Temples in Yogyakarta

The Borobudur Temple complex is the largest Buddhist temple in the world and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One of the most visited temples in Yogyakarta and in Indonesia, it was built in the 8th-Century. A marvel of Buddhist architecture, with multiple platforms stacked on each other, the temple is capped off with a dome peering down on top of them.

Best Time: May - September

A temple of the 10th century, the Prambanan Temple is the largest temple devoted to Lord Shiva in Indonesia. The temple houses numerous portrayals of the Ramayana with references to Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma, the three great Hindu deities, along with three temples devoted to the animals that were believed to serve them.

Candi Ijo, or the Ijo Temple, occupies a spot roughly at a distance of four kilometres from Ratu Boko. Established during the 10th and 11th centuries, the Candi Ijo is close to Yogyakarta in Indonesia. The compound of the temple adorns the serene hamlet of Groyokan, in the Sambirejo Village.

The second-largest temple complex in Indonesia after the Borobudur Temple Complex, The Sewu Temple Complex is built upon Buddhist principles and sensibilities. It is located about 17km away from the main city of Yogyakarta and is among its foremost structures alongwith the Prambanan and Borobudur temples.

Dating back from the 8th century, Candi Gebang is a Hindu temple built during the Medang kingdom’s reign. Situated just outside the Wedomartani village, Candi Gebang has displays that depict Ganesha and other Hindu depictions. The 7.5-metre high temple was discovered in 1936 and rebuilt in 1938 after it was covered in ash after Mount Merapi erupted.

Situated a short jaunt away from Borobudur, the Mendut temple is another 9th-century Buddhist temple. Along with Borobudur and the Pawon temples, the Mendut temples are all laid out in a straight line. It was designated as a World Heritage Site in 1991, the Mendut temple comes alive especially during the time of the annual procession.

Sambisari is a 9th-century Shiva temple in the Sleman regency, found in 1966 when a farmer's plough struck carved stone in a paddy field. Ash from Mount Merapi had buried it, and the excavation cleared the ground around the temple rather than lifting it out. It now sits about six metres below the level of the surrounding fields, so you walk down into a sunken courtyard to reach it, which is true of nothing else on this list.

Plaosan Temple or Plaosan Complex is situated less than a kilometre away from the sprawling Hindu temple complex of Prambanan. Like most other temples in the area, Plaosan temple was also constructed during the 9th-century. The Plaosan complex comprises of two Buddhist temples but is not related to the Hindu temple complex.

Candi Lumbung stands inside the Prambanan park between Prambanan and Sewu, and is Buddhist where Prambanan is Hindu, built a little earlier. One main temple sits at the centre with sixteen smaller shrines ringed around it. The name means rice barn, after the shape of the central building. It is smaller and far quieter than Sewu a short walk away, and takes ten minutes.

Candi Kedulan is located within close proximity of Sambisari Temple and is also situated in the Sleman regency of Yogyakarta. As a result of the Merapi eruptions, significant portions of the temple was buried under the rubble that the still-active volcano threw into the air.

Cutting a memorably distinctive silhouette against the landscape that is populated mostly by 8th and 9th century Hindu and Buddhist temples, the Vihara Buddha Prabha temple's bright red and golden decor is a welcome departure from the grey of the other ancient temples.

The Barong Temple is a 9th-century Hindu temple in Sambirejo, in the Sleman regency. Unlike the temples spread across the flat Prambanan plain, it is built as three rising terraces up a hillside, with the two main shrines at the top reached by climbing. Those shrines are dedicated to Vishnu and his consort Sri, the goddess linked with rice and prosperity, rather than to Shiva.