Why this ride
A 397 km round trip from Colomadu - roughly 5 h 42 in the saddle. It goes by way of Prambanan Temple Compounds, Mendut Temple, The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it and Pawon Temple. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Sangiran Early Man Site and Pawon Temple
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 397 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 42
- 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. Sangiran Early Man Site
Half of what we know about Homo erectus in Asia seems to have come out of the ground near this village in central Java. Sangiran is a dome of eroded earth, a few kilometres across, in which stream cuts have exposed layers of volcanic ash and river sediment that built up over about two million years, and in those layers the bones of early humans and extinct animals have turned up. The first finds were made in the 1930s, notably by the German palaeontologist Ralph von Koenigswald, and the site has since produced the remains of some fifty individuals, about half of all known fossils of its kind in the world. UNESCO listed it in 1996.
Read the complete Sangiran Early Man Site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sangiran Early Man Site 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 47 km in. Next is Mendut Temple.
3. 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
94 km in you reach Mendut Temple. Next is The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it.
4. 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, 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 189 km, about halfway. Next is back through The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it.
6. 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 comes up 236 km in. Next is back through Mendut Temple.
7. 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
283 km in you reach back through Mendut Temple. 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 Sangiran Early Man Site.
9. Sangiran Early Man Site
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sangiran Early Man Site 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 397 km.
Leg by leg
Sangiran Early Man Site to Prambanan Temple Compounds
Sangiran Early Man Site → Prambanan Temple Compounds is 72 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
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.
Mendut Temple to The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it
Mendut Temple → The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it to Pawon Temple
The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it → Pawon Temple is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Pawon Temple to back through The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it
Pawon Temple → back through The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it to back through Mendut Temple
back through The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and it → back through Mendut Temple is 36 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 Sangiran Early Man Site
back through Prambanan Temple Compounds → Sangiran Early Man Site is 72 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.