In a magnificent position 900m above the Solo plain, Candi Sukuh is one of Java’s most enigmatic and striking temples. It’s not a large site, but it has a large, truncated pyramid of rough-hewn stone, and there are some fascinating reliefs and Barong statues. It’s clear that a fertility cult was practised here: several explicit carvings have led it to be dubbed the ‘erotic’ temple. It’s a quiet, isolated place with a potent atmosphere.
On clear days the view of the terraced emerald valley and the volcano looming above are magical.
Built in the 15th century during the declining years of the Majapahit kingdom, Candi Sukuh seems to have nothing whatsoever to do with other Javanese Hindu and Buddhist temples. The origins of its builders and strange sculptural style (with crude, squat and distorted figures carved in the wayang style found in east Java) remain a mystery and it seems to mark a reappearance of the pre-Hindu animism that existed 1500 years earlier.
