Location
Borobudur Temple
Borobudur, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is a world-renowned Buddhist temple, built in the 9th century during the reign of Syailendra dynasty. Borobudur is the world’s largest Buddhist temple and is comparable in importance and magnificence to the temples of Angkor in Cambodia and Machu Picchu in Peru, it’s one of the world’s great treasures. . It is the kind of place that stays with you long after you return home.
The Borobudur is sitting on a hill, surrounded by volcanoes and lush, green fields., The vast structure was buried under a blanket of jungle and volcanic ash before it was unearthed by then British Raja of Indonesia, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, in the early 19th century.
It was built in three tiers: a pyramidal base with five concentric square terraces, the trunk of a cone with three circular platforms and, at the top, a monumental stupa. The walls and balustrades are decorated with 2,672 fine relief panels and 504 Buddha statues, covering a total surface area of 2,500 m2. The highest point is 35 m from the ground. Around the circular platforms are 72 openwork stupas, each containing a statue of the Buddha.
Prambanan Temple
Prambanan is the largest 9th-century Hindu temple compound located in Yogyakarta and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was built in the 9th century for Trimurti as an expression that God is the Creator (Brahma), Preserver (Vishnu) and also the Destroyer (Shiva). It towers at 47 m high with a wide compound surrounding it inclusive with many temples arranged all around.
In the Prambanan Temple compounds, there are 3 Trimurti temples – Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma, 3 Vahana temples – Nandi, Garuda and Hamsa, 2 Apit temples , 4 Kelir temples, 4 Patol Temples and 224 Pervara temples. There are also many reliefs on the walls of these temple that depicts many ancient stories.
The temple is also known for the Rara Jonggrang legend, where it is said that Prince Bandung Bondowoso fell in love with Princess Rara Jonggrang, daughter of King Boko. The princess rejected his marriage proposal because he had killed her father but after his insistence, gave him an impossible condition – to build thousands of temples in one night. With the help of supernatural beings, the prince managed to build 999 temples but the princess fearing his success, had the village maids to began pounding rice and set a fire in the East to fake the sunrise thus cheating the spiritual helpers to leave. The prince was furious about the trick and cursed Rara Jonggrang into a stone which she became the last and most beautiful of the thousand statues. According to the legend, this last unfinished thousand temple is the Sewu temple (means thousands) nearby to Prambanan and the Princess statue is in the north cell of the Shiva temple in Prambanan.
Malioboro Shopping Street
This is a major shopping street in Yogyakarta popular with tourists. It has plenty of shops selling items such as silver, stuffed toys, T-shirts, batik, handicrafts, and other merchandise. Malioboro Shopping street is only 15 minutes from Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta.
Merapi Volcano
Mount Merapi (literally Fire Mountain) is an active stratovolcano located approximately 28 kilometres (17 mi) north of Yogyakarta.
Merapi is the most active volcano in Indonesia and has erupted regularly since 1548. The volcano is 1,700 metres (5,600 ft) high.
Merapi is very popular for the sunrise view of the crater.