Have you ever thought about what the largest Buddhist Temple in the world looks like? Have you ever wondered where it is situated? You may or may have thought about it. Don’t worry; you have just arrived at the right place, as we will be taking you all on a day trip to Java Island from Bali. If you don’t know who we are………
We call ourselves Travel Freaks……
Let’s start with your curiosity……
Table of Contents
1. Where is the largest Buddhist Temple?
After an unforgettable day in North Bali, we planned to visit Java Island, which is located in the western part of Bali. In Central Java Island, the southern part is the region of Yogyakarta. We were heading to Yogyakarta to visit the largest Buddhist Temple and second-largest Hindu Temple.
Have you ever visited such a large Temple complex?
Maybe you are thinking……
2. What is so special about the Yogyakarta Region?
We observed that Yogyakarta is mainly famous for its historical significance. Hope you might have understood by now. Additionally, this place also serves as a hotspot for culture as well as art.
Yeah, you might also argue that we felt the same for Bali also. Yes, it’s true; Bali also has its own beauty, culture and history. However, we felt Java Island, especially Yogyakarta, has its own history to say that is different from that of Bali.
Now, for the new readers who have no clue whatsoever…….
3. When did we land in Indonesia?
For a quick recap, we already explored the North, South, Central and the Nusa Penida Island of Bali. Click on the links and do check out our blogs if you are yet to read them. You would love to read about our experiences and, at the same time, use it to plan your own itinerary.
Checkout to read how we landed in Bali (Indonesia).
Coming back to our journey, we had a very packed-up schedule the previous day in North Bali. It was so memorable that you might have understood from our previous blog. We had a good sound sleep as we were ready for our most awaited Central Java Island Trip.
We were ready by 4:15 in the morning as our guide Mr. Dewa was already waiting for us in the reception with his car. An amazing, punctual person that we have come across in our life. We departed at 4:30 AM as we reached the airport within 30 minutes of our stay at Kuta.
Now hearing the name of the Airport, you might be curious about………
4. How was the journey from Bali to Yogyakarta (Java Island)?
The flight journey typically takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes to reach. Additionally, Jogja (colloquial term of Yogyakarta) is one hour ahead of Bali’s standard time.
As we had planned for the day only, so we carried only cabin baggage with us. One interesting thing we noted after landing at the Yogyakarta International Airport was that only domestic flights could land. Better to plan any Indonesian Island that allows International landing and then plan this region.
Okay, so coming back to our story. Our flight landed at 7:30 AM. We had booked a jovial guide Mr. Yudi.
As we didn’t have breakfast due to our early morning departure, he was waiting for us with mixed fruit salad. It was just awesome, as the taste of that fruit salad is still in our taste buds.
Landing in a new place….. Your question might be…….
5. How was the special region of Yogyakarta?
Soon after landing at the beautiful Aiport that seemed so artistic, we hopped into the car and departed with the fruit salad in our hand. We noticed similar behaviour of the local people as we had already seen in Bali.
The outskirts of the airport were well maintained. The highway was empty, as we couldn’t notice any highway on Bali Island to compare with.
Our guide told us that we would be heading to the second-largest Hindu temple, which would be through Yogyakarta City. It should take around two hours to get there. However, we thought to explore the city and then reach.
We noticed a well-developed railway system while on the go. There were malls, high-end vehicles and rickshaws. The rickshaws were so cute we felt like taking a ride.
In the middle, we stopped twice, once to have tea, and then our guide took us to his home-cum-workplace. We felt homely while meeting his family member.
As it was close to the afternoon, we thought of having lunch at a local restaurant as we were hungry. It took us less than an hour to finish our lunch. The lunch place was hardly 30 minutes from the second-largest Hindu Temple spot.
Now you might wonder……
6. What is the Second-Largest Hindu Temple?
Well, Prambanan is the second largest Hindu Temple after the Angkor Wat Temple in Cambodia.
Within half an hour of having our lunch, we reached the Prambanan Premises. Our guide went to the ticket counter to book tickets. The ticket costs around 25 USD per person.
The temple premises was so huge that it could not be explored in a single day. There were ruins everywhere. We observed that the temple was mainly dedicated to the three trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
Given the humongous temple premises, we clicked pictures one after another as we were short of time also. Visitors were also not allowed to go inside any of the temples.
There were few vehicles available for transport that we commonly get to see in a golf game. We hired one of them to explore the area. We stopped at two places to take snaps. Given the history and the area, this place should be on the bucket list of any traveller visiting Java Island.
How many of you visited temple ruins in your life span?
After spending more than two hours, we moved on to the next spot. Yes, you got it right……
7. How was the experience of visiting the world’s largest Buddhist Temple?
Borobudur Temple is the world’s largest Buddhist Temple. It hardly took a little over one hour to reach the Borobudur Temple.
Similar to the Prambanan Temple, the entrance fee is also 25 USD per person. It was close to 4 o’ clock in the afternoon when we entered. We could see mostly local people, and the local souvenir shops started to close.
There was a sense of hurry for us to quickly explore the place as there was less time for us. The temple was based on an elevated platform, and you needed to climb a lot of stairs. We were excited as we thought of climbing to the top, which was famous for viewing the sunrise.
Unfortunately, we were not allowed to go to the top. It was closed due to COVID protocols. With heavy hearts, we thought its better to explore the temple premises. Visitors are not allowed to go inside the temple. There were ruins all around.
Nevertheless, we enjoyed a lot in both Prambanan and Borobudur.
It was already late evening, and dusk was around the corner. We thought it was better we head to our stay for the night.
Many of you might ask……
8. Where did we stay for the night?
We stayed in close proximity to the Borobudur Temple. We got a budget-friendly stay option in Jalan Wanurejo Dusun. The location gave the vibe of a village. As the stay was just for a night, we chose that option.
If you wish to stay longer, you can opt for a stay in the city depending on your budget, you will get numerous options.
Many have been wondering for quite some time……
9. What is there to see on Java Island besides the mentioned places?
This is really difficult to answer.
The list is pretty long. You can go to the capital Jakarta, the largest city of Indonesia; Bandung is renowned for its cool climate and beautiful scenery; Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, Dieng Plateau in central Java and Surabaya, the second largest city in Indonesia, to name a few.
You need to understand your interest, time frame and budget, then plan accordingly. If you wish, we can help you choose from the long list.
If anyone wishes to visit Yogyakarta Region, they can click here and explore the various options available on the site. He provides affordable packages.
If you are planning to visit Australia, you can click here, subscribe to their channel and get to know about their experiences. You will be able to plan on your own.
We are not going anywhere without this last question…….
10. What kind of help are we gonna provide?
Let us inform you that we prepare itineraries not only for anywhere in India but also for Asia. We have been travelling since we were toddlers. So here in our blogs and stories, we will be giving you a glimpse of our journey and also helping you to plan your trip.
Read about our Uzbekistan blogs.
Read about our Kazakhstan blogs.
Read about our Singapore blogs.
Read about our Vietnam blogs.
Read about our Cambodia blogs.
Read about our Bali blogs.
Read about our Kuala Lumpur blog series.
Read about our Sri Lanka blogs.
Read about our Nepal blogs.
Read about our Char Dham blogs.
Read about our Ladakh blogs.
Read about our day trip to Hyderabad.
Read about our Madhya Pradesh blogs.
Read about our Andaman and Nicobar blogs.
Do follow our Instagram handle @mindfulllofvacations and keep an eye out for the next destination story of Bali. For any query related to any trip, drop a mail at @mitkau007@gmail.com.
by mitkau