Plaosan Temple is the lesser-known temple in the Prambanan temple area but it is quite frequently visited by those who take the extra effort to seek it. Rich with its own history, the Plaosan temple is nonetheless magnificent but is less crowded compared to the likes of Prambanan.

Getting There

Exiting from Candi Sewu, (read out guide on Prambanan Temple here) go straight and take the first right turn that you see at the T-junction.

Plaosan Temple is 20 minutes walk away from the junction through a majestic endless scenery of paddy fields and locals going through their daily lives. Keep going straight and you will come to a T-Junction. Keep walking straight from the T-junction and you will come across something that looks something like this:

arch before plaosan temple — Spot the red landmark. You are 5 minutes away from Plaosan when you see this

road leading to plaosan temple — The road leading to Plaosan Temple

The entrance fee to Plaosan temple for foreigners is IDR5000 (yes, I’m serious) and can be paid upon entrance.

History and background of Candi Plaosan

Plaosan temple was built in the mid 9th century by Sri Kahulunnan or Pramodhawardhani, the daughter of Samaratungga, descendent of the Sailendra Dynasty, and who was married to Rakai Pikatan in the Hindu tradition. The Plaosan complex is an ensemble of two Buddhist temples, Plaosan Lor and Plaosan Kidul. The temples are separated by a road; Plaosan Lor is located in the North and Plaosan Kidul in the South. Plaosan Lor consists of two main temples and an open area known as a mandapa. Both temples have an entrance, a gate, and the guardian statue known as Dwarapala. Plaosan Lor and Plaosan Kidul are considered to originally be one complex.

Walkabout Plaosan Temple

A walk around Plaosan Temple would take about an hour but there are no guides for hire here.

It was raining heavily while I was there and I had to hide in one of the temples (thanks to the fact that I did not have a raincoat with me) to prevent myself from getting wet. The temple provided a really nice cover but the fact that I was alone in a dark cold temple could be a bit adventurous.

However, I managed to get a few nice shots of the temple from the inside:

view from inside candi plaosan temple — A view from inside the temple

entrance to the temple — The entrance of the temple with water being blown in by the wind

plaosan temple in the rain — Plaosan temple after the rain

For those of you who don’t mind the walk and would like to explore more of the area, Plaosan Temple should definitely be on your itinerary. An alternative way to head to Plaosan Temple is by hiring a GoJek or a trishaw that is widely available at the entrance of the Prambanan Temple. For a mere 2km distance, I would say a fair price would be around IDR5000 – IDR8000.

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