I will be going to Yogyarkarta next month to tour Borobudur, the great Buddhist stupa on Java

(Indonesia), built and decorated perhaps before 800AD, should be on anybody's list of the ten greatest art-complexes in the world for its size, quality, sophistication and excellent state of preservation.

Located at 42 kms west of Yogyakarta, on the island of Java in Indonesia, Borobudur - one of the most magnificent Buddhist shrines in the world - was built at the end of the 9th century by the Hindu kings of the Sailendra dynasty.

The plan for this stupa is a schematized representation of the cosmos, a mandala. After visiting its lower terraces decorated with bas-reliefs, pilgrims attain the shrine's crowning stupa, which symbolizes the Absolute.

Following in the footsteps of various discoverers, let us visit this unique and magnificent monument, which has since been restored by the Indonesian government and UNESCO.