Why this ride
A 118 km round trip from Mungkid - roughly 1 h 50 in the saddle. On the way it passes The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it, Prambanan Temple Compounds and back through The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Pawon Temple and Prambanan Temple Compounds starting at Mungkid
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 118 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 50
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. 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. 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 is where the day begins. Next is The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it.
2. The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it
Yogyakarta was laid out along a line. In the eighteenth century, Sultan Hamengkubuwono I founded the city on an axis running from the smoking cone of Mount Merapi in the north to the Indian Ocean in the south, with the Tugu monument, the Kraton palace and the Panggung Krapyak stage pavilion placed along it, embodying Javanese ideas about the cycle of life and the relation between people, ruler and the cosmos. The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and its Historic Landmarks was inscribed on the UNESCO list in 2023, and the sultanate still functions: the sultan is also the governor of the Special Region of Yogyakarta.
Read the complete The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it comes up about 41 km into the recorded legs. Next is Prambanan Temple Compounds.
3. 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
about 61 km into the recorded legs you reach Prambanan Temple Compounds. Next is back through The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it.
4. back through The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it, late in the day. Next is Pawon Temple.
5. Pawon Temple
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
Back at Pawon Temple. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Pawon Temple to The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it
Pawon Temple → The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it to Prambanan Temple Compounds
The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it → Prambanan Temple Compounds is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Prambanan Temple Compounds to back through The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it
Prambanan Temple Compounds → back through The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it to Pawon Temple
back through The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it → Pawon Temple is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.