Chicken Church
A concrete prayer house on a Magelang hill built in the shape of a dove but universally taken for a chicken.
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Gereja Ayam, the chicken church, is a large concrete structure on Rhema hill near Borobudur built from 1992 by Daniel Alamsjah, who by his account received a vision instructing him to build a prayer house on the site; he designed it as a dove, and it was never a church - the intention was a place of prayer open to people of any religion, with rooms for different faiths - but the crested head and beak read to everyone as a chicken, and that is the name it has. Money ran out in 2000 and it stood abandoned and decaying, which is how photographers found it. Since the mid-2010s it has been repaired and opened as an attraction with a viewing platform in the head looking over the Kedu plain towards Borobudur and the volcanoes.
What you actually see
- A dove taken for a chicken - the intended bird and the name everyone uses.
- A prayer house, not a church - built for several faiths, never a congregation's building.
- A viewing platform in the head - the outlook over the Kedu plain and the volcanoes.
- A rescued ruin - abandoned in 2000, repaired and reopened in the 2010s.
When to go
May to September; sunrise is the popular slot. Half a day.
Honest expectations
Sunrise brings crowds and a queue for the head platform. The walk up is steep or costs a shuttle fare. It is a curiosity rather than a substantial site.
Nearby
Borobudur is four kilometres away; Punthuk Setumbu is on the same ridge.
What to pack for Chicken Church
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.
