On a tourist visit to Yogyakarta, apart from visiting Timang Beach, you may be interested in visiting Borobudur temple as part of your itinerary.
Borobudur Temple is located in Magelang, Central Java. Borobudur Temple is the largest Buddhist temple in the world. This temple was built in the 8th century AD by the Syailendra dynasty. Borobudur Temple consists of three parts, namely Karmadhatu (the foot of the temple), Rupadhatu (the body of the temple), and Arupadhatu (the head of the temple). It also has 5 relief sections, namely the Karmawibangga relief, Jataka, Avadana, Lalitavistara, and the Gandawyuha relief.
In the Karmadhatu section, there are Karmawibangga reliefs. Currently, the Karmawibangga reliefs have been covered with rocks during the temple restoration in 1975 to strengthen the temple structure. Only a small section in the southeast corner is open for educational purposes.
In the Rupadatu section, there are Jataka, Avadana, Lalitavistara, and Gandavyuha reliefs. The Jataka relief explains the life of Prince Sidharta before he was born when he was still a Bodhisattva. The Lalitavistara relief explains the life of the Buddha from the time he descended from Tushita heaven. Meanwhile, the Gandavyuha Relief explains Prince Sudhana’s adventures in seeking the highest knowledge of true truth.
Usually, foreign tourists choose to visit Borobudur temple in the morning after completing their visit from Punthuk Setumbu sunrise. Namely in the first session of temple tickets at 07.30.
From the center of Jogja, Borobudur Temple can be reached in approximately one hour’s journey. To visit Borobudur temple, public transportation is available via the Damri bus. You can take it from several points in the city center to Borobudur bus station with a ticket price of IDR 30,000. From Borobudur bus station, Borobudur temple is still 1.5 km away. The journey continues on foot or by online taxi for around IDR 10-20 thousand.
This mode of public transportation is not flexible in terms of time, there are only a few trips per day and departure places are limited. There is no problem using this mode of transportation if you visit Borobudur with a Temple Ground ticket. Because Temple Ground tickets can enter the temple area at any time, it is different from Temple Structure tickets which have a predetermined time.
To visit Borobudur temple at a more flexible time, you can use our services by visiting the Transportation page for more detailed information.
Borobudur Tickets
Borobudur Temple has two types of tickets, namely Temple Ground and Temple Structure. For foreign tourists, the Temple Ground ticket price is IDR 375,000 while the Temple Structure ticket is IDR 455,000.
The Temple Ground ticket is an entry ticket from the Borobudur Temple area to the temple grounds. With this ticket, visitors are not allowed to climb to the top of the temple to see the reliefs. This ticket is free to visit the temple from 06.30 to 16.30
The temple structure ticket is a ticket to go up to the temple to see the reliefs. With this ticket, visitors will be guided by a tour guide to explain the existing reliefs. This ticket is sold on a limited basis which is divided into several sessions with a certain quota each day. Each visit session has a predetermined time.
Temple Structure tickets are divided into Kalyamitra tickets and Dharma tickets. These two tickets are the same, explaining the Gandavyuha reliefs.
The difference is that Kalyamitra focuses on the Kalyamitra relief, namely Prince Sudhana’s meeting with teachers (Kalyamitra) to achieve truth and wisdom. Meanwhile, the Dharma ticket focuses on Prince Sudhana’s journey to meet Kalyamitra (carrying out dharma).
Simply, if all the Gandavyuha reliefs contain reliefs 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8… So the Kalyamitra ticket explains the relief of 1,3,5-7,8… Meanwhile, the Dharma ticket will explain relief numbers 2,4,6-7,8,….