Batu Caves

The huge Batu Caves are the best well known attraction near Kuala Lumpur; just 13km north of the capital, a short distance off the Ipoh road. It is a must go tourist spot if you are staying in Kuala Lumpur for more than 2 days.

Once you arrive at Batu Caves, you will see a main square at which Indian vendors have put up their simple stalls. Take a moment at one of the stalls, and enjoy the distinctive Hindu nature of the surroundings, complete with small temples, colorful wooden carved figures and of course Hindu worshippers dressed in traditional sarongs.

Batu Caves is made up by three main caves and several small ones. The Temple Cave or Cathedral Cave is the best known and biggest of the Batu caves. To reach the temple cave, you must make your way up 272 rock stairs and through numerous macaque monkeys.

The ceiling of this cave is more than 100 m above ground and the area is illuminated by daylight through holes in the ceiling. Here you will see elaborately painted sculptures of various Hindu gods. Lord Subramaniam takes the centre stage as the fearsome Durga Shiva female half are arranged to tell parables from the Bhagavad Gita and other Hindu scriptures. 

Dark Cave which is below Temple Cave is not a show cave. This 2 km long cave contains a large number of endemic cave animals. To visit, permission from the Malaysian Nature Society is necessary, and they make two different spelunking tours, which are held daily after advance booking. The short tour requires good shoes and physical fitness. The long tour is a real spelunking tour and requires a change of clothes and shoes.

Visitors who want to take a look at paintings depicting scenes from Hindu lore and statues of deities can check out the Art Gallery Cave which is at the foot of the main staircase. Please note that a small entrance fee will be charged.

Prepared by: NAZIHAH