Indonesia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 197

he Shiva Temple is decorated with
exceptional carvings, including a series
along the inner wall of the first terrace
walkway that recounts the first half of the
Ramayana epic. At the top of the steps is
the temple's inner sanctuary, whose
eastern chamber contains a statue of
Shiva, while in the west chamber is
Shiva's elephant-headed son, Ganesh.
A beautiful sculpture of Nandi the Bull
stands inside the temple of Shiva's
chariot. Just as painstakingly decorated,
the first terrace of the Brahma Temple
takes up the Ramayana epic where the
Shiva Temple left off, while the carvings
on the terrace of Vishnu's temple recount
stories of Krishna , the eighth of Vishnu's
nine earthly incarnations.

RAMAYANA BALLET
PERFORMANCES
The highlights of the dancing year in
Central Java are the phenomenal Ramayana
ballets held each summer at Prambanan's
Open-Air Theatre , to the west of the
complex (see below). From May to October,
the timeless Hindu epic is performed in its
entirety with the magnificent Shiva, Vishnu
and Brahma temples serving as a backdrop.
Individual episodes are performed
sporadically outside this time.

Prambanan Plain lies 18km east of Yogya,
a patchwork blanket of sun-spangled
paddy fields and vast plantations sweeping
down from the southern slopes of the
volcano. As well as being one of the most
fertile regions in Java, the plain is home to
the largest concentration of ancient ruins
on the island. Over thirty temples and
palaces lie scattered over a thirty-square-
kilometre area, most built during the
eighth and ninth centuries by two rival
kingdoms, the Buddhist Saliendra and the
Hindu Sanjaya dynasties.

North of Prambanan
Just north through the trees from the
Prambanan Temple are three ancient
Buddhist temples (daily 6am-6pm;
entrance included in Prambanan ticket),
built in the late eighth century and
therefore predating Borobudur. hough
not as grand as the Shiva Temple, visitors
will share these sites with much thinner
crowds - sometimes only the sheep that
graze in the ruins' shade. After passing
the crumbling ruins of Candi Lumbung
and Candi Bubrah , the last temple you'll
reach is Candi Sewu (1km north of Shiva
Temple), the most intact and impressive
of Prambanan's Buddhist temples. Laid
out in a mandala pattern and guarded at
each entrance by a pair of burly
dwarapala statues, the complex includes
more than 240 structures, many adorned
with beautifully carved bodhisattvas.

4

Prambanan
Heading east from Yogya along Jalan
Adisucipto, you'll catch sight of three
giant, rocket-shaped temples looming up
by the side of the highway, each of them
smothered in intricate narrative carvings.
his is the Prambanan Archeological Park
(daily 6am-6pm; Rp125,000; package
ticket including Ratu Boko Rp260,000;
package ticket including Borobudur
Rp320,000; guided tour Rp75,000),
the largest Hindu temple compound in
all of Indonesia and a worthy rival to
Borobudur. he complex consists of six
temples in a raised inner courtyard ,
surrounded by 224 minor temples which
now lie in ruins. he three largest temples
are dedicated to the Hindu triad: Shiva,
whose 47m temple is the tallest of the
three, Brahma (to the south of the Shiva
temple) and Vishnu (north). Facing these
are three smaller temples housing the
animal statues - or “chariots” - that
would accompany the gods: Hamsa the
swan, Nandi the bull and Garuda the
sunbird respectively.

South of Prambanan
More worthwhile ruins lie to the south
of Prambanan. About 2.5km south of
Prambanan and perched on a hill rising
200m over the Prambanan Plain is the
ninth century Kraton Ratu Boko (daily
6am-6pm; entrance Rp125,000). he
ruins are in two parts: the ceremonial
gate that adorns most advertising posters,
and, 400m to the east, a series of bathing
pools. he views from the kraton are
wonderful, and on a clear day the
restaurant has wonderful vistas of Merapi.