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BATU  CAVES
...Malaysia's natural wonders...

13 Km from Kuala Lumpur

http://en.wikipedia.org

Photo Gallery : The beauty of Batu Caves

Batu Caves - One of Malaysia's great natural wonders
Batu Caves consists of 3 three main caves, naturally formed by massive limestone formations. The most impressive and largest of the three caves is the Temple Cave

Batu Caves was discovered by K. Thambusamy Pillai, an Indian trader born in Singapore.

 

Lord  Murugan  Statue
 ...the tallest statue of a Hindu deity in Malaysia...

42.7 meters - The largest Murugan statue

The RM2.5 million statue entered the Malaysian Book of Records as the tallest statue of a Hindu deity in the country.

Lord Murugan, a divine power in the Hinduism is worshipped by more than one million devotees around the world.

More on The largest Lord Murugan statue...

Monkeys on the way

Batu Caves is famous for its resident families of macaque monkeys. A lot of them live around here.

On you way of 272 steps, monkeys may come to you for foods. You can buy for them at the shops before you start you 272 steps.

Batu Caves is 13km north of Kuala Lumpur . The signature feature of this Hindu cave temple is the 272 steps staircase that leads to the cave. The cave is the temple for Hindu God Lord Muruga, also known as Lord Subramaniam.

A tall golden statue of lord Muruga is standing next to the staircase to welcome visitors. It is the tallest statue of lord Muruga in the world.

To the left of the base of the staircase, there is a cave gallery that visitors can go in. There are colourful sculptures of hindu gods on display.

At the base of the 272 steps stands a 42.7-metre tall statue of Lord Murugan, Declared open on Jan 29, 2006 (Sunday), the tallest in the world.

Two further cave temples at the base of the hill are the Museum Cave and Art Gallery Cave, and there are also other undeveloped caves.

Stalagmites and stalactites are found in the interior of these massive limestone caves together with the Hindu shrines that honour their deities. The caves were discovered by the American explorer William Hornaby in 1881 but have since become associated with the celebration of Thaipusam, a three-day religious festival during January/February.

There are a lot of colorful statues of Hindu gods and goddess and small temples in the dark caves with mysterious atmosphere.

Those with sensitive noses will find the air inside the caves "stinky smell of animals" including cats which Xing saw one.

How to get there : Take  a taxi to Batu Caves, as the site is relatively isolated. An alternative is to use Cityliner bus no. 69 from Jalan Pudu or Intrakota bus no. 11D from Pasar Seni.

 

 

1) Temple Cave
The Temple Cave, which contains small shrines to Hindu gods and a Tamil-style Hindu temple, has a vaulted ceiling 100 meters high and there are 272 steps to get there. Sky inside the cave - right above your head in the middle is a hole where you can see the cloud or the sun.

 

2) Art Gallery Cave
The Art Gallery Cave, containing holy statues and wall paintings depicting Hindu mythology. This Art Gallery Cave is at the foot of the hill.  Access is via a concrete walkway over a small subterranean lake. For this cave only, an entrance fee is charged.

 

3) Dark Cave
The Dark Cave is a 2 kilo meters  (1.2 miles) network of caverns. Several species unique to the area are found here : the trapdoor spider, cave toad, microcode, cave cricket, cave roach and the cave racer snake.  Please note that access to the Dark Cave is restricted without permission from Malaysian Nature Society.

 

Location and How to get there
The Batu Caves are just 13km (7.8 miles) north of Kuala Lumpur, at Gombak in Selangor State, Central Malaysia. Accessible from Kuala Lumpur bus..

272 steps to the cave
To reach the Cave you must climb 272 steps to the top...a feat performed by Hindus devotees on the way to Temple Cave to offer prayers to their God. Each year, on Thaipusam festival, as many as 800,000 devotees and other visitors visit  the caves.

 

Festival at batu caves temple - Taipusam Festival
Since 1891, Batu Caves has  been the site of Hindu worship. One of the biggest celebrations at Batu Caves, the yearly Taipusam Festival, is celebrated in this Hindu Temple. The festival of Thaipusam is a time when Hindu penitents visiting on a pilgrimage every year from all over Malaysia.

... a little homework before going
After reading a few books on Hinduism, visit Batu Caves with knowledge of Hindu beliefs will broaden one's perspective on human endeavour.Discover Hinduism Terminology such as : Nirvana, Incarnation and it philosophy beauty.
 

Batu Caves Sri Subramaniar Swamy Devasthanam : http://murugan.org

How to go to Batu Caves

By Car

Batu Caves is located at the northern section of the Middle Ring Road II.

From Kuala Lumpur City, use Jalan Sultan Ismail (westbound) road and drive right to the end and turn into Jalan Kinabalu (northbound towards Kepong), connecting to Jalan Kuching at the Duta roundabout, connecting to Jalan Ipoh via overpass at the Kepong roundabout.

After that, look for roadsigns that leads you to Batu Caves or Genting Highlands. You will be exiting the road, up a ramp into a huge roundabout. At the roundabout, take the exit at 3 o'clock (3rd exit) and then keep to left.

About one kilometer from the roundabout you are able to see Batu Caves in sight.

By Bus RAPIDKL

By using RAPIDKL, you can get reasonable and cozy transportation to Batu Cave from KL City..

From the Titiwangsa Terminal, take RapidKL bus route U6. The bus will stop at the entrance to Batu Caves. Inform the bus driver of your destination so that you will not miss pressing the bell to stop the bus.

The fare is RM2 and the ticket is a day pass for all RapidKL Uxx routes. Keep the ticket for the return journey. All you have to do is to show it to the the bus driver upon boarding.

Keep the ticket in your water proof purse or a PVC beg to protect it from sweat and sudden rain. In 2006 I started the 272 steps with bright red hot sun in the sky.  And came out from the dark caves to discover the outside was suddently in heavy rain.  Unprepared every one caught in the downpour......and gone is the thin paper ticket kept in the back pocket.

By Taxi

The trip is  RM10 to RM15 under normal traffic condition

By Train

In 2009 one will be able to get to Batu Caves from Kuala Lumpur City by train.

The present railroad beside Batu Caves is currently under sonstruction to upgraded the extension of the KTM commuter train service from Sentul.

Other temples in Malaysia :  THIRUMURUGAN  TEMPLE  |  MARIAMMAN  |
 

 January 15, 2008 09:08:46 AM

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