Borobudur & Prambanan Temples Tour with Ramayana Ballet

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/45

Duration12h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

You climb inside Borobudur to the monumental stupa at its peak, surrounded by 72 openwork stupas holding Buddha statues.

A full-day tour from Yogyakarta visits three major sites: Borobudur temple with priority access to climb to the top, Prambanan temple complex with its Hindu shrines and Ramayana reliefs, and an evening performance of the Ramayana Ballet staged against Prambanan's backdrop. The tour includes an English-speaking driver, entrance fees, air-conditioned transport and parking; the ballet runs Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with alternative performances on other days. Lunch and dinner are not included, and a local temple guide costs extra if you want one inside the sites.

12h

Step-by-step itinerary

Borobudur, Prambanan, and Ramayana Ballet

Climb to the top of Borobudur temple
Visit Prambanan Hindu temple complex
Watch Ramayana Ballet performance

The Experience

How do you fit three major temples and a classical ballet into a single day? The tour starts with priority access to climb Borobudur, the 8th-century Buddhist monument built in three tiers—a pyramidal base with five concentric square terraces, a cone trunk with three circular platforms, and a monumental stupa at the summit. The walls and balustrades carry 2,500 square meters of low reliefs, and the circular platforms are ringed with 72 openwork stupas, each holding a Buddha statue. The climb itself is the draw: you move through the stone galleries and reach the top instead of viewing from ground level. Borobudur was restored with UNESCO's help in the 1970s, and the reliefs are highlighted to show the many faces of Buddha as you ascend.

From there, the tour continues to Prambanan, the largest Hindu temple compound dedicated to Shiva in Indonesia, built in the tenth century. Six main temples stand here—three dedicated to the great Hindu divinities (Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma) and three to the animals who serve them. The reliefs on the walls illustrate the epic of the Ramayana, which becomes the evening's performance. You walk the temple grounds and see the carved stone narrative before the ballet brings it to life.

The Ramayana Ballet performs Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, staged with Prambanan as the backdrop. The story unfolds in the Dandaka Forest, where the giant Rahwana kidnaps Shinta and takes her to Alengka. Rama, aided by Hanoman and the monkey forces, builds a bridge to Alengka to free her, leading to a battle between the kingdoms—ape forces against giants defending Alengka. The performance visualizes the reliefs you saw on the temple walls earlier that day. On other days, the venue offers alternative performances: Shadow Puppet on Tuesday, Mahabharata Dance on Wednesday, and Panji Mask Ballet on Sunday. If you book for Friday, the evening show is the Roro Jonggrang Dance instead. The driver and guide do not enter the temples themselves; if you want a local temple guide inside the sites, that incurs an additional fee.

What’s included

Entrance fees to Borobudur and Prambanan temples.
Ramayana Ballet or alternative evening performance ticket.
air-conditioned vehicle with parking.
English-speaking driver throughout the day.
pickup from your hotel.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleStroller friendly

Operated by Asmaradhana Borobudur Tours

Is this one for you?Choose this if you want the driver's English commentary throughout the day and can decide at checkout whether to add a local temple expert—otherwise you'll explore Borobudur, Prambanan, and the evening Ramayana Ballet at your own pace.