page_title: Tourism in Indonesia
section_title: Ancient Hindu and Buddhist temples
hierarchical_section_title: Tourism in Indonesia / Cultural tourism / Ancient Hindu and Buddhist temples
caption_attribution_description: English: Lontara dance during Gunungan Festival at Prambanan Temple.
context_page_description: Tourism in Indonesia is an important component of the Indonesian economy as well as a significant source of its foreign exchange revenues. Indonesia was ranked at 20th in the world tourist Industry in 2017, also ranked as the ninth-fastest growing tourist sector in the world, the third-fastest growing in Asia and fastest-growing in Southeast Asia. In 2018, Denpasar, Jakarta and Batam are among of 10 cities in the world with fastest growth in tourism, 32.7, 29.2 and 23.3 percent respectively. The country has planned to achieve 8 percent of GDP from tourism sector and targeted to attract about 20 million of visitors by 2019. The tourism sector ranked as the 4th largest among goods and services export sectors.
  On 2019, Indonesia recorded 16.10 million foreign tourist arrivals, seeing a 1.9% per cent increase than that of 2018. In the year 2015, 9.73 million international visitors entered Indonesia, staying in hotels for an average of 7.5 nights and spending an average of US$1,142 per person during their visit, or US$152.22 per person per day. Singapore, Malaysia, China, Australia, and Japan are the top five sources of visitors to Indonesia.
context_section_description: From the 4th century until the 15th century, Hinduism and Buddhism shaped the culture of Indonesia. Kingdoms rise and fall, such as Medang Kingdom, Srivijaya, Kediri, Singhasari and Majapahit. Along with the Indonesian classical history of Hindu-Buddhist era, they produced some temples and monuments called candi. The best-preserved Buddhist shrine, which was built during the Sailendra dynasty in the 8th century, is Borobudur temple in Central Java. A giant stone mandala stepped pyramid adorned with bell-shaped stupas, richly adorned with bas-reliefs telling the stories and teachings of Buddha.
  A few kilometres to the southeast is the Prambanan complex, the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia built during the second Mataram dynasty. The Prambanan temple is dedicated to Trimurti; Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma, three highest gods in Hinduism. Both the Borobudur and the Prambanan temple compounds have been listed in the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1991. Both temple are the largest and the most popular, conveniently accessible from Yogyakarta, the heartland of Javanese culture. The Ramayana Javanese dance is performed routinely on the stage near Prambanan temple, provides the visitors with the glimpse of Javanese classical culture.
  In and around Jogjakarta, the ancient Javanese archaeology and temple enthusiast may still discover numerous ancient temples, accessible by car or motorcycle. Although not as grand and popular as Borobudur and Prambanan, these smaller temples provide a glimpse of ancient culture and the intricate details of ancient Java temple architecture. Mendut and Pawon temples are located in Kedu Plain near Borobudur, while Ratu Boko, Sewu, Lumbung, Plaosan, Kalasan, and Sari are located in Prambanan Plain near Prambanan temple.
  The temples of East Java dated from the era of Singhasari and Majapahit; mostly located in Trowulan archaeological site, and also scattered around Blitar and Malang. Although not as grand and popular as the temples of Central Java, the East Javanese temples are also an interesting destination for candi and Indonesian ancient history enthusiast. East Javanese temples such as Wringin Lawang, Brahu, Bajang Ratu, and Candi Tikus in Trowulan archaeological site. Jawi temple near Pandaan, south of Surabaya, Penataran temple in Blitar, Kidal temple and Singhasari temple near Malang.
  Most major Indonesian archaeological sites are equipped with museums; such as Samudra Raksa Museum and Karmawibhangga Museum in Borobudur, Prambanan museum in Prambanan temple compounds, and Trowulan Museum located in former Majapahit capital of Trowulan archaeological site. Some of the archaeological discoveries are also displayed in municipal museums, such as Sonobudoyo Museum in Yogyakarta and Radyapustaka Museum in Surakarta, and of course the Indonesian National Museum in Jakarta.
  Sumatra also home of several ancient Buddhist temples mostly linked to Srivijaya kingdom, such as Muaro Jambi in Jambi province, Muara Takus in Riau and Biaro Bahal in North Sumatra. Sumatran temples, however, are not as elaborated and as spectacular as its Javanese counterpart, and subsequently less popular. The location is rural, quite far from large cities, so renting a car to visit these sites is advisable since public transportation to the location is scarce.
caption: Cultural performance near Prambanan temple.
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