Trowulan

Trowulan is where the Majapahit capital stood, and what remains is not one ruin but red brick surfacing across several square kilometres of villages, sugar cane and rice. Bajang Ratu is a tall, narrow gateway with a stepped roof, still close to complete. Wringin Lawang is a split gate, two brick halves facing each other across a gap, the form that survives today in Balinese temple entrances. Candi Tikus is a sunken bathing structure with terraces and water spouts, dug out of a mound in the twentieth century. Segaran is a huge rectangular brick-walled pool, now fished by locals. A museum near the centre gathers terracotta heads, water jars and architectural fragments turned up in the fields.

What you actually see

• Bajang Ratu - the tall brick gateway with a stepped roof, the most complete structure here.
• Wringin Lawang - the split gate whose form still frames temple entrances in Bali.
• Candi Tikus - the sunken bathing complex with its terraces and water spouts.
• Segaran pool - the large brick-walled reservoir, still holding water.

When to go

Dry season, and morning. The sites are open, shadeless and hot after ten, and the brick throws heat back at you. Roads through the villages are narrow but easy, and a driver who already knows the sites saves a lot of circling. Allow half a day to link four or five of them plus the museum.

Honest expectations

There is no single grand monument here, and anyone expecting a Javanese Angkor will leave disappointed. The remains are modest, widely separated and sit among houses and fields, with interpretation limited and mostly in Indonesian. Restoration has replaced a good deal of the brickwork. It rewards curiosity about Majapahit more than casual sightseeing.

Nearby

Mojokerto is a short drive away; Surabaya and the crossing to Madura are about an hour northeast.