Indonesia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 198

To reach the palace from Prambanan,
head south about 2km before turning
left up the steep, signposted path that
leads to the complex (1hr walk). here
is also a shuttle bus linking Ratu Boko
and Prambanan (15min; Rp45,000).
Still less-visited is Candi Sojiwan , a plain,
square temple, sparingly decorated
with scenes from Buddhist folklore
and set about 2km southeast of
Prambanan village.

Mada University compound. Follow the canal path east
for 12km (1hr), and you'll eventually come out near Candi
Sari on Jl Adisucipto. Via Via (see p.195) also organizes
bike rides to Prambanan. By motorbike, the trip can easily
be combined with a ride to Kaliurang.

SURAKARTA SOLO
Sixty-five kilometres northeast of Yogya
stands quiet, leafy low-rise SURAKARTA ,
or, as it's more commonly known, SOLO .
his is the older of the two royal cities in
Central Java, and its ruling family can lay
claim to being the rightful heirs to the
Mataram dynasty.
Not long after their establishment - in
1745 and 1757 respectively - Solo's two
royal houses wisely stopped fighting and
instead threw their energies into the arts,
developing a highly sophisticated and
graceful court culture. he gamelan
pavilions became the new theatres of war,
with each city competing to produce the
more refined court culture - a situation
that continues to this day.

West of Prambanan
A short hop to the west of Prambanan are
several more worthwhile temples (daily
6am-6pm; entrance Rp2,000 for each)
near the village of Kalasan, reached by a
short angkot ride or a half-hour walk.
he first one you'll reach heading west is
the eighth-century Candi Sari (3km), just
north of the main road. With an unusual,
house-like design capped with stupas
resembling those of Borobudur, the
temple features elaborate carvings of
various goddesses and bodhisattvas.
About 150m southwest amid rice fields
just across the main road is the artfully
crumbling spire of Candi Kalasan . An
inscription here bears the date of 778 CE,
and both of these Buddhist temples are
believed to be among the very oldest of
the entire Prambanan plain. Just over
2km north of the main road is the
ninth-century Candi Sambisari , a small
Shiva temple complex adorned with
statues of Hindu gods. Buried in 5m of
soil and volcanic ash until its excavation
in the 1980s, it has sparked curiosity over
how much yet remains undiscovered in
the Prambanan plain.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
The Prambanan temple complex is easily visited on a day-
trip from Yogya. Many tour companies offer package trips
including transport and guide for around Rp90,000.
By bus Prambanan is linked to Malioboro in Yogya by
Trans Yogya bus #1A (Rp3,000; 40min). Buses also link
Solo's Tirtonadi terminal (Rp15,000; 1hr 30min).
By bike Some visitors cycle here from Yogya in order to
then easily visit more of the plain's far-flung ruins. Fume-
choked Jl Adisucipto is the most straightforward route,
but there's a quieter alternative that begins by heading
north along Yogya's Jl Simanjutak and Jl Kaliurang until
you reach the Mataram Canal, just past the main Gajah

4

WHAT TO SEE AND DO
Like Yogya, Solo has two royal palaces
and a number of museums, yet its tourist
industry is nowhere near as developed.
he city's main source of income is from
textiles, and Solo has the biggest batik
market on Java. Solo also makes an ideal
base from which to visit the home of Java
Man at Sangiran, as well as the intriguing
temples Candi Ceto and Candi Sukuh,
each about 35km to the northeast.

Kasunanan Palace
Brought from Kartasura by Pakubuwono
II in one huge day-long procession in
1745, the Kasunanan Palace (Mon-hurs
& Sat 8.30am-2pm, Sun 9am-1pm;
Rp15,000; T 0271 644 4946) is Solo's
largest and most important royal house.
It stands within the kraton, just south of
the alun-alun ; guides are available free of
charge and are definitely worth using.
Non-royals must enter the main body of
the palace by the eastern entrance. his
opens out into a large courtyard whose
surrounding buildings house the palace's
kris (dagger) collection, as well as a
number of chariots, silver ornaments and