Prambanan Temple hosts Shiva Festival from 6 January 2027
Published on 10/18/2026 at 08:55 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Prambanan Temple in Yogyakarta will host the Prambanan Shiva Festival from 6 January to 7 March 2027. The programme was announced on 17 October 2026 as part of Indonesia's plan to develop the site as a religious tourism destination. The temple complex is also known locally as Candi Prambanan.
Prambanan Shiva Festival runs from 6 January 2027
The festival will run from 6 January to 7 March 2027 under the theme The Holy Month of Shiva for Spirituality, Peace, and Harmony. Indonesia's Ministry of Tourism presented it as part of an effort to preserve the complex as a living cultural heritage site and to host religious and cultural activities there.
The announcement places the festival directly within the temple complex rather than in Yogyakarta as a separate city event. The ministry said the programme is intended to encourage visitors to understand the site's cultural significance and to support its preservation. The 17 October festival announcement identifies both the dates and the venue.
Prambanan Temple links a ninth-century site to the festival
Prambanan Temple was built in the ninth century and is Indonesia's largest Hindu temple complex, according to the ministry information reported by ANTARA. The complex lies in Sleman District in Yogyakarta and also extends into Klaten in Central Java. It became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1991.
The festival's religious focus reflects the character of the monument itself. The central complex contains Hindu temples, while the Ramayana story is also represented in reliefs on the Shiva Temple. The site operator describes the nearby Ramayana Ballet as a performance based on the Hindu epic and adapted to Javanese culture, with the temple used as a backdrop on the open stage. This connection makes the festival's spiritual theme part of the site's existing cultural setting rather than an unrelated event. The operator's Ramayana Ballet description records that the production has been performed since 1961.
Religious tourism plan gives the festival a wider role
The October announcement presents the festival as more than a limited performance programme. The Tourism Ministry wants Prambanan Temple to function as a living heritage site where religious and cultural activities can take place while the monument remains protected.
For visitors from Western Europe, the concrete news is a future programme at a UNESCO-listed Hindu temple complex in Indonesia. The announced period begins in January 2027 and ends in March 2027; further details about individual activities and visitor arrangements were not included in the announcement.
Visiting Prambanan Temple: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- The Prambanan Shiva Festival runs at Prambanan Temple from 6 January to 7 March 2027.
- The festival is planned as a religious and cultural programme within the temple complex, not as a separate event elsewhere in Yogyakarta.
- The complex is in Sleman District, Yogyakarta, and extends into Klaten in Central Java.
- Prambanan Temple is a ninth-century Hindu temple complex and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1991.
- Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.
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Frequently asked questions about Prambanan Temple
When does the Prambanan Shiva Festival take place at Prambanan Temple?
The festival runs from 6 January to 7 March 2027.
Where is Prambanan Temple and how do you get there?
The complex is in Sleman District in Yogyakarta and extends into Klaten in Central Java. The announced festival information does not specify transport arrangements.
What is Prambanan Temple?
It is a ninth-century Hindu temple complex in Indonesia and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1991.
