INDONESIA || Yogyakarta - travel tips (Borobudur, Prambanan, Mount Merapi) 15 Degrees North

15° North are travelling again! This time we are in Indonesia in Yogyakarta on the island of Java. There we visit: Borobudur, Prambanan, Sewu, Mount Merapi & Yogyakarta Water Palace.
Jérémy and Ben here again! We love to travel and to satisfy our wanderlust, we are on a worldwide odyssey exploring the best places for a break around the world. We love to escape Britain to experience the best culture, cuisine and attractions that the globe has to offer. If you’re a tourist like us and just need a good itinerary for what to do and how to do it when you’re in Yogyakarta, we will show you the best things to put on your itinerary.
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Yogyakarta is a region of the island of Java, which is the world’s most populated island, situated in the centre of Indonesia. It has long been an important centre of culture and even today, the area is a considered a “special region” within Indonesia, as it has its own monarchy. This means it is a diarchy - a region with two governments. So it’s kind of independent... and kind of... not.In the eighth century, the region was known as the Mataram Kingdom and its capital was here, on the southern slopes of the volcano, Mount Merapi. During its three hundred year heyday, this Hindu-Buddhist culture was extremely advanced and constructed hugely significant temple complexes.
This one is Prambanan, the centre for Hindu worship in the area. A visit to the site - which is obviously a UNESCO World Heritage Site - gives you access to both Sewu and Prambanan, as well as some smaller temples too. So our advice is to go in the late afternoon and do a full loop, ending back at Prambanan again at sunset.The largest Hindu temple complex in Indonesia, it is the second largest in south-east Asia, after Angkor Wat. With 240 temples within the complex, its biggest sits at its centre, standing at 47 metres high. Many of the original temples are no longer standing; in fact, the whole complex sat in ruins for centuries until they were reconstructed by the Dutch colonial government in the 1930s. Before then, it had been completely swallowed by the jungle and was described by initial European explorers as “piles of stones”. Only 6 of the temples have been fully restored, so it’s crazy to think that this whole landscape would have been crowded with these remarkable structures.
We stayed in the outskirts of the city of Yogyakarta, which made it seem deceptively like we were in the countryside.There are four million people living in this vast and sprawling city. At its centre is the residence of the King, as well as Taman Sari, a former royal garden that is now open to the public. Known as the Water Palace, it features a network of bathing pools and spa facilities constructed by the King in the eighteenth century.
Then, of course, is Mount Merapi itself, the most active volcano in Indonesia; a nation pretty much made up of volcanoes. With a height of almost 3000 metres, the best way to explore it is on a jeep tour of its slopes. Merapi has erupted many times, but many thousands of people live directly within its blast radius. Its most deadly eruption of modern times was in 2010, when 353 people were killed following an eruption. On the tour, you’ll see several sites destroyed by that eruption, but the volcano is known to erupt regularly, sometimes with several in the same year.
We had to get up at sunrise to see our final stop in Yogyakarta. And this is the one that people flock from far and wide to see. And the reason we were there. Borobudur is the largest Buddhist temple in the entire world. Built between 778 and 850AD, this vast pyramid consists of nine linked platforms topped by a central dome, adorned with 504 statues of the Buddha. Abandoned in the fourteenth century, following Indonesia’s conversion to Islam, it was brought back to the world’s attention in the early nineteenth century by Stamford Raffles.Its full restoration wasn’t completed until 1983, but it looks spectacular today.
Borobudur is Indonesia’s most visited tourist attraction and, as such, has suffered somewhat from the wear and tear of over-tourism.As a result, most tourists aren’t actually allowed onto the structure itself. However, they do allow a limited number to access it on a guided tour, but spaces are extremely limited and you absolutely need to book in advance. Or, do like we did, and turn up at opening time to get one of the few tickets they release on the day on a first-come, first-served basis.