BOROBUDUR TEMPLE - YOGYAKARTA

Built over a period of some 75 years in the 8th and 9th centuries by the kingdom of Sailendra, constructed out of an estimated 1,600,000 blocks of volcanic stone, dredged from the river and assembled solely by human labor, the nine-terraced temple is a representation of the transition towards nirvana and is famed for its 1,500 intricately carved reliefs, covering a total length of five kilometers end-to-end. The volcanic Mount Merapi, one of the most active volcanoes on Java, can be seen steaming on the horizon directly north of the site.

The first archaeological study of the site was initiated in 1814 by Sir Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore. First restored in 1907, the monument suffered from neglect and war and was once more in effect rebuilt in the 1970s under the guidance of UNESCO, who designated Borobudur as a World Heritage Site. The massive restoration process involved the removal and refurbishing of over one million blocks, rebuilding the foundation and adding drainage systems.

HOW TO REACH BOROBUDUR TEMPLE

1. By plane

The nearest larger airports are inYogyakarta and Solo. Both are well connected and it's possible, if a bit rushed, to visit Borobudur on a day trip from Bali.

2. By public transport

Usage of public transport from Yogyakarta or Semarang is usually discouraged by the more cautious guide books and other authorities due to the increase in pickpockets and others on the usually crowded buses. Muntilan is the nearest town on the Yogyakarta to Semarang road. If you are not easily harassed by such issues, it is well worth the experience.

3. By car

Yogyakarta is about 40 minutes south of Borobudur by car. Most of the route is on a well-maintained (for Indonesia) four-lane (in many places) highway and there are frequent bus services (see above). Taxi from Yogyakartato Borobudur costs 175 000 IDR (around 20 US $) as on October 2008. Public bus ("indian style") from Giwangan bus terminal of Yogyakarta to Borobudur bus station now (Nov, 2008) is 20 000 IDR (~1.30h) for one way (plus 2 500 IDR for city bus #4 from Jl.Malioboro to Giwangan terminal). So, price in travel agencies around every tourist places of Jogya, for, still, 50-60K IDR for minibus travel door-to-door is very reasonable now.From Jombor bus station is 10,000 IDR

WHAT TO SEE AT BOROBUDUR TEMPLE

ntry into the Borobudur site costs US$11 - Rp93,000 (US$7 student, or Rp9,000 if you are Indonesian) and the site is open to the public from 6 AM to 5 PM. However, the Manohara Hotel runs a daily Borobudur Sunrise Tour for an additional US$10 (115 000 IDR) per person, which gets you a flashlight and a lift up to the temple gate at 4:30 AM, in time to see the sunrise and explore for an hour and a half before the hordes arrive, and is well worth the money. Hiring a guide who can explain the reliefs well costs Rp 50,000. You should ask for a guide in the evening before going to tour in the morning.

Borobudur consists of a single stupendously large structure, which can be divided into layers as follows:

• The platform at the base of the structure, which was clearly added on later and hides some reliefs, is of uncertain provenance and function. The main theories are that the platform was added to censor reliefs depicting earthly desires or — rather more likely — to buttress the subsiding structure and prevent it from collapsing. A section of the platform has been excavated at the southeast corner, showcasing some of the hidden reliefs underneath.

• The bulk of the structure consists of four square terraces connected by steep staircases. Each terrace has reliefs in two layers on both sides, recounting the story of the Buddha's past lives and his enlightenment. The "correct" way to view the reliefs is to start from the east gate (the main entrance) and circulate clockwise.

• After the square terraces the structure suddenly opens up to reveal the final four circular terraces. Comparatively plain and unadorned, there are no more reliefs here, just several hundred domes housing half-hidden Buddha statues (many headless, some lost entirely).

• The peak of the structure is a central stupa. The two chambers inside the stupa are empty, and it is unclear whether they were empty from the beginning as a representation of nirvana, or whether they originally contained now lost statues.

• You can discover 6 different postures of buddha's statue for bottom level to the top. They are "contact with earth", "giving and helping", "mediatation", "no fear", "teach and learn", "turn of wills".

A few sights of interest are located outside the main temple itself.

• The rather lacklustre museum, a few hundred meters to the north of the temple, does a haphazard job of presenting the restoration process. Perhaps the most interesting bits are the exhibition of the Karmawiharga reliefs, with explanatory comments, and the photo gallery of old 19th-century shots of the complex before it was restored.

• Candi Mendut, 3 km from Borobudur (along the road to Yogyakarta). A comparatively small temple that may have acted as a waypoint on the road to Borobudur. Now notable primarily as the start of the Waisak procession

Source: www.wikitravel.org