Ancient archery, riverside picnics and sunrise at Borobudur: Inside Amanjiwo, Java’s meditative resort

Ancient archery, riverside picnics and sunrise at Borobudur: Inside Amanjiwo, Java’s meditative resort Nearly 30 years after it opened, Amanjiwo remains one of Asia's most iconic resorts. With Borobudur temple always in view, a stay here reveals how thoughtful design, culture and nature can transform doing nothing into an art form. Rarely do people travel to walk in circles. But, in the right place, it can become a meditative experience and an unexpected salve for urban nine-to-five malaise. When in Yogyakarta, visiting the UNESCO World Heritage site of Borobudur temple is a must. But, what if you could also stay in a place that made you feel like you were almost dwelling within it — just with running water, fluffy towels, high-thread-count sheets and a Toto loo? That is the idea behind Amanjiwo, the Aman property in Central Java built out of honey-hued local limestone and designed to mirror the 9th-century temple’s tiered ascent towards a symbolic Nirvana. “Amanjiwo” means “peaceful soul” and, as it turned out, the concentric, curving, walled structures of the iconic resort where people come to do nothing but bask in the beauty of the famous ancient temple complex did, in fact, reveal themselves to me as gentle pathways to serenity. WHERE ARCHITECTURE SLOWS THE SOUL Since it opened in 1997, Amanjiwo has ranked up there as one of the most architecturally significant luxury resorts in Asia and one of Java’s most emblematic retreats. The reason is that it was conceived almost as an extension of the sacred landscape surrounding Borobudur. The resort, framed by the Menoreh Hills and four volcanoes — Merapi, Merbabu, Sumbing and Sindoro — directly overlooks the 9th-century monument that inspired nearly every aspect of its design. Borobudur itself, the world’s largest Buddhist temple complex, is designed as a spiritual ascent toward enlightenment, with square terraces below and circular terraces above, culminating in a central stupa. Echoing the symbolism, Amanjiwo is composed of suites laid out in concentric crescents, descending stone terraces, axial symmetry and a central rotunda crowned with a dome, the layout intentionally mimicking Borobudur’s “journey upward toward Nirvana.” As you enter, a narrow passageway framing the temple in the distance opens into the high-domed rotunda, which then descends to a dining terrace lined with grand classical columns and blessed by beams of golden light. To get to the suites, which are laid out in two upper and lower crescents, you go down another flight of stone steps. At every step of the way, you are walking in the direction of the temple in the distance. And, finally, even further down, the stairs end in jade-green rice fields and sweeping vistas of distant volcanoes. Without realising it, your footsteps slow and your breaths deepen. Cloistered by thick, high stone walls that insulate sound, the first thing you notice is the very real sense of stillness and quietude. Traversing the curving, Borgesian passageways could almost be a metaphor for losing yourself before finding yourself exactly where you need to be. When the morning mist rolls in, the clouds hover around the hills just above and the light rises over the surrounding paddy fields, the moment becomes wholly otherworldly. While visitors can rock up at Borobudur at almost any time of the day, the resort can arrange a guided sunrise tour, tickets for which are limited to just 100 a day, with VIP entrance access. With a 4.30am call time, hotel guests wanting to visit the world’s largest Buddhist temple complex gather in the Rotunda as the call to prayer of neighbouring mosques floats through the darkness. Borobudur is just a 10-minute car ride away. Here, amid the ancient stone carvings and over 500 Buddha statues, our guide said we should walk around the circular upper terrace in a clockwise direction “for good luck”. In circular walking, the destination not only becomes immaterial but disappears altogether, leaving only the journey. THE ART OF MEANINGFUL LEISURE If you should choose to spend your time at Amanjiwo in pursuit of something, even the activities offered go beyond the superficial. Take a class in archery, for example — specifically, jemparingan, an ancient art practiced by Java’s royal households. In jemparingan, the bow is held horizontally and arrows are released from a seated position. Under the kind tutelage of Kris Budiharjo, a former athlete who has trained generations of students, it begins to dawn on you that this isn’t a sport at all, at least not in the way we understand sports. Instead, it’s a philosophical endeavour whose ultimate goal is to build a nobility of character and immolate the ego. Chivalry, in jemparingan, is alive and well, and for those given to self-reflection, lays bare the true nature of your heart. Then there is the golden opportunity to picnic in a peacefully secluded spot by the Progo river, a rocky stream near the resort that cascades through hills and lush greenery. Everything you could possibly need and more is laid out for you, including plush seating, shady umbrellas, cool drinks, a fan and your own personal picnic basket with a breakfast or lunch of your choice. A box of watercolour paints, a palette and brushes subtly materialise. This, too, becomes an exercise in focus, contemplation and, ultimately, utter relaxation. For a taste of the rhythms of local life, there’s the cooking class, with a morning visit to the local market as an invigorating prelude. Local arrowroot, jicama, curcuma, petai beans, tempeh and much more are on proud display as their surroundings hum with quotidian music. On the way back, we even stopped to pick up some fresh tofu at a local maker’s, and got to watch how it was made. Basket full, we returned to the resort’s dedicated cooking-class pavilion flanked by a greenhouse, edible gardens and even a couple of beehives from which fresh honeycomb dripping with sweetness was harvested for us to taste. We then sat down to a lunch of local dishes we’d helped to prepare, including fish grilled over a charcoal fire, a traditional raw vegetable salad and a soybean banana blossom and bean sprout stew. For a more advanced level of gastronomy, there’s a Chef’s Table experience, which serves a tasting menu of courses showcasing local ingredients and re-interpreting local dishes through the chef’s lens, like amberjack from Lombok in a tamarind and lime dressing with torched ginger, and congee with lobster stock and spices. A rare and privileged glimpse into the intricacy of Javanese culture comes in the form of a Wayang Dinner, where a renowned family troupe presents acts from the Mahabharata with 200-year-old shadow puppets, a full gamelan orchestra and live singing as you enjoy a meal under the stars. Led by Bandel Suwarsono, whose family has been dedicated to Wayang Kulit for three generations, this isn’t just entertainment but spiritual discipline on the part of the performers. And so I passed my days with afternoon tea in the Rotunda, a relaxing treatment at the spa, infinite cold towels being offered at every occasion and getting used to being addressed as “Ibu” (which was a bit puzzling at first, until I realised it just means ma’am). At the same time, the stunning architecture, Borobudur temple in the distance at every turn and the surrounds of nature drove home why Amanjiwo, nestled in the heart of a land that is thousands, millions of years old, has held court as a special destination for the last three decades. On my final day, as I breakfasted on the Terrace, the clouds dissipated and Mount Sumbing revealed its full face, a mighty volcano rising up in the foreground. I made one last walk through Amanjiwo's stone passageways, tracing the resort’s curving bosom under the mountain's fearful symmetry, and found myself back where I’d begun, but a little closer, perhaps, to slowness, stillness and peacefulness. CNA Luxury was in Java at the invitation of Amanjiwo.