On my second trip to Indonesia I spent a few days in Java to visit Borobudur temple. Borobudur is a Buddhist temple dating back to the 8th century and a Unesco World Heritage Site. It’s about 1 -2 hours from Yogyakarta, by car, nestled in a farming community in Central Java.

It takes a few hours to explore Borobudur and it’s definitely worth a visit as part of a trip to Indonesia. My recommendation would be to go twice. Once at sunset and once at sunrise. Sunrise will have more crowds and sunset may have a just a few lingering tourists.

Where I Stayed/Ate/Drank

Plataran Heritage Hotel: Fabulous hotel surrounded by lush jungle, green hills and rice paddies. Very nice and spacious rooms, rooftop bar, pool and you can also enjoy their sister hotel for views of Borobudur. I would almost go back just for the hotel. Other activities besides Borobudur you can do from the hotel are spa, Batik painting and cooking classes.

Breakfast was included in the hotel rate and I ate at the hotel and at their sister hotel up the hill for lunch and dinners. The food was good and you have western and Indonesian options. I especially liked the soup they served at breakfast.

Visiting Borobudur

I arranged all my visits to Borobudur through the hotel. I first did the sunrise visit which includes a very knowledgeable guide. You have to get up at 4 am but it’s worth it. Just expect to see lots of other people with the same idea. Once the sun rises you will meet your guide and get a level by level tour of Borobudur.

I also went to Borobudur in the afternoon. Many of the tourists clear out by then. Some photographers might come for the sunset specifically but it’s much less crowded on the lower levels by sunset. The two visists could be done in one day but I broke them up into two days and enjoyed the hotel spa and facilities before and after my Borobudur walk throughs.

Admission

Single Entry Tickets

Foreign Adults 337,550 IDR (about $25)

Foreign Children 202,500 (about $15)