Incontestably the most beautiful and refined of the Prambanan temples, Candi Siva (47m high) boasts panel after panel of bas-reliefs, each more exquisite than the last. Note the typical motifs of lions and the tree of life mixed with half-man, half-bird creatures around the pedestal; higher up, around the gallery, the Ramayana is recounted. On each side of the temple, a stairway leads to a chamber containing a delicate statue. The one in the east chamber, a 3m-high Siva with four arms, is meditating on a lotus leaf.