Indonesia’s Borobudur: World’s largest Buddhist temple and a work of marvel

It ranks with Burma’s Bagan and Cambodia’s Angkor Wat as one of the greatest archaeological sites of South East Asia. It is Indonesia’s most visited tourist attraction. It is a UNESCO world heritage site. It is influenced by Mahayana Buddhism, indigenous Indonesia ancestor worship and Hinduism. It is the world’s largest Buddhist temple and a true work of marvel. I am talking about Indonesia’s famous Borobudur temple that is home to one of the largest and most complete ensembles of Buddhist reliefs in the world.



Built in the 9th century under the reign of the Sailendra dynasty, Borobudur is a giant of a temple. It consists of nine stacked platforms, six square and three circular, topped a central dome. It is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. Built using Javanese Buddhist temple architecture, this place for Buddhist pilgrimage is a treat to the eye and tells many stories.



The journey starts at the bottom of the massive temple and goes all the way to the top through stairways and corridors, each decorated with beautiful relief panels on its walls and balustrades. Out of the 9 floors, the bottom three represent desires, the middle three represent forms and the top three represent formlessness. And beyond these nine floors are the volcanoes of Merbabu and Merapi and the lush green cover in between. All making for a fantastic climb to the top of Borobudur.



This journey through the city of Buddhas tells you many stories – Buddha’s past lives, Buddha’s path to enlightenment, the birth of Buddha, the jatakas and avadanas, the law of Karma, the three realms of Buddhist cosmology, the 6 different postures of Buddha and more. These stories can be seen through the wall reliefs that adorn this nine floored temple. It is best to go in the company of a knowledgeable guide in case you wish to understand the wall reliefs completely.



Everything about Borobudur’s epic proportions scream awesomeness. It is built as a single large stupa, but when looked from the top, it looks like a giant tantric Buddhist mandala. The bell shaped stupas that adorn this monument at each of its floors are designed using ancient megalithic traditions incorporated with Mahayana Buddhist ideas and symbolism.



The entire monument was laid without mortar and it stands tall today due to its knobs, indentations and dovetail joints. It enjoys excellent drainage through its beautifully designed channels and gargoyle spouts. And it has been designed with precise mathematical calculations.



And then there are the bas reliefs that were carved onto the temple once the entire structure was ready. Everything about it – its design, its size, its location, its ideals and philosophy and its stories make it a dream for anyone who loves civilizations, history, art, design and architecture.



Borobudur is a marvel that has to be feasted with ones own eyes. Photographs and videos hardly do any justice to its grandeur. One has to climb its steep flight of stairs, admire the bas reliefs while catching their breath, soak in the views in the yonder and keep repeating the process till they are one with the temple, the sky and the surrounding landscape.



Borobudur is a place that one has to see in their lifetime and a must visit if you are planning a holiday to Indonesia. It is a beautiful mix of spirituality, architecture, nature, history and the rich principles of Buddhism. I love this temple wonder and would return to it in a heart beat.



Best season to visit:

Borobudur is accessible all year round. Days can get warm, but nothing worth worrying about.

Rains can add a new dimension to the overall temple experience and they also bring with them vibrant sunrises and sunsets.

Do watch out for any eruption from Gunung Merapi as that can disturb the environment in and around Borobudur temple.



How to reach there:

The nearest airport  and railway station would be Yogyakarta. Yogyakarta has daily flights from South East Asia, Jakarta and Bali. And it is well connected by the trains that ply the island of Java. Basically lots of options to reach here from Jakarta, Bali, Kuala Lumpur or Singapore.

From Yogyakarta, Borobudur temple is about 40 kms or 75 minutes away. You can either rent a motorcycle or car, hire a taxi or take the public bus from Yogyakarta to Borobudur.



Timings and entry formalities:

Borobudur is open from 6 AM through 5 PM. The tickets can be purchased at the counter either at Borobudur or Prambanan. If you only want ticket to Borobudur temple, it costs USD 22 per foreign national. If you are planning to visit both Prambanan temple and Borobudur temple, it is best to opt for the joint ticket that costs USD 40 per foreign national and that is valid for two days.

One is required to wear a sarong over their clothes. Such sarongs are given free of cost along with the purchase of a entrance ticket and needs to be returned while exiting.



Where to stay:

The best option with the widest range of accommodation would be Yogyakarta city, about 75 minutes away. Hotels, hostels, homestays and more can be found here thus catering to travelers with all kinds of budget.

If you wish to catch sunrise at Borobudur or if you wish to reach early to avoid the crowds, then may be, you can stay at the homestays and hotels located near Borobudur campus.



Where to eat:

There are food stalls just outside Borobudur campus for a quick bite. The nearest restaurants would be near the bus station and the best choice of restaurants would be in Yogyakarta city. It would be best to carry a snack and some water with you when you visit Borobudur.



Other nearby tourist attractions:

1) Prambanan: The capital of Hinduism in Indonesia

2) Gunung Merapi: One of the deadliest volcanoes in the world



3) The cultural city of Yogyakarta

4) The black sandy beaches of Parangtritis

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Largest Cluster of Temples that I have seen

Temple clusters are quite a stunning sight. One can simply marvel at the architecture of the bygone era. Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, Indonesia’s Borobudur and Prambanan, India’s Great Living Chola Temples, Myanmar’s Bagan and many more are some of the famous ones in Asia. But, the surprise is that the largest temple cluster that I have seen is one of the less known ones. It is called the Shwe Inn Dein Pagoda complex and it is located in the Inle Lake of the Shan state of Burma.


It takes a trek or a boat ride to reach this temple complex. The beauty of this place is that it has more than 400 temples in a super small area. While I was at ground level, I continuously kept getting lost both in my path as well as in my head as the beauty was un-paralleled. It was only when I climbed a nearby hill that I actually could make sense of its sheer numbers. Have you seen such a large temple cluster before?

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Kyichu Lakhang: The Delightful Blue Temple of Bhutan

This temple built in the 7th century is one of the oldest temples in Bhutan. And it holds a lot of spiritual importance for the people of Bhutan as they believe that Guru Rinpoche (the founder of Tantric Buddhism) visited this temple and meditated here for a long while.


But, that is not the thing that appealed to me the most. The fact that the insides of the temple are completely decked in blue blew my mind away as I had never seen such bright colours in a Buddhist temple and the murals inside the temple just accentuated the blues so very well.


This temple is located just outside Paro at about a 15 minute drive away. It can either be visited alone from Paro or can be coupled with a visit to the Taktsang monastery as both these attractions happen to be in the same direction.


As with most of the Buddhist temples in Bhutan, one cannot take photographs inside the Kyichu Lakhang. In fact, you won’t feel like doing anything but sitting inside and staring at the statues, the murals and the paintings. The rich colours and gold completely overpowers you.


Just as soon as you enter the temple compound, you will see two orange trees with big orange fruits on them. It is believed that these orange trees bear fruit all year around. This is one of those temples you should not miss while visiting the Paro area of Bhutan.

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Spiritual Sound from a Wat in Chiang Mai, Thailand

There is always some spiritual connection made when you visit a Buddhist monastery and it was no different when we visited one of the many Wats in the city of Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand. And this spiritual connection was made even when we were just visiting as tourists.



It was just a small Wat when compared to the other more elaborate, intricately carved and larger wats, but it was here that we got a chance to strike the large gong in front of the monastery. The sound that emanated from it was truly magnificent. It had such a soothing effect that we kept hitting it for close to five minutes. May be, this sound made an inner connection or may be it just sent the right vibrations. Whatever it was, it sure was a spiritual sound for me. I hope you can listen to it in the video and make the same connection as I did while listening to it in person.

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Losar Festival at Ladakh

Historically, the Buddhist festival of Losar is celebrated around the time of the winter solstice, but Ladakh follows a different set of rules when it comes to them celebrating their Losar festival. There is an interesting story that is at the root of the Losar celebrations in Ladakh. King Jamyang Namgyal, on the eve of setting out on an expedition against the Balistan forces in winter was advised not to lead an expedition before the new year. To solve the problem, keeping the regard of the advice, he pre-poned the New Year celebrations in Ladakh by two months. This became established as a tradition and since then Losar is celebrated on the 1st day of the eleventh month every year (as per the Lunar calendar).


During this day, the entire Ladakh rejoices in festive colors. Dances are performed at Buddhist monasteries and people go in large numbers to these monasteries to offer their prayers. All the shops are shut and the people take to the streets decked with colorful prayer flags. The locals celebrate the day with special meat and the local beer Chang flows freely.


I was in Leh when the 2011 Ladakh celebrations were held at Leh. The previous day the entire Leh market was decorated with banners and prayer flags. On the day of Losar, all the locals turned up in their traditional clothing and boy did they turn in huge numbers. If I remember right, the entire Leh market road was filled with people. There was a stage in the middle of the market, where popular Bollywood and Ladakhi songs were played by a group of artists. It is certainly a lot of fun to be in Leh during a Losar festival.

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