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Prambanan, named after the village, is the biggest temple complex in Java. There are 224 temples in the complex; three towering temples on the central terrace dominate the complex. Those are Brahma Temple in the North, Visnu Temple in the South and the biggest among the three which lies between Brahma and Visnu is Çiwa Temple which soars up to 47 meters high.

These three ancient masterpieces of Hindu architecture are locally referred to as Prambanan Temple or Rorojonggrang Temple. One of its appeals is the wealth of sculptural detail which is the most famous is on the inner wall of the balustrade, the wonderful Ramayana Epic.

Prambanan attracts many admirers each year from abroad. Situated about 15 km from Yogyakarta, the top of the main shrine is visible from a great distance and raises high above the scattered ruins of the former temples. Prambanan is the best seen shortly after dawn or in the late afternoon. However it is still beautiful at any time.

Ancient Java’s greatest empire, The Mataram, first appeared on the stage of history in 732 AD, the year Sanjaya, a Hindu noble, established territorial rule over the fertile plains between the Progo and Opak rivers. In 750 AD, the Buddhist Syailendra dynasty overthrew Sanjaya, whose family and followers were exiled to the highlands on the periphery of Mataram. A century later, Rakai Pikatan, a descendant of King Sanjaya married into the Syailendras and rose to power. With his ascendancy came the rebirth of Hinduism and a new spate of the temple building, most notably the construction of Prambanan’s Roro Jonggrang complex.

Sanjaya Dynasty, a Hindu noble, established territorial rule over the fertile plains between the Progo and Opak rivers. The dynasty, in keeping with Hindu tradition, set him up as a semi-divine link between heaven and earth. To secure this status for eternity, and to unite the populace in a massive communal effort, he and his successors embarked on a centuries-long program of constructing religious monuments. The earliest Central Javanese Temples date from this period, including the foundations of the great Borobudur.

Rakai Pikatan, a descendant of King Sanjaya, married to the Sailendras and rose to power. With his ascendancy came the rebirth of Hinduism and a new spate of temple building, most notably the construction of Prambanan’s Roro Jonggarng complex. Rakai Pikatan began construction of the temples in 856 AD to commemorate the return to power of Sanjaya Dynasty. However, the complex was abandoned the next century when the Mataram court and most of the population moved to East Java, and the temples themselves collapsed during an earthquake in the 16th century. Half-hearted excavations by the archaeologists in 1880s only facilitated looting. Proper restoration began only in 1930 and continues today.

In 1811, Collin Mackenzie, a surveyor in the service of Thomas Stamford Raffles during Britain’s short lived rule over the Dutch East Indies, came upon these temples by chance. Although Raffles subsequently commissioned a full survey of the ruins, they remained neglected for decades. Dutch residents carried off sculptures for garden ornaments while local villagers used foundation stones for construction material. Proper restoration began only in 1930 and continues today.

The main site of Prambanan contains four temples scattered about a large, landscaped park. The complex is open daily from 6 AM to 6 PM and entry costs a fixed US$10 (US$6 student), try to get there early to beat the heat. Guides can be hired at the ticket office, costs you Rp50.000

Lara Jonggrang Temple, or simply Prambanan Temple, is the largest and most-visited of the temples just to the left of the entrance. While there were 232 temples originally built, most have long since crumbled and the main remaining attractions are the six temples of the central court, richly decorated with carved reliefs. Three of them, known as the Trisakti ("three sacred places"), are particularly important:

Siva Temple, dedicated to Shiva the Destroyer, is the largest of the six, rising to a height of 45 meters. There are fine reliefs of the Ramayana in its forecourt and four chambers with statues. The largest chamber, to the east, contains a statue of Shiva himself, while the south has the sage Agastya, the west his son Ganesh (the elephant-headed) and the north his wife Durga. Durga is also known as Lara Jonggrang ("Slender Virgin"), a legendary beautiful princess turned to stone (see box).

Brahma Temple, to the south, continues the story of the Ramayana and has a statue of Brahma the Creator inside.

Vishnu Temple, to the north, tells the story of Vishnu's avatar Krishna and has a statue of Vishnu the Preserver inside.

Opposite the three large temples are three smaller temples originally dedicated to the vehicles of the gods. Only the statue of Nandi, Shiva's bull, has survived.

North of Lara Jonggrang is a poorly displayed museum laid out in a series of small houses connected by walkways. Explanations are minimal, but entry is free so you might as well take a look.

Prambanan Audio Visual, inside the museum grounds, is the park's term for screenings of a bizarre movie entitled "Cosmic Harmony", which seems to spend as much time lambasting the "industrial world" in general (and Jakarta in particular) as explaining the Prambanan site. Still, it makes for a fairly entertaining half-hour break and Rp 2,000 is not too bad a price to pay for the air-con. The film is available in several languages.

Lumbung Temple and Bubrah Temple, two Buddhist temples, are located several hundred meters further north. They lie in ruins and are fenced off.

Sewu Temple, a large Buddhist temple complex meaning "one thousand temples", is one kilometer north of the entrance gate and contains a large central temple surrounded by a cluster of smaller ones. The sheer size of the recently renovated and intricately decorated central temple is impressive, but the statue niches are all empty. Entrance from the east side only.

There are also several temples and historical sites outside the park.

Kraton Ratu Boko, 3 km south of Prambanan, is a ruined palace or temple of uncertain origin, located on a hilltop 200 meters above the Prambanan plain (which makes for good pictures if and only if you have a good zoom lens). Only some building foundations remain and it's difficult to make any sense of the site. Now incorporated into the Borobudur Park Authority, entry to Ratu Boko is a separately charged US$10, which seems very steep for what you get.

Ho to Get There

By plane

Yogyakarta's airport is just ten kilometers from Prambanan. A taxi direct to the site should cost about Rp 20,000.

By bus

There are regular buses from Yogyakarta's Umbulharjo bus station (30 minutes, Rp 4000), as well as a wide variety of tour agency-operated minibuses shuttling directly to Yogya's backpacker haunts. Local buses to/from Solo are also easy to find (90 minutes, Rp 10,000).

TransJogja, Yogyakarta's newest bus service, also serves a direct route to Prambanan. The bus is air-conditioned and it costs Rp 3000 per person for a ride (as of 2008), regardless of the distance. Ask the attendant at TransJogja's bus stop for further details.