Today is World Tourism Day, and what better way to celebrate than with a visit to one of the world’s greatest treasures—the Borobudur temple complex in Yogyakarta, Indonesia? If you can’t make the flight, don’t worry—now the temple is just a click away on Google Street View and Cultural Institute.
Built in the 9th century, predating Angkor Wat by 300 years, Borobudur is not just one of the oldest Buddhist temples in the world, it’s also the world’s largest. Earlier this year, our Street View operator strapped on the Trekker and set out to capture 360-degree imagery of all 2,500 square meters of this UNESCO World Heritage site. With Borobudur’s nine stacked platforms, 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues, there was plenty to explore.
Here you get a sense of just how many stairs Trekker had to climb:
Experience for yourself just how steep the stone steps are:
The higher up you go, the narrower the pathways around the temple get:
The view from the central dome on the highest level is marked by the tops of hundreds of stupas. Pan around to gaze out over the fields that surround the temple complex:
The sheer size of Borobudur is impressive, but its beauty really lies in the detail. Discover the bas reliefs and statues up close in new exhibits on the Cultural Institute, featuring artifacts and content from Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur, Prambanan and Ratu Boko (the national authority responsible for the protection and conservation of Borobudur and surrounding heritage sites):
Historical imagery of Borobudur on the Cultural Institute also document the temple complex through the decades. In this undated photo, wayangs—or puppet shows—were performed at the base of Borobudur:
And see how much—or how little—has changed by comparing two images side by side:
We’re grateful to our partners—the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture, the Ministry of Tourism, and Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur, Prambanan and Ratu Boko—for making it possible for us to publish this new imagery for the world to see on Google Maps and Cultural Institute.
In addition to Borobudur, there’s Street View imagery of Lampung, Lombok, and Palembang on Google Maps. And you can discover many more Wonders of Indonesia on the Cultural Institute, such as a visual story of the Ramayana dance.
What are you waiting for? Selamat mengeksplor, or happy exploring!
Posted by Shinto Nugruho, Head of Public Policy & Government Relations, Google Indonesia
Built in the 9th century, predating Angkor Wat by 300 years, Borobudur is not just one of the oldest Buddhist temples in the world, it’s also the world’s largest. Earlier this year, our Street View operator strapped on the Trekker and set out to capture 360-degree imagery of all 2,500 square meters of this UNESCO World Heritage site. With Borobudur’s nine stacked platforms, 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues, there was plenty to explore.
Here you get a sense of just how many stairs Trekker had to climb:
Experience for yourself just how steep the stone steps are:
The view from the central dome on the highest level is marked by the tops of hundreds of stupas. Pan around to gaze out over the fields that surround the temple complex:
Historical imagery of Borobudur on the Cultural Institute also document the temple complex through the decades. In this undated photo, wayangs—or puppet shows—were performed at the base of Borobudur:
And see how much—or how little—has changed by comparing two images side by side:
We’re grateful to our partners—the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture, the Ministry of Tourism, and Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur, Prambanan and Ratu Boko—for making it possible for us to publish this new imagery for the world to see on Google Maps and Cultural Institute.
In addition to Borobudur, there’s Street View imagery of Lampung, Lombok, and Palembang on Google Maps. And you can discover many more Wonders of Indonesia on the Cultural Institute, such as a visual story of the Ramayana dance.
What are you waiting for? Selamat mengeksplor, or happy exploring!
Posted by Shinto Nugruho, Head of Public Policy & Government Relations, Google Indonesia
