Prambanan is the biggest Hindu temple in Indonesia as well as one of the most beautiful temples in Southeast Asia. According to the inscription of Siwargha plaque, the temple was constructed during the reign of Rakai Pikatan (mid ninth century) of Ancient Mataram Kingdom.

However, due to an inexplicable cause, the center of the government was moved to East Java by the end of the tenth century. As a result, this epic temple was abandoned and left unattended; some parts of the temple were later buried by the volcanic materials spewed by Merapi Volcano. Prambanan then slowly became a dense forest.

Hundreds of years later, the ruins of the temple were discovered. No one knew its history at that time. As a result, the Legend of Roro Jonggrang was born and then passed down from one generation to another.

No serious restoration effort was started until the 1930s and the main temple’s restoration was not completed until 1953.

“Legend says that a princess was cursed and turned into a statue standing inside Prambanan Temple.” He told me the complete story without being asked.

Long time ago, there lived a beautiful princess named Roro Jonggrang. Her beauty attracted a prince named Bandung Bondowoso. He asked her to marry him but Roro Jonggrang had a condition. To politely turn down the proposal without insulting Bandung Bondowoso, she demanded a thousand temples to be built overnight. To her surprise, the prince said that he would do as she demanded.

Bandung Bondowoso then requested the help of a horde of spirits to build the temples in a single night. When the 999th temple was erected, Roro Jonggrang ordered the villagers to light fires and pound rice using large mortars. The spirits thought that the sun had risen and ran like hell. Enraged by the princess’ trickery, Bandung Bondowoso cursed her, turning the princess into a stone statue to complete the 1,000 temples.

“The statue is still standing until now, you can see it for yourself later,” said the taxi driver.

We then found ourselves almost arriving at the temple. The 47 meters high Roro Jonggrang Temple was visible even from the highway. Even distance could not conceal its beauty!