[Travel] Yogyakarta | Candi Ijo, City Overview from the Highest Temple in Yogyakarta

After a morning spends time in Prambanan Temple, we’re quite starving and decide to have lunch before we go to Candi Ijo (Ijo Temple), the highest temple in Yogyakarta.

We have lunch at Abhayagiri restaurant. Quite expensive for our budget actually. We take the wrong turn. Rp.650.000 per person for all you can eat. The food is western and quite good. The view is spectacular to see Merapi mountain and the temples like Prambanan and Borobudur in clear view. After lunch, off we go to Candi Ijo.

Candi Ijo is located on Gumuk Ijo hill (hence the name Ijo temple), the west hills of Batur Agung mountain, in Sambirejo village in Sleman, Yogyakarta. The temple has the highest position in Yogyakarta, around 425 meters above sea level. It is dated from the 10th to 11th century CE during the Mataram Kingdom as a temple to for Lord Shiva and his consort, the Goddess Parvati.

Main temple into the garbhagriha (main room).

Lingam (Sanskrit: लिंगम्) represent Lord Shiva and Yoni represent the Goddess Parvati, as Shakti, consort of Shiva. Their combination structure represents the cosmic sacred union between the God and his consort.

A pair of devata or little gods and goddess decorated the wall.

In front of the main temple, there are also smaller temples, or Perwara, dedicated to the Trimurti Gods in Hinduism; Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The statues are long gone, however.

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Arca (statue) of Shiva’s wahana (ride), Nandini.

The temple is on top of the terraces and a level at least still under construction. The view here is breathtaking! I was told this is one of the best places to watch the sunset but alas, we’re heading for Ratu Boko for that.