Notes on the Geography of Indonesia: Borobudur's SettingJava is famous for its incredibly dense population. Here, mostly in the hills a couple of miles west of Borobudur, is some evidence of that crowding. Make default image size larger ![]() Despite the tourist crowds, you only need go a mile from Borobudur to find yourself in paddy country. It's not quite as peaceful as it looks: the narrow road that passes here has a steady stream of men, women, and children on motorbikes. ![]() There's a range of housing, including very traditional ones despite the electrical wires in the background and the factory-made clothing drying in the front. ![]() The paddy depends on water coming from the hills in the background. We'll climb up one of them. ![]() Our destination is that prominence on the left: with a bit of imagination you can see a man lying down. He's reputedly the builder of Borubudur. Perhaps you can make out a lump that seemingly projects just this side of his forehead. That's where we'll actually get. ![]() So long as the land is flat, there's a road; once we're in the hills we'll be on a trail. ![]() Almost exactly at roadhead, there's an Aman Resorts hotel. The path points straight to Borobudur. ![]() Beyond lie rugged and seemingly empty mountains. ![]() Lots of water comes down the slopes. ![]() At the bottom, it gets more tranquil before being put to agricultural use. ![]() The main peak is the forehead lump we saw a few pictures back. See that stony knob on the left? We'll see it again, from the top of the peak. ![]() Meanwhile, look more closely at the hillside: near the center you can make out the lines of terraced crops. ![]() A closer view: freshly cut terraces. ![]() People live up here. A few women come home with their shopping. ![]() They're heading to the top, where somebody has manhandled a small mountain of bricks all the way up to a village. ![]() At the summit, some flat land is cultivated. ![]() Bamboo is extracted, too, and carried a long way down. ![]() At roadhead, it's loaded on trucks. ![]() From the top, a view of the "bump" seen earlier. Down below, paddy lands and villages. ![]() From the summit looking straight to Borobudur, which is in the center of the image. ![]() Close-up: Borobudur's at the upper right. |
* Argentina * Australia * Austria * Bangladesh * Belgium * Botswana * Brazil * Burma / Myanmar * Cambodia (Angkor) * Canada (B.C.) * China * The Czech Republic * Egypt * Fiji * France * Germany * Ghana * Greece * Guyana * Hungary * India: Themes * Northern India * Peninsular India * Indonesia * Israel * Italy * Japan * Jerusalem * Jordan * Kenya * Laos * Kosovo * Malawi * Malaysia * Mauritius * Mexico * Micronesia (Pohnpei) * Morocco * Mozambique * Namibia * The Netherlands * New Zealand * Nigeria * Norway * Oman * Pakistan * Peru * The Philippines * Poland * Portugal * Romania (Transylvania) * Senegal * Singapore * South Africa * South Korea * Spain * Sri Lanka * Sudan * Syria (Aleppo) * Tanzania * Thailand * Trinidad * Turkey (Istanbul) * Uganda * The U.A.E. (Dubai) * The United Kingdom * The Eastern United States * The Western United States * Oklahoma * Uruguay * Uzbekistan * Vietnam * The West Bank * Yemen * Zambia * Zimbabwe *