Breakfast will be at the hotel before we depart in the morning for the Borobudur Temple Tour, visiting the massive stone monument of Borobudur, a Unesco World Heritage site.
Borobudur is one the greatest of all ancient architectural monuments, comprising six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 stone relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. The main dome, located at the center of the top platform, is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues seated inside perforated stupa. Built with peasant labor from the surrounding countryside between AD 750 and 850, Borobudur predates Angkor Wat in Cambodia by three centuries. Though a Buddhist creation, it incorporates Persian, Babylonian and Greek influences.
Borobudur’s stone relief panels are a virtual history of Mahayana Buddhist doctrine as well as an ancient record providing scholars with detailed information about life in 8th and 9th century Java. If you were to look at every panel from base to summit, you would walk for more than three miles. Soon after its completion, the local rulers were overthrown by the Hindus and Borobudur was abandoned. Buried under volcanic ash and tropical growth, it was only rediscovered in 1815. It has recently been fully restored by an International effort under the aegis of UNESCO. In nearby villages, you can still see stone masons working in much the same manner as the peasants who built this astonishing monument. You may also visit the nearby smaller but important temples of Pawon and Mendut.
We will then head back to Yogyakarta, where we can spend the afternoon at leisure.
Optional:
– Yogyakarta City Tour and Prambanan Temple
– Dinner performance at Purawisata, experience local transportation by “Becak” (local Pedi cab)
Overnight Melia Purosani Hotel Yogyakarta