The Highest Temple of Them All
Standing at 375 m above the sea, Candi Ijo is the highest temple in Yogyakarta. This small hindu temple is another less traveled and visited temple among the other internationally famous temples. However, this medium sized archeological complex has its own appeal that will mesmerize you as much as the main temples. The location adds another magic into exploring this compound where you can see the city of yogyakarta from above the hills.
I have been trying to get to this temple for a few months yet the weather has never been cooperative. Not to mention, this temple always closes earlier than the other temples in the area. When we reached the place, the temple was about to close but our driver was insisting that we were coming from afar. “ Sir, just a few minutes, these people are from afar” said the driver while convincing me not to leave the place. The security yielded after a few small arguments with our driver.
“ Alright, 20 minutes”.
My friend and I walked over through the only gate that was open. They let me in and told me, only 20 minutes, not more and not less. When I walked up the stairs, my friend and I were chuckling over the argument and the driver said we’re coming from afar. Technically, we were. It was a long drive from the city to that peak.
The gate and stairs that we walked through was taking us to the back side of the temple. And once we turned, we were amused with the view of the city from above and the temple next to it. Some people were taking selfies with the sky background rather than the temple. Some sat on the temple and just enjoyed the view of the city from above.
There’s not that much information that can be gathered from the information board. It remains rather mysterious which is also another appeal of this temple. However, according to the conservation agency, this temple was built around 850-900 AD with a Linga and Yoni statue inside of it. The early research is also done by foreign archeologists instead of native archeologists which often made me wonder why, was it because of lack of funding? No interest?others?. However, the research by Indonesian archeologists through the government agency started around 1958 resulted in restoration and maintenance of the temple until today.
The temple itself is also facing the city and in front of it, there are some stairs that lead up to the lower ground of the complex. Had it not closed, that was where my friend and I were supposed to go from.
The clouds were getting dark but since it was quite an exhausting walk especially after the prambanan, my friend decided to stay for a while and soak up the atmosphere that the temple has to offer.
“ We’d like to remind visitors that the place is about to close. Please leave the compound within five minutes. Thank you for your understanding.”
As I heard that, I went back to get my friend and we decided to go down from the same place we arrived. I wanted to go down like the other people who got into my frame. Then, I remember that I was not even paying any fee like those people. So, I was self aware that it’s better to go back from the palace where we arrived.
Before I bid goodbye to the place, I think about how often I get questions as to why I do this mini expedition. Sometimes I just say because I am curious, sometimes I answer it with a long history, sometimes nothing; it depends who asked me and their level of knowledge of history, especially about Indonesian ancient civilization. Sometimes I wonder if I could find something after all these trips visiting the ancient compounds. Maybe I will, maybe I won’t. All I know is that I am more than happy to share my journey visiting all the temples in hope that others will get exposure to how splendid and smart the ancient people in Indonesian were.
Then, our last journey that day was visiting the Royal Boko Kingdom. Another place I’ve been to quite several times and where I finally got some of my questions answered through a guide who was willing to answer my questions.
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 | Mac is a jack of all trades. A typical introvert in love with literature, books, technology and philosophy. She is also so into nootropics, productivity, minimalist lifestyle, cybersecurity, and languages. Other than that, she is passionate about cooking and traveling. In her free time, she enjoys learning various things. If you like her content, don't hesitate to upvote, leave a comment or a feedback. A re-blog is also appreciated. |