Everything you need to know to visit Borobudur

Borobudur is a functioning Buddhist temple and attracts pilgrims from all over Southeast Asia. It has a magical atmosphere and was undoubtedly the most beautiful temple we visited in Indonesia!

_{A functioning Buddhist temple}

But our visit to Borobudur was quite different from our visit to Prambanan and this has a lot to do with the form of transportation we chose. In Prambanan we used public transport to get there and so we had time to see everything at our own pace.

But Borobudur is further away from Yogyakarta. It's almost two hours by bus. We also wanted to see the sunset from Morro Setumbu and for this, it would be necessary to leave at dawn from our hotel and the buses would still not be working at this time.

For these reasons we ended up choosing a travel agency that does the transportation to Borobudur by van. And unfortunately, as is the case with almost all organized tours, the schedules are defined by the guide, and in this case we think that the time was not enough to see everything and we felt rushed, which was a shame!

Another factor that made our experience in these two temples different was the amount of visitors. While Prambanan had practically no visitors at all, Borobudur was very crowded! There were many local students excursions on the day we visited (not sure if it's always so, but our visit in Borobudur was on a Saturday and Prambanan was on a Friday).

_{It was very crowded on the day we went}

Despite loving Prambanan's tranquility, Borobudur was alive and had dozens of children asking lots of questions about our country and asking us to take photos with them and calling me a "bule" (a word used in Indonesia to describe foreigners, mainly the ones with fair skin and blond hair!). It was wonderful and I could have spent a whole day there in the midst of those children.

_{Borobudur was alive}

We found Borobudur and the gardens around it, very well maintained. Unfortunately we did not have time to visit any of the two museums, which are inside the archaeological park of Borobudur and included in the entrance fee.

Dagi Hill

But the one place, which in my opinion, you cannot miss, is Dagi Hill, which is near the west exit gate. In less than ten minutes you can climb the steps that lead to the top of the hill and the view of Borobudur from up there is very beautiful and totally worth it. It's a perfect spot for a picnic, I wish we had had the time for that.

_{View from Dagi Hill}

The exit signs led us to a never-ending corridor filled with tents with clothes and souvenirs. At the end of the corridor you finally arrive at the parking lot, which was very different from the time we arrived. It looked like another place! Lots of cars, vans and parked buses, and a super busy market, full of food stalls. We did not realize that this place would change so much, and so we did not pay attention to where our van parked. We got lost and it was very hard to find our guide.

Opening Hours:

Every day - from 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

* To get in early and enjoy the sunrise from the temple before the crowd of tourists arrive, the Manohara Hotel, which is near the temple, organizes a tour that leaves at 4:30 in the morning. The price for the hotel guests is Rp 250,000.00 (USD 18.00) and for non guests it is Rp 400,000.00 (USD 28.00). Children under 5 years of age do not pay. Children between 6 and 11 years old pay half price. I did not find it expensive, since this price includes the entrance fee to Borobudur and a snack with coffee or tea.

* If you are not too fond of waking up early, the Manohara also has a tour to watch the sunset. Prices are the same as for the sunrise one. In this case you can enter the temple after 5:00 p.m. and stay until 6:30 p.m. In my opinion, this is not enough time to see everything and I would prefer to do the morning tour.

*You do not need to stay at the Manohara in order to take this tour, but if you don't, you will need to find a way to get there on time. Our tour to Morro Setumbu and Borobudur, which departed from Yogyakarta before 4a.m., left some tourists, who were going to take the morning tour, at the door of this hotel.

Prices:

Borobudur:
Foreigners over 10 years old: USD 25.00)
Students and children from 3 to 10 years old: USD 15.00

Borobudur + Prambanan:
Foreigners over 10 years old: USD 40.00
Students and children from 3 to 10 years old: USD 25.00

* Although the price was written in USD on the ticket, the attendant did not accept the payment in dollars, perhaps because the exchange rate was not favourable on the day.

* The Borobudur and Prambanan combo ticket (USD 40.00) represents a saving of USD 10.00 per person and is valid for 2 days.

* A cup of coffee, tea or water is included in the entrance fee.

* If you are not dressed accordingly to what is considered respectful, they will ask you to wear a sarong. But do not worry, they'll lend you one.

How we got there:

We arrived in Yogyakarta by train. From Yogyakarta it is very easy to find a tour to Borobudur and almost every hotel in the city can make a reservation for you. There are all different types of tours, but we asked for one to Borobudur combined with the sunrise from Setumbu Hill, and the receptionist from our hotel arranged with an agency to pick us up at 3:30 a.m. on the next day.

We woke up at 3:00 in the morning and the driver came at 3:50 a.m.. Some people were already in the van, but he still visited about 3 other hotels. When the van was completely full, with 12 people, he drove like crazy on a narrow, curvy road to Setumbu Hill, where we stayed for about 45 minutes.

Our guide/driver asked us to return to the van at 6:00 a.m. He then took us to the entrance of the temple of Borobudur. When we finally got into the temple it was almost 7:00 a.m. and the scheduled time to go back to the van was 9:00 a.m.. We had just over two hours to see the whole temple. We found it very rushed.

We were also not happy with the optional breakfast that our tour offered, as it was only provided when we had already left the temple. By this time we were already starving. We were served coffee with a toast of strawberry jam and some cut fruit, which we did not eat. We noticed that no one in the group was happy with this tour. Honestly, I would rather not have had the breakfast and have stayed longer at the temple of Borobudur.

The tour cost 90,000.00 Rupees (USD 6.50) per person plus 15,000.00 Rupees (USD 1.13) for breakfast. Some people combined the tour with Prambanan in the afternoon. In this case the total value would be 155,000.00 Rupees (USD 11.62). This value is for transportation only. Tickets are paid separately and there is no guide for visiting the temples.

The name of the agency is Kresna Tour. It is as an economic option, but today I would have chosen the tour without breakfast, take a snack in my backpack and use the extra time to see more of Borobudur. They offer several other tour options. Their website is: kresnatourjogja.com

Other ways to get to Borobudur:

* A rental car with driver

It costs around USD 45.00 for 8 hours and for up to 4 people.

* Hire a car or a motorbike.

Many tourists decide to rent a scooter while in Indonesia. On Java Island, the rental price per day is around Rp 50,000.00 (USD 3.75). But it is very important to check if the documents of the scooter are up to date and if it has insurance and a helmet. You also need to have an international driver's license. The roads in Indonesia are dangerous and most drivers drive dangerously.

We have heard many stories of tourists being stopped by the police and even if everything is all right, the police will always find something to give you a fine. We thought the risk was not worth it, but I understand that it gives a lot more freedom and for those who already have more experience on a motorcycle, it can be a really cool way to travel around.

* Public bus

Public buses to Borobudur leave from Jombor Bus Terminal. They are mainly used by locals, but our experience with public transportation in Yogyakarta was excellent. Just ask the locals for help and they will inform you which bus you should take, where you should get off, and so on.

Setumbu Hill

There are a few places around Borobudur that offer a panoramic views, but Setumbu Hill is the most famous one. It did not disappoint, the view is really wonderful.

_{The view from Setumbu Hill did not disappoint}

You can visit the hill from 4:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., but what most visitors come to watch is the sunrise, with the mist slowly fading away and showing the bell-shaped stupas of Borobudur and the Merapi Volcano.

The admission to Setumbu's view point costs Rp 30,000.00 (USD 2.25) per person. To reach the view point, from the car park, I believe we walked for about 1km up the hill and in the dark with only our mobile phone lights.

When we got there the place was already full of tourists waiting for the sunrise, which was at 5h36, on the day we visited. The sun was hidden among the clouds, giving the horizon an orange colour. Very beautiful and well worth waking up so early.

_{The mist gave the area an air of mistery}

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