Borobudur Temples: Why it pays to get up in the middle of the night

Some of the hotels in the area offer tours. You can also rent a car or get to the temple by taxi or with an Uber driver. The facility is only an hour away from Yogyakarta and is therefore very suitable for a half-day tour.

It is recommended to visit the temple during sunrise or sunset, as the light conditions are particularly beautiful at these times and the temple is shown to its best advantage. Ideally, you should inform yourself in advance about the appropriate times.

It is the evening of the day before visiting the Borobudur temple complex. I’m lying in bed at the Atria Hotel in Magelang trying to fall asleep, and it’s already 10pm. It’s not easy, especially as I know that I have to get up at 3:30 am again to see one of the most amazing spectacles I will experience on my Indonesia trip.

3:30 a.m.: The alarm clock rings, but I woke up 10 minutes earlier. Sometimes I can really rely on my inner clock. After I got ready, we meet at 4 a.m. in the hotel lobby and take the bus to the temple complex, which takes about 30 minutes. Most of these passengers sleep on the way. Why not, it’s also the middle of the night.

It’s dark, pitch dark. Arrived at the parking lot, we first have to go through the metal detector in the entrance area and register.

I look up at the sky and try to see the stars. At the same moment, the guide tells us that we are lucky. The day before the sky was covered with clouds, today it is clear. I start to grin and say thank you inwardly for the cloudless sky.

After everyone is given a flashlight, we set out on the dark path to the temple. A few meters before the structure I can already spot some glowing figures on the way to the top and I have the reassuring thought that we are not the only ones who get up so early. Depending on your running speed, it will take you between 10 and 20 minutes to get from the entrance to the top platform of Borobudur. After climbing the elevated steps, we already meet the first visitors who are just positioning their cameras.

It’s just after 5 a.m. and the surroundings light up in a morning misty twilight. There are more and more visitors on the top floor. Sometimes it is not so easy to find a good place to enjoy the sunrise undisturbed.

As the sun slowly rises behind the mountains, the entire area is gradually bathed in a golden shimmer. The combination of the rising sun, mountains and volcanoes in the background, which still protrude from a light fog, and the bell-shaped stupas built in lattice stones, which are touched by the sun’s rays, is particularly beautiful to look at.

Some visitors walk around to get the best angle for their pictures. However, I can only recommend simply enjoying the moment and looking around as soon as you have taken a few souvenir photos. In addition, a short tour of the top platform is definitely worthwhile.

It’s just after 6am on the clock and the area is lit by daylight. After the sun has risen we go back down the elevated steps.

On the way down you should occasionally take a look back at the temple, as the strong green of the trees and the Borobudur temple harmonize very well.

Passing the large golden Buddha statue, we come to the Manohara Resort , where an extensive buffet awaits us.

A wonderful experience that I will definitely remember for a long time.