Kawah Sikidang (Sikidang Crater)

Dieng Plateau

Dieng Plateau is an active caldera, an area of intense and sometimes dangerous volcanic activity. Hydrogen sulfide gas, with its characteristic odor of rotten eggs, boils up from the craters and fumaroles that punctuate the landscape. Even walking on solid ground, one can hear the waters boiling beneath one's feet.

The plateau's combination of misty remoteness, mountains, lakes, and volcanism probably awed the Sanjaya rulers and inspired them to build their temples in this impressive place.