Prambanan

Prambanan is the largest and most magnificent Hindu temple complex in Indonesia, a UNESCO site near Yogyakarta built in the ninth century, around the same time as nearby Borobudur. Its cluster of tall, sharply pointed stone spires, dedicated to the Hindu trinity of Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma and carved with reliefs of the Ramayana epic, soars dramatically against the sky, a masterpiece of classical Javanese temple architecture.

History

The first temple was completed in the mid-9th century, probably begun by Rakai Pikatan, whose name is painted on a finial of the Shiva temple, and inaugurated by his successor Lokapala; the Shivagrha inscription of 856 describes a Shiva temple compound like this one, inaugurated on 12 November 856, and a river, identified as the Opak, being moved during the building. After about 80 years of use and expansion the temples were abandoned around the middle of the 10th century, when in the 930s Mpu Sindok moved the court to East Java, and they fell in a major earthquake in the 16th century; villagers explained the ruins with the legend of Rara Jonggrang, the princess turned to stone. The VOC employee Cornelis Antonie Lons gave the first written report in 1733, Nicolaus Engelhard had the site cleared and drawn from 1805, and the Dutch began reconstruction in 1918, with proper restoration only from 1930; the main Shiva temple was finished in 1953 and inaugurated by President Sukarno, and the 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake damaged the compound (Wikipedia, Prambanan).

What to look for

• The soaring spires - the tall, pointed towers of the main temples.
• The Shiva temple - the grandest tower and its inner shrines.
• The Ramayana reliefs - the carved panels of the Hindu epic.
• The Ramayana ballet - the evening dance performances in season.

When to go

May to September, the dry season, for the best weather; late afternoon light warms the stone, and in the dry season the famous Ramayana ballet is performed against the floodlit temples in the evening. It pairs naturally with Borobudur.

Good to know

It was badly damaged by a 2006 earthquake, and some smaller temples remain in ruins or under restoration, though the main towers are magnificent. It is hot and shadeless, so go early or late. It is easily combined with Borobudur, though seeing both in a day is a lot. The evening Ramayana ballet is a memorable add-on.

Nearby

Borobudur and the city of Yogyakarta are close.

Key facts