this very majestic and beautiful temple is known by local and foreign tourists as the largest Buddhist temple in the world. This is natural, because Borobudur Temple has an area of around 2500 square meters, with a length of 121.66 meters, a width of 121.38 meters and a height of 35.40 meters.
Apart from its large scale, this legendary temple also contains a variety of unique facts, as well as various interesting things that you can find when visiting here. Before you go to Borobudur Temple, let’s take a look at the full review below!
History
This legendary temple is thought to have been built in the 8th century, to be precise around 750 AD during the reign of the Syailendra dynasty. Its construction is estimated to have lasted around 75 years until it was finally completed during the reign of King Samaratungga. Borobudur Temple is located on a beautiful green hill where you can see other green hills around it. The building itself consists of millions of stone blocks made into three structures that depict the levels of the universe according to Buddhist philosophy. This colossal building is also decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues.
The powerful eruption of Mount Merapi around 1006 caused Borobudur Temple to be buried by volcanic ash for hundreds of years. Several centuries later, Borobudur Temple was finally rediscovered in 1814 by a Dutch engineer named Hermanus Christiaan Cornelius, when the British empire, represented by Thomas Stamford Raffles, occupied several parts of the island of Java, including Central Java. After Indonesia became independent, in the late 60s the government collaborated with UNESCO to renovate Borobudur Temple for years, until UNESCO finally designated this majestic masterpiece as a World Heritage Site in 1991.
Destination
Not only does it offer world wonders, here you can also find a variety of other tourist attractions that are no less interesting. Around the temple, there are three museums that you can visit to broaden your knowledge, namely the Borobudur Museum, the Samudraraksa Ship Museum, and the MURI Museum. If any of you want to see the extraordinary view of Borobudur Temple from a distance, then you must visit Punthuk Setumbu which is located to the west of Borobudur Temple. Here, you can also watch the beautiful sunrise or sunset on each horizon.
Not far from Punthuk Setumbu, you can also find a building that has a unique shape if you walk north. This building shaped like a chicken is a church that was built in the 90s and is known as the Chicken Church by local residents. If you are still not satisfied, in the eastern part of Borobudur Temple there are three small temples which are no less beautiful, namely Pawon Temple, Ngawen Temple and Mendut Temple. Want to spend more time around Borobudur Temple? Try staying in the tourist village around Borobudur Temple! These include Wanurejo Village, Karangrejo Village, Tanjungsari Village, Giritengah Village, Majaksingi Village, and Candirejo Village.
Culinary
If you feel hungry after visiting these cool places, there’s no harm in trying the delicious Magelang culinary specialties around Borobudur Temple. One of the most famous foods in this area is processed fish called mangut beong or ndas beong. Also try the delicious sego godog and kupat tofu which can pamper your taste buds. Still hungry too? Taste the delicious senerek soup and lesah rice! The delicious taste of these two dishes will make you eat again and again until you are satisfied.
Still want to taste the delicious culinary delights of Magelang? The bacem tofu and mendoan tempeh which are often sold around here are very suitable as supplies for your journey home.
How to Get to Magelang
There are two ways you can reach Magelang, namely by air and land. The air route can be reached using an airplane, while the land route can be reached using car or train transportation.
Air route: You can explore Magelang by air which lands at Adisutjipto International Airport in Yogyakarta City. After that, you can continue your journey to Magelang City using public transportation or renting a vehicle for a 1 hour journey.
Land route: You can take the Trans Java Toll Road from Jakarta with a travel time of approximately 8 hours using a private car. Or, you can also take an inter-city bus which stops at Tidar Terminal or also known as Soekarno-Hatta Terminal.
Another alternative is to use the train from major city stations in Java to Yogyakarta Station, either at Tugu or Lempuyangan Station. Then, continue by public transportation or rent a vehicle to Magelang City, approximately 1 hour’s journey.
