BOROBUDUR IS MORE than just the world’s biggest Buddhist temple. It is a special, iconic place with a fascinating story of glory, to abandonment, to inundation, to rediscovery, to restoration, and, finally to recognition as a man-made wonder of the world. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site and Indonesia’s most visited tourist attraction. The Borobudur Temple in Central Java is the world’s largest Buddhist temple, added to UNESCO’s World Heritage list in 1991, and included as one of the seven wonders of the world until 2007. The enormous 8th century temple complex is packed with religious, cultural, and historical beauty, and is one of the most-visited attractions in Indonesia . Borobudur is decorated with 504 Buddha statues and 2,670 beautifully-carved relief panels, with 72 stupas on top. The bas-relief panels depict everyday life in 9th century Java, courtiers and soldiers, local plants and animals, and the activities of common people. Other panels feature Buddhist myths and stories and show such spiritual beings as 2 Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew. The temple of a million bottles isn’t the average Buddhist temple. Located in Sisaket province, Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew is made up of 1.5 million recycled glass bottles and other materials. Caps from the bottles were used to make stunning mosaic patterns, while the glass itself was used to create walls and even a pagoda. .

largest buddhist temple in indonesia