Borobudur Sunrise & The Famous Borobudur Temple

Borobudur straddles two worlds. On the one hand, it’s home to Indonesia’s most famous Borobudur temple. The Borobudur sunrise at the temple is also one of the popular highlights here. I must mention that the temple is also the country’s most-visited tourist attraction.

On the other hand, it’s a quiet, off-the-beaten-path village where you can feel like the only tourist who’s ever passed through.

The Borobodur temple was my single biggest reason for visiting Indonesia. I wanted to visit for sunrise to get the full, mystical effect. That left me with two options: a very early morning day trip from nearby Yogyakarta, or spending a night in the village.

As someone who prefers to get off the beaten path on her travels, it was a no-brainer. So I booked a homestay and hopped on the bus.

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How To Get To Borobudur

To get to the village, you need to go to the Jombor bus terminal in Yogyakarta. Buses leave every half hour or so. Don’t bring much luggage as there isn’t much place to store it. Odds are you’ll have to fit it all on your lap.

This is why Borobudur is such a popular destination when it comes to backpacking Indonesia. That and the fact that there are so many cool things to do in Borobudur.

Transport In Borobudur

Borobudur is tiny. You can walk everywhere in town. Most guesthouses will give you a simple map and let you use a bicycle or motorbike for free. This is handy if you want to go further into the surrounding area. Just make sure to pack some comfortable walking shoes.

Where To Stay In Borobudur

There are a handful of guesthouses and homestays in the $10-$15 range. I stayed at and would highly recommend Efata Homestay. Lotus II Guesthouse, right next door, is also popular.

Small Temples In Borobudur: Walking To Mendut & Pawon

Rice fields just outside the village of Borobudur

In addition to Borobudur’s famous hilltop stupa, there are two other important Buddhist temples just outside the village: Mendut and Pawon. Pawon is within walking distance of town and very small.

Mendut is 3 km outside the village, and houses one of the largest and best-preserved Buddha statues on Java. So when I had an afternoon to kill in Borobudur, I decided to walk to both.

As I walked along the road, I was surprised by how friendly the locals were. Nearly everyone stopped to say hello. Kids rode their bicycles alongside me and practiced their English for a few minutes. A couple guys who were repairing a car even invited me to their tea break.

After visiting Mendut and Pawon, I took a stroll through the rice fields just outside the village for some photos. I encountered even more welcoming people along the way. An old man was really excited to show me the best spot for photos. A group of young boys invited me to join their ball game.

What’s more, the scenery was astounding — emerald-green rice fields as far as the eye could see, with highly-volcanic Mount Merapi as a backdrop.

Borobudur Temple Entrance Cost

Borobudur Temple costs 325,000 rupiah to visit during the day, or 450,000 rupiah for the sunrise or sunset tours. This can be pretty steep if you are visiting on a backpacker budget. What you need to think of is that it is THE most famous attraction here. Odds are, you’ve added the city to your itinerary for two reasons: The Borobudur sunrise and the temples.

The question is the cost worth it? For experience, I will say that it’s worth every penny.

Borobudur Sunrise At The Borobudur Temple

Sunrise at Borobudur Temple

I was head over heels in love with Borobudur before I even explored the temple. My main reason for visiting was the much touted Borobudur sunrise at the temples. I loved the temples and it only got better from there as I did the sunrise tour.

My alarm went off at 4 am. Ika, the owner of my homestay, was waiting for me with his motorbike. He drove me to the temple, helped me get my ticket, and showed me the best place to wait for the Borobudur sunrise.

And what can I say? The Borobudur sunrise was spectacular. It lived up to every expectation. Although it had been cloudy overnight, the sky cleared up for five glorious minutes that morning to let the sun shine through.

Afterwards, I explored the incredible bas relief galleries before walking back through the village to my guesthouse.

While the Borobudur sunrise was quite a touristy experience, I still feel like I got to know this village a little better. I would have loved to stay for another day, take a bicycle and explore the surrounding villages. It’s possible to visit a tofu maker and a paper making shop. Both of which are great opportunities to learn more about local life.

Alas, I had to head back to Yogyakarta. But the Borobudur sunrise will be cemented in my memory. The village is definitely the friendliest place in Java.

Where To Eat When Visiting The Borobudur Temple?

Odds are, you probably will get up really early to catch the Borobudur sunrise. You probably won’t have much time for breakfast and will be ravenous by the time you finish exploring the Borobudur temple.

Luckily there are a number of simple warungs (restaurants) that line the road heading west from the temple. Meals cost less than 15,000 rupiah. The meals are wholesome and are something that everyone enjoys.

Book A Borobudur Sunrise Tour

⭐️ Rating: 5/5 (259 Reviews) Price: $125 per person Duration: 12 hour 📍Meeting Point: Pick up from your hotel Details: Read more on Viator!

Okay so by now you probably have surmised that there are three main spots in Borobudur that you have to put on your bucket list. These are namely Merapi Volcano, Prambanan Temples, and Borobudur Temple. The Borobudur sunrise tour covers all three locations which means that you don’t have to worry about transport at all!

Oh and you will have a local guide along with you who will take you through the importance of all the the three sites. You will start off early before sunrise and head up to Setumbu Hill. That’s where you will capture some of the most beautiful photographs of the Borobudur sunrise.

“Our driver was Dedhy. He was really nice guy, always on time, very open and charismatic. He helped us in each place, gave some tips etc. He also got for us tickets to get on top of Borobudur temple with English speaking guide in just group of 4 people, amazing!”

Paulina (read more reviews now!)

From there head on to Merapi volcano. Lastly, you will end the day at the Prambanan temples. What you do need to understand is that while it may be a Borobudur sunrise tour, you will be out for the whole day so make sure to pack your walking shoes!

Oh and the best part is that the tour is always conducted in a small group! Makes it a fun and easy way to explore the temples.

Carrie blogs about her adventures at Trains, Planes and Tuk Tuks.

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** Photographs and pictures have been provided by the author for use in this  post and do not belong to Globetrove.