Java island in Indonesia keeps many unique monuments of ancient cultures on its land. One of these treasures is the majestic Borobudur Temple of the Majapahit Kingdom. Borobudur is the largest Buddhist temple in the world. Its area is 2,500 sq. m. The Borobudur temple is located on the island of Java, 40 km from the city of Jogyakarta.
Scholars date the beginning of construction of the temple to 750 AD during the heyday of the Majapahit Kingdom during the reign of the Silendra dynasty. However, there is no mention of the reasons for the construction and who exactly was the initiator. The construction took about 75 years.
There are many legends involving the Borobudur temple to this day. Our guide will tell about them to those who go on an excursion. On our website you can choose trips for one day or two days. The flight from Bali to Java island will take just over an hour.
After the fall of the mighty kingdom in the 16th century, the eruption of Mount Merapi, and after the spread of Islam in Java, the temple was hidden under a layer of volcanic dust for many years.
After the Anglo-Dutch War, the island of Java was briefly ruled by the British administration - from 1811 to 1816. British Governor Thomas Stamford Raffles (founder of Singapore) was a curious man, fascinated by the mysterious history of the cultures of the island of Java. During a trip to Semarang in 1814, he repeatedly heard stories and legends from local residents about a huge disappeared temple hidden deep in the jungle near the city of Yogyakarta. Curious, he dispatched one of his engineers to check the information. It took two months to clear the jungle and reveal part of the amazing Buddhist monument. It took a lot of effort and time to clean up the massive structure, and only in 1885 the Borobudur temple appeared in its splendor. Sir Thomas Raffles also contributed to the discovery of the nearby Hindu shrine, Prambanan Temple, which you will also see on your Java tour.
Unfortunately, the Borobudur temple suffered somewhat from unscrupulous souvenir hunters who took the fragments out of Indonesia. Due to the fact that Borobudur was very far from the "civilized" world at that time, the temple was not given due respect and interest. There was even a proposal from the Dutch administration to dismantle the monument and place parts of it in museums around the world. Fortunately, common sense prevailed and by the end of the 19th century the complex remained intact.
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The Borobudur Temple consists of six square platforms topped with three circular platforms. The temple is decorated with 2,672 bas-relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. The highest point of the temple is the main stupa, towering 35 meters above the ground, surrounded by 72 Buddha statues sitting inside perforated stupas. The entire temple is made of dark gray andesite stone. On the island of Java, it is also called the "temple stone".
Borobudur Temple is deservedly included in the list of wonders of the world and is under the protection of UNESCO. If you have come to rest in Bali, you have a great opportunity to go for one or two days to the island of Java and see the ancient temple frozen in time. Nestled in a valley surrounded by volcanoes, it will undoubtedly amaze the imagination with its mystical atmosphere and mystery.