Batu Caves Temple – Malaysia Most Sacred Hindu Temple

One of the most notable attractions in Malaysia is Thaipusam, the Hindu festival of penance celebrated at the Batu Caves Temple – best known for the golden statue of Lord Murugan that stands majestically beside its entrance.

Where is Batu Caves Temple?

Batu Caves is a crop of limestone hills in a small town on Kuala Lumpur’s outskirts.

The name “Batu Caves” comes from the river’s name, Sungai Batu, and the nearby village.

The Batu Caves are located in the Gombak District, just 13km north of Kuala Lumpur.

Batu Caves is a Sacred Religious Site for the Hindus

These limestone caves harbor Hindu temples where dioramas of mythological scenes glow beneath stalactites. In the evenings, bats flutter in the shadows.

The Batu Caves base is Sri Subramaniam Temple, dedicated to Lord Murugan, the Hindu God of War.

Batu Caves is a Malaysian national treasure.

Batu Caves Temple Steps

There are 272-step vibrantly colored concrete stairs connecting the entrance to the Batu Caves temple complex.

Three more extensive caves and a few smaller caves are opened to the public.

The biggest, the Cathedral Cave or Temple Cave, is at the top and requires visitors to ascend the steep stairs to reach it.

Other attractions at Batu Caves include a guided educational tour that explores a two-kilometer extended, untouched cave network. There are also multiple rock climbing routes.

Batu Caves Temple is a renowned Hindu shrine outside India.

The attraction’s popularity goes beyond Malaysia, as Batu Caves is one of India’s most well-known Hindu shrines.

Every year, tens of thousands of pilgrims and devotees worldwide throng Batu Caves to celebrate Thaipusam, a Hindu festival.

The magnificent Batu Caves Temple tour is one of the top tourist attractions for a day trip from Kuala Lumpur. Visitors are reminded that the Batu Caves is a sacred religious site for the Hindus.

Batu Caves History

The limestone caves at Batu Caves are as old as 400 million years.

Around 1860, Chinese settlers harvested the accumulated Bat guano, feces, from the Cave to fertilize their crops.

The Cave became famous as a picnic spot for British couples after an American biologist, William Hornaday, documented it around 1878.

In 1890, K. Thamboosamy Pillai, an Indian trader, discerned that the main Cave looked like a ‘Vēl,’ a divine spear (scepter) associated with Murugan, a Hindu War God.

He then decided to turn the caves into a place of worship by dedicating a temple to Lord Murugan, also known as Vēl Murugan (வேல் முருகன்).

Since 1891, Batu Caves Malaysia has been the key location for Hindus to celebrate the Thaipusam festival.

Lord Murugan Statue (Tamil: முருகன் சிலை)

Lord Murugan Statue is the tallest statue of a Hindu deity in Malaysia. The golden statue is located at the Sri Murugan Perumal Kovil at the foot of Batu Caves.

The tallest statue in Malaysia, at 42.7 meters (140 ft) in height, is the tallest Lord Murugan statue in the world.

Lord Murugan Statue is the third tallest statue of a Hindu deity globally, after the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Statue in Indonesia and the Kailashnath Mahadev Statue in Nepal.

Construction of the Lord Murugan Statue

The construction of the Lord Murugan Statue cost 2.5 million ringgit in Malaysia. The building required 350 tons of steel bars, 300 l of gold paint, and 1,550 cubic meters of concrete.

The construction of the golden statue of Lord Murugan took three years, and the statue was unveiled on 29 January 2006 during the Thaipusam festival.

Fifteen skilled sculptors from India worked tirelessly to complete the construction.

Lord Murugan’s statue is positioned against the impressive limestone backdrop of Malaysia, the Batu Caves.

You’ll be awed by the height of the Lord Murugan Statue.

Key Attractions at Batu Caves Temple

The annual 3-Day Thaipusam festival has been the key attraction held here at Batu Caves since 1892.

Thaipusam takes place around January or February.

On quiet days, few tourists mill around.

During the Thaipusam Festival, however, the vast space is filled with hundreds of thousands of worshippers taking part and tens of thousands watching.

Cultural Shock: During the festivals, devotees and pilgrims carry shrines on their backs and have their skin, mouth, and tongue with hooks, skewers, and spears.

This act of penance is a devotion to Lord Murugan for prayers answered.

How Many Temples Are There At Batu Caves?

There are four main attractions at Batu Caves.

This limestone outcrop is riddled with caves. The main attractions are the Temple Cave (or Cathedral Cave), Dark Cave, Cave Villa, and Ramayana Cave.

Temple Cave (or Cathedral Cave) Main Attraction

Batu Caves Temple Cave Entrance Fee: FREE

At the top of a steep, brightly colored staircase, you will reach a massive cave with a high vaulted ceiling.

The main Cave is known as the Temple Cave or Cathedral Cave and is a Hindu Temple devoted to Lord Murugan.

You may leave a small donation in one of the collection boxes if you wish.

• Do hold on to the handrail securely as you climb the stairs.
• You may be surprised by troupes of greedy wild macaques wandering along the stairs.
• Better not feed the macaques.
• Do not have any food or plastic bags with you, as the monkeys will harass you for food.
• The monkeys may bite if they perceive you as a threat.

Once you get to the top, the enormous main Cave opens up. It is lit with floodlights, and you can see the shadows of the magnificent rock crevices.

There’s a large hole above where the sun streams in, and you may feel inside a volcano looking toward the sky.

Dark Cave 2nd Attraction 

Dark Cave Entrance Fee: Varies depending on the tour

Halfway up the flight of stairs is the entrance to the second main attraction, the Dark Cave. You won’t see any animals in the caves with the temples.

The Dark Cave is said to be home to the rarest spider globally, the Trapdoor spider. These large, hairy, harmless tropical spiders nest underground.

The Dark Cave is only open when a guide is available. For safety reasons, you are not allowed to enter on your own.

Dark Cave Educational Guided Tour (45 minutes) – Entrance Fee: USD 8.30 Adult USD 6 Children

• Participants are provided with helmets and a headlamp.
• You can see impressive rock formations further down the darkened tunnel.
• Stick to the pathways and avoid shining your lights directly at the bats.
• The guide will point out interesting rock formations and cave inhabitants.
• You may see bats and a sea of cockroaches.

Cautionary Notes: If you fear cockroaches, you may want to skip this Cave.

Dark Cave Adventure Guided Tour (3 to 4 hours) – Entrance Fee: USD 8.30 Adult USD 6 Children

• Scale rock faces
• Squeeze through narrow potholes
• Getting wet

Cautionary Notes: Booking is required. Part of the Dark Cave complex is off-limits and preserved as a conservation site. The Dark Cave official website has more contact details.

Cave Villa 3rd Attraction

Batu Caves Cave Villa Entrance Fee: RM15 without MyKad, RM7 for MyKad Holders

The Cave Villa is at the limestone hill’s foot and can be reached via a bridge over a carp pool.

Inside the caves, brightly painted statues and paintings of Indian poets and characters from Hindu mythology are illuminated with colored lights.

There are glass display tanks full of snakes and other reptiles in one of the caves.

Batu Caves Ramayana Cave Entrance Fee: USD 1.20, MYR5.00

The 4th attraction at the Batu Caves is Ramayana Cave, located on the left side as you face the hill.

The interior of the Ramayana Cave is decorated with statues and scenes from the Hindu epic Ramayana.

The entrance is close to a 15-meter-high green statue of Hanuman, the monkey god.

What Else Can You Do At the Batu Caves – Try Rock Climbing!

While most tourists only visit the caves, the limestone hills and crags in the surrounding area offer some of the best rock climbing in Southeast Asia.

Malaysia’s rock faces are often steep, and the cliffs are high.

Due to the heavy vegetation, most rock faces are almost impossible to scale.

The dramatic limestone cliffs also make the Batu Caves a wonderful place to rock climb. The caves are easily accessible and have moderately challenging routes but offer several exciting passages.

You can find beautiful climbing routes along the cliff walls away from the shrines.

• Some routes are comfortable with simple handholds, while others can be technical and include overhangs.
• Around 170 bolted routes present significant climbing challenges for sport climbers.
• The routes, rated from 5A to 8A+, have something to offer for climbers of all skill levels.
• There are many opportunities for hiking, scrambling, and bouldering in the area for less technical climbers.

Along with rock climbing, the area has a cliff used as an official BASE jumping (free jumping with nothing but a parachute) launchpad.

What is the interior of the Batu Caves like?

The wild caves are very muddy; bring a change of clothes if you plan to take spelunking tours.

Best Times to Visit Batu Caves

The best times to visit Batu Caves are in the mornings and evenings, as there is no shelter or shade from the sun as you climb the stairs.

• You may be surprised by the wild “crab-eating Macaque” Cave Monkeys who love to wander along the stairs.
• Avoid visiting Batu Caves during the Thaipusam festivals if you fear crowds.
• You will encounter hundreds of thousands of believers who will throng to the Cave.
• As a sign of respect, keep your volume down if there is a religious ceremony in the temples.

Cultural Shock: You will see Kavadi bearers who impale themselves with skewers and hooks as acts of repentance and devotion.

Should I take a tour of Batu Caves Temple?

Numerous operators run half-day trips to the Batu Caves (USD 50)

If you prefer to go at your own pace, you can save lots by going alone.

You can take the public bus and have vegetarian banana leaf rice for USD 5

Is the Batu Caves Disabled Friendly?

272-steps lead up to the Batu Caves Main Temple area, which is not handicap-accessible. Senior travelers may have difficulty climbing the stairs to the top, as they are narrow and steep.

If you have a child’s stroller, you may be challenged to try to go to the top.

What to Eat at Batu Caves?

If you visit for a few hours, you can get some tasty snacks and Indian desserts, cut fruit, or coconut.

There are a few vegetarian restaurants near the Hindu temple. A vegetarian banana leaf lunch with parboiled rice, a curry, veggie dishes, and Papadom cost about USD 2.50

Fresh coconut is about USD 1.20, and chilled USD 1.40

Where do I Go for a Non-Vegetarian Meal?

It would help if you returned to Kuala Lumpur for better quality food at lower prices. You could bring your drinking bottle to avoid buying bottled water.

Batu Caves Temple Dress Code

Batu Caves is a religious site, and the temple management enforces a dress code for visitors. Enforcement is stricter for women than for men. Please check with the outlet at the base of the stairs.

If you don’t meet the dress code, you can rent clothes from them for USD 1.25 (MYR5)

• Don’t wear singlet/ tank tops and flip-flops.
• Dress code for men: T-shirts and shorts are fine, but shorts need to be below the knee.
• Dress code for women: No short skirts or shorts and revealing clothing (hot pants).

Visitors in short dresses, short pants, and hot pants need to rent a scarf at the base of the stairs for USD 1.25 (MYR5) (RM3 with an additional RM2 as a refundable deposit).

Where Can I Find Accommodation near Batu Caves?

For a good choice of hotels near Batu Caves with discount prices, visit Booking’s website.

Getting to the Batu Caves from Kuala Lumpur

The Batu Caves are located in the Gombak district, a northern suburb of Kuala Lumpur just eight miles from the city center.

Thaipusam in late January sees a marked increase in the number of buses and transportation options, with more shuttles to the Batu Caves from Kuala Lumpur and back.

FOR HOTEL RESERVATIONS

How Long Can You Spend at Batu Caves Temple?

The average time required to see the central area is about 2 hours.

Ways to Get to Batu Caves

You can use Kuala Lumpur’s transportation system to get to the Batu Caves by the following methods:

Travel by Train

Option 1: Take the KTM Komuter Sentul-Port Klang Line (red on transit maps) north to the newly opened Batu Caves Komuter station. Alternatively, you can go from Sentul station if the line is further constructed.

Option 2: Take the monorail north to the Chow Kit station. Then, take bus U6 to the caves, and be sure to keep your ticket for the return journey (the bus tickets are valid all day).

Travel by Bus

Riding a bus to the Batu Caves in city traffic can take 45 minutes. You can take a train to the north and transfer by bus or taxi for the remainder of the trip.

Alternatively, you can take bus #11 from the busy Bangkok Bank bus terminal on Jalan H.S. Lee near Chinatown to the caves.

Travel by Taxi

A taxi from the Golden Triangle in Kuala Lumpur costs around RM 25. For convenience, you could order a Grab Ride.

Batu Caves Temple Address: Batu Caves (Est. 1891)
Gombak, 68100 Batu Caves, Selangor
Batu Caves Hours: Open Daily 7.00 am to 8.30 pm

Booking.com