Magical and Historical! 4 Temples in West Java to Marvel at

As religious places for Indonesian Buddhist and Hindu individuals, temples and shrines exist everywhere in the nation and remember that in West Java, Indonesia, you are bound to see an extraordinary number of them. Numerous among them are rich in history and significant in the communities they serve.

Simply know that a few spots may have a marginally extraordinary arrangement of procedures. In the event that you are not Buddhist or Hindu and end up worried that visiting a temple or shrine may affront your religion, remember that bowing, holding hands, and so on are simply types of offering appreciation.

It does not mean you “believe” in Buddha or Hindu gods. Appreciating the rich history, the fascinating local customs, and the exquisite architecture do not need faith.

Down below, we have listed some temples in West Java you might want to visit during holidays. So, without further ado, let’s jump right in.

A List of Temples in West Java

1. Cangkuang Temple 

Cangkuang Temple is situated ten kilometers from Tarogong to the North in the direction of Bandung. To go there, travelers especially outsiders can take Delman (customary land transportation with a horse in the front). 

Wonderful flowers cover the shallow situ. There is a little island in the lake, which is the Cangkuang Temple itself. Speaking of a lake, here are lakes in Bali worth visiting.

It is the only Hindu temple that had ever been found in West Java and considered a significant revelation in the past. Cangkuang Temple has been underlying the time of the first Sundanese Kingdom: the Galuh Kingdom. 

Close to the temple, there are heritage graves from the Moslem devotee Arif Muhammad, who is one of the Mataram Kingdom troopers from Central Java while assaulting the Dutch Colonialist in Batavia (presently Jakarta), in the seventeenth century. 

2. Bojongmenje Temple 

Bojongmenje Temple is situated on Priangan highland, at a height of 698 meters above sea level. The temple was made with andesite stone as a structural material. 

The temple has a square base arrangement with a side length of six meters. The state of the temple building is simple and the walls comprise just one layer without bas-relief and design. 

Geological study of the temple stone gauges that the age of the Bojongmenje Temple goes from the fifth century to the seventh century. In light of archeological discoveries on the Bojongmenje site, it is assessed that the temple was built between the seventh and eighth hundreds of years. 

This implies Bojongmenje Temple is perhaps the oldest temple in Java island, older than the temples of Central Java and East Java, or possibly in a similar period as the Dieng Temples in Central Java. You might want to know about temples in Mojokerto.

3. Batujaya Temple 

The site was first found and inspected by archeologists from the University of Indonesia in 1984. Excavations have since revealed 17 unurs, of which the three of those are pools. 

The constructions discovered are made of blocks made out of a combination of mud and rice husks, not the volcanic stone which is hard to track down in Batujaya. Two constructions recuperated are temples, one of which, known as Jiwa Temple, has been reestablished. 

As indicated by Dr. Tony Djubiantono, the head of Bandung Archeology Agency, Batujaya Temple was built in the second century. As local Indonesian governments do not keep up the site, Ford gives assets to research and excavation of the Batujaya complex as a part of its Conservation and Environmental Grants. 

Advance innovation has been applied for the development with a portion of the floors and different pieces of the temple which require solidifying made of unreinforced concrete with marble-size stones and a portion of the temples are additionally covered with a thick enough of stucco.

4. Jiwa Temple 

Jiwa Temple is situated in Segaran, a little town on the banks of the Citarum River around 20 kilometers northwest of the city of Rengasdengklok, Karawang regime, and 15 kilometers upper east of Jakarta. The temple is encircled by rice fields giving a natural and unique view. 

Jiwa Temple is a Buddhist temple square-molded with a width of 19 meters and is 4.7 meters in tallness. It was built during the Java Kingdom of Tarumanagara. 

The temple is essential for the Batujaya site, which was first found by an archeological group of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Indonesia in 1984. Since starting their exploration in 1984 to 1999, they have discovered 13 sites in the town of Segaran and 11 sites in Tegaljaya. Also, check out historical sites in Banten.

So, that is a list of temples in West Java. While you are at it, make sure to read our other articles about waterfalls in Kuningan, West Java and street foods in Bogor.