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Photo: Gunawan Kartapranata, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
A Buddhist temple with architecture similar to Mendut temple near Borobudur. The temple was restored in 2012. The main chamber is empty and the temple is notable for its Jataka fable Buddhist tales carved on panels around its foot. In a village 1.5 km south of Prambanan between Prambanan and Ratu Boko.
Sojiwan is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist temple located in Kebon Dalem Kidul village, Prambanan, Klaten Regency, Central Java. The temple is located nearly two kilometres southeast of Prambanan temple. This temple is among number of temples scattered in Prambanan Plain.
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Candi Rara Jonggrang
It is the largest and most-visited of the temples just to the left of the main entrance. While there were 237 temples built, most have long since crumbled and the main remaining attractions are the six temples of the central court, richly decorated with carved reliefs. Three of them, known as the Trimurti ("three sacred places"), are particularly important. About 2- 4-hr visit if doing all temples and museum.
An open-air theatre inside the park, just west of Candi Prambanan right across the Opak river, has ballet Javanese dance performances of the great Hindu epic Ramayana on four nights during each full moon between May and October (dry season). The performance involves around 200 artists; dancers and gamelan musicians for about 2 hours, and is performed on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday nights. This performance, set against the starry sky and the lit backdrop of Prambanan with new LED lighting, is quite spell-binding. Enquire at travel agents locally or at your hotel for tickets and times. During the rainy season (November to April) the performance is held in the smaller indoor Trimurti theatre.
South of Prambanan. The ruins of a large palace or temple, located on a hill 200 metres above the Prambanan plain. The origin is uncertain, but is popularly described as the palace of King Boko from the Prambanan legend. The hilltop has a viewpoint of Prambanan that is popular at sunset, and makes for good pictures using a zoom lens. A series of pools suggests palace bathing quarters. Only building foundations remain and it's difficult to make sense of the sprawling site, and the available guides may not speak English. Ratu Boko is incorporated into the Borobudur Park Authority, but entry is separately charged >10 years old: US$25, aged 3 to 10 US$15. There is a combined ticket with Prambanan that saves a few dollars.
North of Candi Lara Jonggrang is a poorly displayed museum laid out in a series of small houses connected by walkways. Explanations are minimal, mostly only Indonesian text, but entry is free so you might as well take a look.