This massive Buddhist temple was built around the 8th century and, centuries later, was abandoned. Eventually, it accumulated dirt and volcanic ash. This half buried Borobudur -- and wild vegetation covered the rest.  A British colonial officer came upon the virtually hidden Borobudur in 1814. A minor restoration was made in the early 1900s. However, it was never repaired to a respectable degree until 1984, the year UNESCO finished its decade-long project. Borobudur was literarily taken apart and reassembled stone block by stone block.

The ancient temple is ten stories high and measures over 120 meters (400 feet) per side. The structure has nine concentric terraces. The six bottom ones are square, the three top ones are round. The square terraces are trimmed with over 1000 Buddhist relief panels. They depict Buddhist scenes and are the greatest treasure of Borobudur.  The round terraces are garnished with over 70 large bell shaped stupas (see photo). Originally, each housed a statue of Buddha (as some still do).

About a 1000 years ago Hindu religious devotees built a majestic 240-temple complex. The tallest individual temple is as high as a 15 story building. It still stands, as do a number of other high temples, all sharing a similar design (see photo). Today, the temple complex is collectively known in the tourism world as the Prambanan Temple but its correct name is the Lara Jonggrang Temple.