Borobudur, Java

A must see cultural attraction.  On our quest to seek out UNESCO heritage sites all over the planet, this one was on the bucket list for a while.  This summer we were fortunate to be able to visit Indonesia and make a trip to Borobudur.

Designed and commissioned by a Raja Shailendra that lived in the 9th century this Buddhist style temple is the largest in the world.  It is made of volcanic rock found in the area with multiple active ones still bubbling in the vicinity.  The Indonesian archipelago happens to be on the Pacific ring of fire which is a sensitive part of the earth's crust resulting in eruptions and tectonic activity from Indonesia to Japan to Hawaii to Alaska and going south to the islands of New Zealand.

Borobudur roughly translates to the 'Great Buddha' by some accounts and is referred to as 'Candi (pronounced Chandi for temple) Borobudur'.

We had to fly (1 hour flight) from Bali to Jogjakarta (which is a kingdom) on the island of Java, and then take a couple hour taxi ride (roads in the surrounding village are narrow) from the hotel to the temple grounds.  It is best seen early in the morning given that it gets hot and humid as the day wears on.  While we did not do something dramatic like be on site for a sunrise, getting there by 8 am was prudent enough.

Here are some glimpses of the temple itself.

Entrance

UNESCO plaque at entrance celebrating 25 years of recording as a Heritage Site

 It is a massive stupa when viewed from the air but made of nine levels in total from the ground up.  While the first six are square the last three are circular and represent the stages of life through which one must travel to finally attain 'moksha' or the elusive 'enlightenment'.

The main attractions are the stupa (72 similarly shaped domes along the circumference with 1 grand one at the top).

Climb begins

Stage 2 - seven more to go - you have to move clockwise in keeping with custom after starting from the East

The original design incorporated Buddha statues of varying design in prayer inside each of the bell shaped monuments.  But vandalism has taken a toll over the years along with devastation from earthquakes that still occur here.

Intricate panels on each level tell the many stories of the Buddha - about temptation and ways to rise above

Mt Merapi or fire mountain is an active volcano about 9,600 ft elevation to the east of Borobudur

If possible one must make it a point to check this place out before local government enforces stricter limits and rules for tourist entry like other sites in the world have, e.g. the Inca temple of Macchu Pichu in Peru that we visited a year ago.

Ceremonial stupas add drama to the site

While I am not sure if I am enlightened any more than when I started the hike (it took a couple hours to wander the complex all the way up and back down) I do know that you can lose some serious mass (partly by sweating) that clears up the mental and physical cobwebs for the day that lies ahead.

Many of the statues are now headless