The main site of modern day Prambanan complex is inside a large, landscaped park. The complex is open daily from 6AM to 6PM. Try to get there early to beat the heat. Entry costs Indonesians less than $1, while foreigners are charged a fixed tourist rate of US$13 or US$7 for a registered student. Guides can be hired at the ticket office for about US$5 and as this is a complex monument, a guide is a very good idea.
Candi Lara (Loro) Jonggrang, or simply Candi Prambanan, is the largest and most-visited of the temples just to the left of the main entrance. While there were 237 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 Trimurti ("three sacred places"), are particularly important:
Candi Siva, 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).
Candi Brahma, to the south, continues the story of the Ramayana and has a statue of Brahma the Creator inside.
Candi Vishnu, 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.
Candi Lumbung and Candi Bubrah, two Buddhist temples, are located several hundred meters further north. They lie in ruins and are fenced off.
Buddhist Candi Sewu
Candi Sewu, a large Buddhist temple complex meaning "one thousand temples", is one kilometre 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. Take note of the Borobudur style stupas here. Entrance from the east side only.
Prambanan Museum. North of Candi 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.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Prambanan
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Prambanan - updated May 2024
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Prambanan Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
