On the 3rd day of our Circuit in Indonesia will be a day dedicated to the famous temples of Borobudur and Prambanan very close to Yogyakarta. Here is the organization of our day of visits.
Which temple to visit BOROBUDUR or PRAMBANAN?
Very beautiful Buddhist monuments for the 1er and Hindu for the 2nd. Both are to be discovered because they are majestic, imposing and beautiful.
I had planned the whole day with our guide to be able to take the time and take advantage of all the nooks and crannies and meet great people there. And I did well because we were able to reach out to people, question them, take an interest in their culture ... Schoolchildren even came to meet us and made us participate in an investigation which ended in laughter and souvenir photos.
The atmosphere at both sites was great. These places are certainly spiritual places but also places where tourists rub shoulders with Javanese and can thus share good times with them.
How to visit the temples of BOROBUDUR and PRAMBANAN in 1 day?
If you want to visit the 2 sites (It's OK et PRAMBANAN), you can do it in a day. I advise you to take the “combined” ticket at 35 € for the 2 visits. And the most practical is to do the 1st temple in the morning and combine the other in the afternoon.
How to go from Yogyakarta to BOROBUDUR and PRAMBANAN?
I had chosen the simplest and most practical solution: a private driver!
But I was able to find out and many local agencies in Yogyakarta offer bus tours that go like this:
- Departure from Yogyakarta to the Mendut temple
- After half an hour we set off again to the temple of Borobudur
- 2 hour free time
- Then drive to the temples of Prambanan with a visit of about 1h30
- And finally back to Yogyakarta
Prices vary from 10 to 15 Euros per excursion (entrance tickets are not included).
VISIT OF THE BOROBUDUR SITE
A 42 km of Yogyakarta, it is the emblematic monument of Java. It seemed to me immense, gigantic and harmonious. It is a set of meditation, prayers, Buddhist meditation. These kinds of bells are actually stupas. In each of them is a Buddha.
Practical information: at the entrance of Borobudur, with the price of the ticket you are entitled to bottled water - remember to ask for them because it is very very hot :).
To visit this site, it is strongly recommended to take advantage of the comments of a guide for the historical narrative, the explanations concerning the architecture and for the anecdotes or other stories.
The atmosphere on site is rather noisy, agitated, lively because many tourists and school classes meet there. But the site is so big that we still manage to find a little corner without anyone to really enjoy this spiritual and grandiose place.
Plan a minimum of 1h30 for the visit.
VISIT TO THE TEMPLES OF PRAMBANAN
17 km northeast of Yogyakarta, this set of Hindu temples was built at the same time as It's OK (around the XNUMXth century). At that time the Buddhists reigned in South Java while the Hindus reigned in the North but in perfect harmony and tolerance ...
To visit this site, it is also strongly recommended to take advantage of the comments of a guide for the historical account, the explanations concerning the architecture and for the anecdotes or other stories.
I found so much pleasure and curiosity to visit PRAMBANAN which It's OK. These temples are so different and interesting that you shouldn't miss one!
Plan a minimum of 1h30 for the visit.
Read more on my DAY 4 article:
Hello,
I am also thinking of taking a private driver to visit these temples.
Is there a company you recommend or is it easy to find from hotels?
Thank you
Geoffrey
Hello Geoffrey,
For our tour, we had the pleasure of being accompanied by Muhammad Firdaus (French speaking guide) and a private driver. I recommend that you contact Muhammad as a priority: fmuhammad993@yahoo.fr
It was invaluable to us in particular for the visits and trips to JAVA (Borobudur and Prambanan temples, Bromo and Ijen volcanoes).