[Travel] Yogyakarta | The Beauty Sunset Queen, Ratu Boko

Only 3 km south of Candi Prambanan (Prambanan temple), we’re ending the day with the ruins of a palace or temple, Ratu Boko. Between the choices of Candi Ijo (Ijo temple) or Ratu Boko to watch the sunset, we opt on for Ratu Boko for sunset to catch the sun setting between its gates.

We combine ticket from Candi Prambanan and Ratu Boko for Rp. 75.000 (around USD$5.23) for local tourist. If a visitor only visits Ratu Boko, it’ll cost Rp. 40.000 (round USD$2.75) for local tourist and USD$25 for a foreigner.

Ratu Boko is located between the village of Bokoharjo and Prambanan in Selman Regency, Yogyakarta. There’s a possibility that the ruins came from the Sailendra sultanate or the Mataram Kingdom who built most of Prambanan temples, but it doesn’t look like a temple complex, instead, it looks like ruins of a Kraton or palace.

It is said that the (Kraton) Ratu Boko is the former palace of the Boko Kingdom. Yes. The Boko Kingdom from the Loro Jongrang legend in Candi Prambanan (Prambanan temple) legend. The ruins were found by a Dutch researcher, Van Boeckholtz, in 1790 and since then attracted other westerners to explore it. FDK Bosch published his findings and titled it Keraton Van Ratoe Boko.”

Then again, based on the Abhayagiriwihara Vihara inscription from 792 CE, Kraton Ratu Boko was built by Rakai Panangkaran, and was called Abhyagiri Wihara (a vihara on top of the hill that free from danger), intended to be a place for his retirement and dedicated his life to Buddhism. Later it was fortified by Raka Walaing Pu Kumbayoni as a defensive fort.

The first entrance is called talud with 3 gates (gapura), made of limestone. The second layer has 5 gates (gapura). Some of the entrance has a roof made of stone (paduraksa – towering roof in classical Hindu Buddhist period) style known in Java and Bali.

Another terrace where people can have a picnic under the evening shade. Unfortunately, we kinda skip the second layer towards a small temple on the left uphill and choose to go straight instead.

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Paseban. some umpak or stone based for a building and remnants of pillars. Paseban is a Javanese word as a place to have an audience with the King (seba = come before/audience).

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Going up the hill, we reach Pendopo.

Pendopo is the audience hall. Entering the gate, the centre stone based, taller than the ones in Pasaben, is surrounded by walls. The stone based are quite high and again, only ruins remain since the pillars and walls are probably made of perishable materials like wood.

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Going down to another terrace, we arrive at the Kaputren and bathing place. The Kaputren is the women’s quarter and it was believed the pool and the place is for the King’s concubines.

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In Hindu believes, the pool is considered sacred ‘Amerta Mantana‘ to purified and bring luck. The bathing has two sections. I assume for men on one side and women on the other side, only separated by a wall with a connecting gate.