Batu Caves is located in Gombak district, 13 km north of Kuala Lumpur. It takes its name from the Batu River (or locally Sungai Batu), which flows past the hill. Batu Caves is also the name of the nearby village.
Batu Caves is the most famous cave landmark in Kuala Lumpur. It is a large limestone hill, which is shaped like a big mound. It has a series of caves and cave temples, where the middle part holds the main cavern with 272 steps leading up to its entrance. Batu Caves is the place to watch devotees pray to their shrines especially in one of the Malaysia’s festive seasons, Thaipusam.
Just outside Batu Caves stands the world’s tallest statue of Murugan, a Hindu deity, which is 42.7 meter (140.09 ft) high. The statue, which cost approximately Rupees 24 million, is made of 1550 cubic metres of concrete, 250 tonnes of steel bars and 300 litres of gold paint brought in from
neighboring Thailand. Batu Caves is said to be around 400 million years old. Along the way up the steps, there is another cave, which is called the ‘Dark Cave’. This is a cave with restricted access as it holds a diverse range of cave fauna, unique species such as Liphistiidae spiders, Eonycteris and Rousettus fruit bats and snakes. However, there are tours available to enter and explore the 2-km Dark Cave.
Batu Caves is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside India, dedicated to Lord Murugan. It serves as the focus of point of Hindu community’s yearly Thaipusam festival in Malaysia, which attracts over 1.5 million pilgrims yearly. It has become a pilgrimage site for not only Malaysian Hindus, but Hindus worldwide from countries such as India, Australia and Singapore, making it one of the largest annual gatherings anywhere in the world.
The site is also well known for its numerous macaque monkeys, which visitors feed. While exploring Batu Caves, do watch out for the monkeys that will brazenly nick your bags for food when you look away. These monkeys may also pose a biting hazard to tourists (especially small children) as they can be quite territorial.
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