Batu Cave, Selangor

Last Sunday, we took a half-day tour to Batu Caves, one of the top attractions in Malaysia. It is also the focal point of Hindu festival of Thaipusam in Malaysia. Batu Caves is a limestone hill that has a series of caves and cave temples.  It located in the Gombak district of Selangor, about 13 kilometers north of Kuala Lumpur.

The main attraction of Batu Caves is the impressive golden statue of Hindu deity Lord Murugan. It stands 140 feet high at the front entrance. The next attraction will hold you in awe is a flight of 272 steps that leads you up to the sacred Hindu temple cave where houses the shrine of the Hindu deity Lord Murugan. This is  the main cave of Batu Caves called Temple Cave or Cathedral Cave. The stairs seem a bit daunting and challenging to me but my kids had never said they were scared to climb up, conversely, they took it as an amazing experience. This is a great attraction and the admission is free.

The golden statue of Lord Murugan.

On the way up until you enter the inside of the Temple Cave, you would encounter a lot of monkeys. Some of them perching on and scampering along the steps, some of  them frolic around the caves and some of them harass people for food. You have to watch out for the monkeys, they will try to snatch your hat, camera or anything else that they think that is food.

The monkeys here would make your day. They are naughty and lovely.

The view from the top is quite fascinating and I like the panoramic view of the city skyline. The Temple cave itself is so spectacular, here you can see many Indian sculptures and two little ornate Indian temples. In a flash, I felt that the scene was full of Hindu mythology. Within the cave is another two flight of steps which lead to the end of the cave. At the end of the cave you can see the bright sky when you look above you. The high limestone walls are covered with wild plants and the sunlight coming from the opening creates a beautiful mystical nature.

 Entrance of the Temple Cave at the top.

I succeeded in conquering the 272 steps!!

View from the top of the Temple Cave.

Interiors of Temple Cave

At the foot of the caves there is an open square in front of the statue of Lord Murugan where you can have fun in feeding pigeons, there are hundreds of pigeons here!!  I bought my kids a packet of grains from the nearby vendor to feed the pigeons. They enjoyed feeding the pigeons that came around them. The pigeons are tame and not really scared of people, they will even perching on your arm to get the grains that you hold in hand.

Many visitors enjoyed feeding pigeons at the open square.

Cave Villa is another attraction at foot hill. It is a museum and also an art gallery. The entrance fee is RM7 per person for locals.

Entrance of Cave Villa

Fish pond at Cave Villa