Paradise Calls: Solo Part 2: Cheto and Sukuh Temple

I have limited time today. Bus to Bandung will depart at 3 pm and it's 5 am in the morning. Thank God Amarelo Hotel provides breakfast start from 6 am. So I don't want to waste time. Soon as we finished breakfast, we're heading to Candi Sukuh (Sukuh Temple) first, then Candi Ceto (Ceto Temple), by scooter. Yes friends, we rented scooter from OK Rent. My suggestion is, better don't go anywhere in Sunday morning. If you need to go, better weekdays or Saturday at least. Cities in Indonesia have weekly activity called Car Free Day every Sunday morning. Not only in Solo. So they close some main roads for motor vehicles. I'm totally forgetting this, and we're struggling to get alternative routes.

It takes about an hour to get there. And our first destination is:

CANDI SUKUH (SUKUH TEMPLE)

"Sukuh is one of several temples built on the northwest slopes of Mount Lawu in the 15th century. By this time, Javanese religion and art had diverged from Indian precepts that had been so influential on temples styles during the 8th–10th centuries. This was the last significant area of temple building in Java before the island's courts were converted to Islam in the 16th century. It is difficult for historians to interpret the significance of these antiquities due to the temple's distinctiveness and the lack of records of Javanese ceremonies and beliefs of the era"

- Wikipedia

We arrived approximately 8 am, and they're not open yet. But thanks to the lady in snack booth (warung), she told us to just get inside from side entrance (which is exit way actually).

First time I stepped into the area, I still can't describe the feeling I have. It was very calming, soothing, really took my mind far far away. The wide landscape, no visitors yet, it was very quiet. The very beautiful sound I could hear was only wind from the mountain. The ambient was very meditative. I could spend hours just sitting there and let all anxiety and worries washed away.

Relief of Bima forges dagger with Ganesha and Arjuna.

In the mid 15th century, the Majapahit Empire began to decline, with the emergence of Islam that causes more reduction Hindus in Java. But at that time the ruler of Majapahit establish Sukuh at the foot of Mount Lawu, which is considered a sacred place to worship ancestors and as a symbol of fertility. So do not be surprised if in Sukuh found a lot of relief phallus and yoni, a symbol of male and female genitalia.

Entrance

Unlike most other Hindu temples, Candi Sukuh not facing toward the rising sun, but facing westward. The shape of the building is also different. Sukuh similar to the Mayan buildings in South America that is more similar to a truncated pyramid surrounded by a monolith and large statues. Building form Sukuh more like a trapezoid with three terraced with one rung in the middle of the front side of the temple. This form is estimated to be made due to the decreasing influence of the Hindu religion, which led to the temple maker re-use design with a pattern of animism.

I would love to spend more and more hours here but it's 10 am already wow time flies. There's another place I want to visit, and it's near from here. Another temple still, it's called "Candi Cheto".

CANDI CETO (CETO TEMPLE)

Candi Ceto is a temple which I could say still "active". People are still go to this place to pray, plus it has historical value.
We arrived around 10.30 in the morning, sunshine was pretty harsh. We bought ticket and they wrap our waist with checker board fabric. Then here we go... Massive amount of stairs stairs stairs everywhere. Make sure you've had trained your thigh haha...

"Ceto is one of several temples built on the northwest slopes of Mount Lawu in the fifteenth century. By this time, Javanese religion and art had diverged from Indian precepts that had been so influential on temples styles during the 8-10th century. This area was the last significant area of temple building in Java before the island's courts were converted to Islam in the 16th century. The temples' distinctiveness and the lack of records of Javanese ceremonies and beliefs of the era make it difficult for historians to interpret the significance of these antiquities"

-Wikipedia

Ceto temple was first discovered by Van de Vlies in 1842. Based on the the ruins, the temple is estimated as old as Candi Sukuh, and they're located pretty near.