Majestic View of Borobudur Sunrise via Puthuk Setumbu and Manohara Hotel

Have been listed as one of the world 7 wonders, Borobudur Temple becomes the must visit place when in Central java. It was constructed in the 8th-9th century during the golden era of Sailendra Dynasty. Borobudur is the largest buddhist monument in the world with the pyramid shape construction. It was designed to be climbed, and visitors able to follow the path to the top.

The history of Borobudur sounds unreal for me, Borobudur temple used to be the holy Buddhist temple before it was abandoned. Borobudur was hidden and buried under a layer of soil and volcanic ashes. The trees and wild shrubs were dominated the abandoned land. No one sure why this temple has been ever forgotten. Rumor said because some people switched to moslem as the reason. During 1811-1816 Thomas Stamford Rafless (the governor of Java at that time) finally managed to find again Borobudur Temple and making it as the world heritage building.

Located 40 km from Yogyakarta, Borobudur offers the fantastic views from the temple over the green fields and trees to distant hills and volcanoes. The best time to come here is when sunrise, no wonder there are some tour packages offer sunrise trip in Borobudur. There are 2 different spots to watch the sunrise in Borobudur you might choose :

SUNRISE FROM BOROBUDUR TEMPLE (VIA MANOHARA HOTEL)
The wake up call rang at 02.00 am, in order to catch the sunrise we have to depart from Yogyakarta at 03.30 am. It took around 1-1,5 hour from Yogyakarta to Borobudur Temple where located in Magelang, Central Java. Borobudur Temple generally opens for tourist at 08.00 am, tourists are not allowed to go inside the temple before the gate opens. To be able to see the sunrise inside the temple, travelers have to go via Manohara Hotel. Manohara Hotel is located next the temple and it has special access to Borobudur. No gate open for the sunrise except from Manohara hotel, that’s why the ticket price is quite expensive for this tour. It cost Rp 270.000 (USD 21) for local tourist and Rp 400.000 (USD 31) for foreigner. The ticket includes coffee and snacks time after the tour end.

The tour guide gave me a flashlight to flash on the dark way. Step by step I climbed the stairs to reach the top. People came more and more as the sun rose up. People were so busy looking for the best spot to take picture. No more free space, every corner was filled by Tourists holding a camera or a view of selfie sticks which almost covered the scenery.

Apart from my expectation of getting such a misty sunrise moment pictures, it still felt amazing to see the dark sky slowly changed into yellowish colour and became bright blue sky at the end. It felt amazing watching the sun light sneaking through the Stupa, and It felt amazing to see those misty fog adorned the greenery hills and volcanoes as the background of the temple.

SUNRISE FROM PUTHUK SETUMBU 

Another option to enjoy the beautiful sunrise of Borobudur in affordable way is from Puthuk Setumbu. This spot becomes my favorite as it was less crowded, seeing the Borobudur from above was surprisingly such an unique scenery for me. Puthuk Setumbu is located 20 minutes away from Borobudur. Depart from Yogyakarta at 03.00 am, you’ll arrive at 04.45 am on location. You can follow the direction to Manohara Hotel, after pass this hotel, go straight, there will be an intersection and sign board to Borobudur Nirvana Sunrise, turn right and go straight until you find the parking lot of Puthuk Setumbu. Buy the ticket at the locket for Rp 30.000 (foreigner) and Rp 15.000 (local).

Sunrise starts at 05.30 am, so better to wait a little bit longer and find the best spot. If you are lucky, the sunrise view would look so magical with the sun rise in the middle of Merbabu mountain and Merapi volcano. The layer of trees and fog dominating the view, but Borobudur Temple still looks so bold among the tree silhouttes.

HOW TO GET THERE
1.    Rent a car from Yogyakarta is the best solution to go to Borobudur Temple. It cost around RP 500.000 – Rp 600.000/24 hrs with the driver for avanza/apv car capacity max 5 people.
2.    Otherwise, it also will be easier to hire a day trip in travel agent. For Sunrise in Borobudur cost around Rp 500.000 – Rp 600.000, and for Puthuk Setumbu Sunrise cost around Rp 120.000 – Rp 200.000 (including pick up from the hotel, ticket, and breakfast)
3.    Ticket Price for Sunrise Borobudur via Hotel Manohara is Rp 400.000 for foreigner and Rp 270.000 for local tourist
4.    Ticket Price for Puthuk Setumbu is Rp 30.000 for foreigner and Rp 15.000 for local tourist.

Ps : I was delegated as an Indonesian Blogger to promote #WonderfulIndonesia held by Ministry of Indonesia Tourism for #TripOfWonders 2016. Check out the page for more amazing Indonesia Destinations http://www.indonesia.travel/landing

cheers,
kadekarini

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