Why this ride
143 km from Yogyakarta to Yogyakarta, about 2 h 15 of riding. It goes by way of Prambanan Temple Compounds, Mendut Temple, Pawon Temple and back through Mendut Temple.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Yogyakarta afternoon · Pawon Temple
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 143 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 15
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta is the cultural heart of Java, and it still has a living sultan. The Kraton, the sultan's palace, stands at the centre of the city, surrounded by courtyards, pavilions and a walled quarter, and the ruling sultan serves as the governor of the special region, a unique arrangement in Indonesia. The city is also a university town, full of students, art, batik workshops and a famous street, Malioboro, that fills with food stalls and horse-drawn carts in the evening.
Read the complete Yogyakarta write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Yogyakarta is where the day begins. Next is Prambanan Temple Compounds.
2. Prambanan Temple Compounds
Prambanan is the largest Hindu temple complex in Indonesia, a cluster of soaring stone towers on the plain between Yogyakarta and Solo, with the volcano Merapi brooding to the north. The central shrines were built in the ninth century and dedicated to the Trimurti: Shiva in the tallest tower, about forty-seven metres high, flanked by Brahma and Vishnu, with smaller temples for their mounts facing them. The walls are covered with reliefs of the Ramayana, carved so that you read the story as you walk clockwise around the galleries.
Read the complete Prambanan Temple Compounds write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Prambanan Temple Compounds comes up 17 km in.
3. Prambanan Temple Compounds
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Prambanan Temple Compounds write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
34 km in you reach Prambanan Temple Compounds. Next is Mendut Temple.
4. Mendut Temple
Mendut is the small, elegant temple that most visitors pass on their way to Borobudur, and that is a mistake. Built in the early ninth century under the Sailendra dynasty, it stands about three kilometres east of the great monument, on a straight line that also passes through the tiny Pawon temple, and scholars believe the three were connected in a ritual sequence. Each year, at the Buddhist festival of Waisak, monks walk in procession from Mendut through Pawon to Borobudur, carrying candles and chanting.
Read the complete Mendut Temple write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mendut Temple, about halfway. Next is Pawon Temple.
5. Pawon Temple
Pawon is the small one, and I have a soft spot for it. While Borobudur is huge and Mendut grand, Pawon is a compact stone temple about two kilometres from Borobudur, set in a quiet garden among village houses. It looks like a miniature tower, with a carved doorway, a tiered roof and relief carvings of trees and mythical beings on the outer walls, and inside, the chamber is almost empty. Scholars still debate what it was for, with one idea being that it was a place where pilgrims purified themselves before continuing to the larger temple, and another that it was linked to a royal figure.
Read the complete Pawon Temple write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Pawon Temple sits at 67 km, about halfway. Next is back through Mendut Temple.
6. back through Mendut Temple
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mendut Temple write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Mendut Temple comes up 84 km in. Next is back through Prambanan Temple Compounds.
7. back through Prambanan Temple Compounds
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Prambanan Temple Compounds write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
101 km in you reach back through Prambanan Temple Compounds. Next is back through Prambanan Temple Compounds.
8. back through Prambanan Temple Compounds
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Prambanan Temple Compounds write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Prambanan Temple Compounds, late in the day. Next is Yogyakarta.
9. Yogyakarta
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Yogyakarta write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 143 km.
Leg by leg
Yogyakarta to Prambanan Temple Compounds
Yogyakarta → Prambanan Temple Compounds is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Prambanan Temple Compounds to Mendut Temple
Prambanan Temple Compounds → Mendut Temple is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mendut Temple to back through Prambanan Temple Compounds
back through Mendut Temple → back through Prambanan Temple Compounds is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Prambanan Temple Compounds to Yogyakarta
back through Prambanan Temple Compounds → Yogyakarta is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.