Adventures in Jogja - Borobodur Temple

I think most travelers have their own personal "wish list" of places they want to visit sooner or later. I've not usually been one to focus too much on buildings or temples, but the ones I saw near Jogja were rather impressive, both from an architectural and historical perspective.

First I visited Borobodur, which is a Buddhist temple arranged as sort of a pyramid-like structure built on and around a natural hill; its construction was started sometime around the beginning of the 8th century.

In plan, it resembles a tantric mandala with six square terraces supporting three circular ones. Its been called a three dimensional rendering of the Buddhist conception of the cosmos. The square terraces are covered with carved relief's that the locals claim can be read as an "instruction manual" for attaining enlightenment:

• The lowest terrace depicted scenes of the distractions of everyday life. These supposedly carnal scenes were later covered by stone, although some believe this was just a move to shore up the structure when it started to subside.
• Higher platforms depict scenes from the Buddha's life in rich detail i.e. the four encounters of the Buddha.
• The upper round terraces support 72 stone latticework stupas housing Buddha images. The heads of most are sadly missing. From the top, you have a view of the nearby mountains as well as Mount Merapi in the distance.

I found that visiting Borobodur was a unique experience - but you need to take the time to look closely at the details - and a good tour guide to explain the story the temple intends to tell!

Looking up towards the temple...



Inside one of the many internal staircases... it was good I am not scared of heights!

Example of one of the reliefs which illustrate a story from Buddha's life...

Temple in silhouette...