Batu Caves

Batu caves are a labyrinth of limestone caves located 17 Km from Kuala Lumpur, home to a world famous Hindu temple complex. It is without a doubt the most popular Hindu temple complex in Malaysia and is dedicated to lord Murugan.

On our way to Taman negara from Kuala Lumpur we decided to stop at Batu caves..because.. Hey you can’t be in Malaysia and not visit Batu caves!!!

Our driver only gave us 30 min at Batu caves !! 😦 😦 He was .. well let’s just say that Santa will give the Grinch more presents than him 😛

It was a bit frustrating that I didn’t get to spend more time at the caves but we did see everything there is to see in the main cave complex slightly under the time the driver gave us .. I had read about all the mountain climbing point located around and badly wanted to check them out but you can only do so much in 30 min 😦

A gigantic gold statue of lord Murugan welcomes you at the base of the cave. It is the tallest statue of lord Murugan in the world and is highly popular among Hindu devotees around the world.

 

Once you pass the Statue, you have to climb up 272 steps to get to the cave opening. The steps look steep and hard when you look from the bottom but once you start climbing its not that hard, but needless to say that the overly friendly monkeys sitting  around don’t help the climb. They are cute and fluffy but be a bit alert  because you can’t say when they will creep up on you without you noticing.

You can take this chance to help the construction going on in the temple inside the cave by taking up a bucket of sand for them. At the start of the stair way they will ask if you would like to participate. It’s a nice way to give back! 🙂

The cave structure itself is amazing with different shaped limestone structures hanging from the ceiling ..

Once you climb up the stair way and come to the mouth of the cave trust me you will be taken by surprise as to how big the cave really is .. In no way did I expect the cave to be this big..

The cave is in three levels , first is the mouth of the cave where there is one small temple. Then you have to go down a stair ways to enter the large middle part or the Temple Cave which has a few temple and a few statues of gods and goddesses. This cave is LARGE! The ceiling is easily more than 100 meter in height.

Then again you have to climb up a stair way to get to the last chamber. This chamber houses the main Hindu temple and the most amazing part is that this chamber has an opening in the ceiling.

 

The climb down offers you a great view of the surrounding with the Kuala Lumpur city dotting in the horizon. Mid stairways you will see a sign to the Dark caves which was closed when we went. According to other travelers it’s a cave tunnel that is home to many animals that are only found in this region.

Also at the base of the cave there are many shops offering food and beverages. Specially great Indian food.

And if you would like to try your hands at feeding pigeons you can buy a bag of pigeon treats at these shops.

Batu caves is definitely a must if your in Kuala Lumpur or anywhere around.. its really interesting to see how natures structures and man made structures co-exist.

Happy Travels..