Candi Mendut Temple Guide: Highlights, Tickets, and Travel Tips

5th August, 2025

I’m planning to go to Borobudur Temple for sightseeing…
Are there any other recommended places nearby?

In the Magelang area where Borobudur is located, there are several other ruins.
This time, I will introduce Mendut Temple (Candi Mendut), which has the oldest history among the ruins around Borobudur.

TOC

What is Candi Mendut?

Candi Mendut is a Buddhist monument located about 3 kilometers from Borobudur Temple, and it is the oldest of the nine ruins around Borobudur.

Highlights

Structure of the Building

Mendut Temple is made of andesite stone on the outside and brick on the inside. The temple faces northwest, which is the opposite of Borobudur Temple, which faces east.

The temple’s floor plan is rectangular, with a length of 33.80m, a width of 25m, and a height of 18.95m. The base of the temple is 3.7m high, with an entrance staircase consisting of 14 steps. The temple building is a single-chambered structure, with the staircase on the northwest side. At the foot of the temple, there is a 1m high shelf with a 2.48m wide corridor. Architecturally, the temple building is divided into three parts: the base, the body, and the roof.

The base of the staircase’s cheek is decorated with a makara in the shape of a dragon’s head with an elephant’s trunk with its mouth wide open. There are two (a pair) of makaras. Inside the dragon’s mouth is a lion. Below the dragon’s head, there is a mural in the shape of a dwarf (gana).

The Three Buddha Statues

Climbing the stairs and entering through the entrance, you can see three large, well-preserved Buddha statues known as the ‘Three Holy Ones.’

The central 2.5m high Buddha statue depicts Shakyamuni with his hands in the dharmachakra mudra (turning the wheel of law). You can see a rare depiction of Shakyamuni sitting on a chair.

This is the first time I’ve seen a Buddha statue in a seated style on a chair!
The chair itself is so grand, it gave me a sense of kingly greatness.

The seated style with legs down, known as the “European-seated” style, was also popular for Indonesian Buddha statues, and this style also exists in China.

This represents a significant moment in the life of Shakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, when he gave his first sermon after attaining enlightenment.

The Buddha statues on either side of Shakyamuni are also a highlight.

Murals and Reliefs

The walls of the staircase are decorated with several murals depicting various stories containing Buddhist teachings (reliefs of Pañcatantra and Jataka stories). The Pañcatantra is a work of world literature that originated in the Kashmir region of India and was written in the 1st century AD.

The Pañcatantra is a story in which a Brahmin named Viṣṇuśarman teaches three young princes about worldly wisdom, life, and more specifically, political science and statecraft.

It is mainly divided into the following five stories:

Mitrabheda (The Loss of Friends)
Mitraprāpti (The Winning of Friends)
Kākolūkīya (Of Crows and Owls – concerning war and peace)
Labdhanāśa (The Loss of Gains)
Aparīkṣitakāritva (Ill-Considered Action)

The reliefs on the main body of Mendut Temple can be viewed in pradakshina (clockwise direction) and consist of reliefs of the pantheon of deities known as the Garbhadhātu Mandala of the Tantrayana school of Buddhism.

Access

It is about 3km from Borobudur and can be reached in about 5 minutes by car from Borobudur.

It is recommended to visit in conjunction with a tour of Borobudur.

Please refer here for how to get to Borobudur Temple.

Tickets, Purchase Method, and Price

There is a small ticket office at the entrance where you can purchase tickets.

Price

Adult: IDR 10,000
Child: IDR 5,000

History

It is estimated that Mendut Temple is older than Borobudur Temple, or at least contemporary with it. This is based on the discovery of a short inscription that is said to have been above the entrance.

Paleographically, it is similar to the short inscriptions written above the Karmawibhangga reliefs at Borobudur Temple.

About a century later, the building became a Buddhist pilgrimage site. Later, the temple was abandoned with the collapse of the ancient Mataram kingdom, buried by volcanic ash from Mount Merapi and earthquakes, and the temple stones were lost as they were used for the personal needs of the surrounding residents.

History of Discovery and Restoration

The temple was first rediscovered in 1836. At that time, it was collapsed and buried in the ground, overgrown with shrubs, but cleaning of the temple began that year.

The entire Mendut Temple building was discovered, except for the roof. In the late 19th century, a complete survey of Mendut Temple and its environment was conducted for the first time by B. Kersjes and C. den Hamer.

Excavation and restoration work was carried out from 1897 to 1904, and the first repairs were made by the Dutch. The restoration was successful in constructing the base and body of the temple.

In 1908, T. van Erp continued the repairs of Mendut Temple along with the repairs of Borobudur Temple, but he could not install the roof part, and the repairs were not completed. Further repairs were made in 1925, and several small stupas were reattached to the temple roof.