teradesa.com You must be familiar with Borobudur Temple, right? Located in Magelang Regency, Central Java, this magnificent and beautiful temple has been recognized by local and foreign tourists as the largest Buddhist temple in the world. Naturally, because Borobudur Temple has an area of about 2500 square meters, with a length of 121.66 meters, a width of 121.38 meters, and a height of 35.40 meters.
Apart from its large scale, this legendary temple certainly also holds a variety of unique facts, as well as various kinds of interesting things that can be found when visiting here. Before you go to Borobudur Temple, let’s take a look at the full review below!
History
This legendary temple is estimated to have been built in the 8th century, precisely around 750 AD during the reign of the Syailendra dynasty. Its construction is estimated to have lasted about 75 years until it was finally completed during the reign of King Samaratungga. Borobudur Temple is located on a beautiful green hill where you can see other green hills around it. The building itself consists of millions of stone blocks made into three structures depicting the levels of the universe according to Buddhist philosophy. This colossal building is also decorated by 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues.
The catastrophic eruption of Mount Merapi around 1006 caused Borobudur Temple to be buried by volcanic dust for hundreds of years. Several centuries later, Borobudur Temple was finally rediscovered in 1814 by a Dutch engineer named Hermanus Christiaan Cornelius, when the British Empire represented by Thomas Stamford Raffles occupied parts of Java, including Central Java. After Indonesia’s independence, in the late 60s the government worked with UNESCO to renovate Borobudur Temple over the years, until UNESCO finally designated the masterpiece as a World Heritage Site in 1991.
Destination
Not only offering the wonders of the world, here you can also find a variety of other attractions that are no less interesting. Around the temple, there are three museums that you can visit to add insight, namely the Borobudur Museum, Samudraraksa Ship Museum, and MURI Museum. If any of you want to see the extraordinary view of Borobudur Temple from a distance, then you must visit Punthuk Setumbu located in the western part of Borobudur Temple. Here, you can also watch the beautiful sunrise or sunset on each horizon.
Not far from Punthuk Setumbu, you can also find a building that has a unique shape if you walk to the north. This chicken-shaped building is a church that was built in the 90s and is known as the Chicken Church by local residents. If you are still not satisfied, in the eastern part of Borobudur Temple there are three small temples that are also not less good, namely Pawon Temple, Ngawen Temple, and Mendut Temple. Want to spend more time around Borobudur Temple? Try staying at the tourist villages around Borobudur Temple! Among them are Wanurejo Village, Karangrejo Village, Tanjungsari Village, Giritengah Village, Majaksingi Village, and Candirejo Village.
Culinary
If you feel hungry after visiting these cool places, there’s nothing wrong with trying the delicious culinary specialties of Magelang around Borobudur Temple. One of the most famous foods in this area is processed fish called mangut beong or ndas beong. Also try the delicious sego godog and kupat tahu that can spoil your tongue. Still hungry too? Taste the delicious senerek soup and lesah rice! The great taste of these two dishes can make you add more and more until you are satisfied.
Still want to taste the culinary delights of Magelang? Tofu bacem and tempe mendoan that are often sold around here are very suitable to be used as provisions for your return trip.
How to Get to Magelang
There are two ways that you can travel to reach Magelang, namely by air and land. The air route can be reached using an airplane while the land route can be reached using car or train transportation.
Air route: Magelang can be explored by airplane landing at Adisutjipto International Airport in Yogyakarta City. After that, you can continue your journey to Magelang City using public transportation or vehicle rental for 1 hour.
Land route: You can take the Trans Java Toll Road from Jakarta with a travel time of approximately 8 hours using a private car. Or, you can also take an inter-city bus that stops at Tidar Terminal or also known as Soekarno-Hatta Terminal.
Another alternative is to take a train from a major city station in Java to Yogyakarta Station, either at Tugu or Lempuyangan Station. Then, continue with public transportation or rent a vehicle to Magelang City for approximately 1 hour.