Google “things to do in Malaysia” and Batu Caves is one of the first things that comes up. A temple resting on a limestone hill said to be 400 million years old, Batu Caves is a unique place of worship for Hindus. The fact that it’s a temple sitting inside a cave is already intriguing enough that it is instantly a must when in Kuala Lumpur. The best thing about it is that compared to most unique spots like this, Batu Caves is easily accessible.
(READ: Kuala Lumpur For First Timers)
History
Batu Caves is a place of worship for hindu followers. Although the limestone dates back to 400 million years ago, it wasn’t until the late 1800’s that it began to serve as a temple.
How To Get There
Coming from the KL Sentral, Batu Caves is one train ride away. Titiwangsa station is at the very last stop so it’s hard to miss. From the train stop, you may take a bus, but it takes only a few minutes of walking to reach the foot of the hill. And from there, you must climb the stairs with exactly 272 steps to reach the caves. So not only do you get cultured, but you get a work out as well. Just watch out for the mean mugging monkeys.
The World’s Tallest Murugan Statue
Entering the vicinity, you will notice a couple of eye catching statues already. But the main attraction stands at bottom of the stairs. The world’s tallest statue of Murugan, which is a a Hindu god, stands at 140 ft. high. This is the main image usually associated with Batu Caves. Made of a massive amount of concrete, steel bars, and gold paint, this statue stands beautifully at the foot of the hill, serving as an entrance guard by the stairs.
Temple Cave
There are a series of caves when you reach the top and the biggest is known as the Temple Cave, which houses vibrant Hindu shrines and statues. It’s a place of worship for Hindus, while the other smaller caves at the base of the hill (renovating at the time) serves as a museum and an art gallery. Entering the cave, traditional Hindu music sets the mood right in. A few vendors are outside selling colorful pictures of Hindu gods and goddesses and other souvenirs. There are a few lights that keeps the temple lit enough so it isn’t too dark to walk around. Though the cave isn’t entirely huge, the chambers are pretty big. In some corners, you’ll notice some worship nooks where locals could be found praying.
Colorful Statues
One of the most interesting things I find about Hinduism are the colorful gods and goddesses. Although most of the vibrant statues are outside the cave, there are still a few colorful ones that you’ll find inside. Ranging from small to big, statues of different Hindu deities are hard to miss all around the vicinity. Don’t miss the ones hidden in the tiny corners of the cave.
Other Things To Know
- There are a few restaurants outside the cave incase hunger strikes.
- Batu Caves is also known as a rock climbing spot.
- On some days, there are henna hand tattoo artists outside the cave.
- It gets extremely hot so it’s understandable why people choose to take the bus from the train stop. Do bring an umbrella for your own convenience.
- WATCH OUT FOR THE MONKEYS! They’re cute and cuddly until they try to steal your stuff.
Have you been to the Batu Caves? How was your experience there? Let me know on the comment down below! Please follow me on Facebook so I can keep you updated with new posts. Let’s connect on Twitter and Instagram too so I can keep the inspiration coming.
girlunspotted.com 
Hi welcome to Malaysia. So glad that you visited Batu Caves during your trip to KL. Hope you had a great time here and love our food.
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It’s so beautiful. This place has been featured a lot, from tv to blogs! I would love to visit this place someday and climb the 272 steps myself! It would be an amazing experience, I can imagine.
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This is the first time I heard about Batu Caves. So wonderful! 🙂
Cheryle Ramos | The Daily Whim
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I’ve been wanting to see Batu Caves because of the natural attraction in the cave. I also want to see the giant statues up close.
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The gigantic and world’s tallest statue of Murugan really inspires other people to visit this place. I think, for Hindus; visits this place for their beliefs in Hindu gods and goddesses.
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I’ve been here. I enjoyed Batu caves a lot. I also liked the restaurant at the bottom. We were also warned about the monkeys haha watch out!
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Last year I did not even know this place existed. But with reading travel blogs in our group, I conclude that this is a must-see place when we visit Malaysia. Everyone goes here. 🙂
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I read about the Batu caves before and it’s something I would want to experience myself. 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
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I’ve been there! I love it! One of engineering breakthroughs! The tallest Statue of Muruga in the World! 🙂 Batu Caves! 😀 I enjoyed my walk up to the top!
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Wow you’ve been to so many places already. Hopefully we get to visit those places soon 🙂
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Those statues loos incredible! We never got round to visiting the Baku caves when we were in KL and shame of us – as it’s so close to the city centre!
Crikey – watch out for all those pigeons though lol!
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Those caves look amazing! I would love to plan a trip to Malaysia and definitely see those for myself.
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It’s nice to read about places I have visited too. This is one of my favourite place in Malaysia because of the serenity despite the amount of people visiting daily!
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I’ve been reading a lot of posts about Kuala Lumpur/Malaysia lately, and it seems like the country made it on my bucketlist. There are so many stunning things to see!
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Looks like something straight out of Indiana Jones! Amazing and beautiful!!
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I was brought up in Malaysia but we lived in Ipoh so I never visited KL. And I suspect this isn’t somewhere my mum would have taken us (she hated heights!). Looks wonderful though, I’d love a revisit to Malaysia to see places I knew as a kid and places I never visited
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Another great blog and love the photos 🙂
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I’ve been to malaysia twice, but I’ve never been to the Batu caves. Will add it to my list so I can visit next time, hopefully the monkeys won’t steal from me!
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Temple cave is so beautiful and so does this huge life size idol. this place is surrounded by lot of monkeys.
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I went there a while ago so this is refreshing my memories. Your photos managed to captured the good essence of it. And I love your skirt 😊 I remember the caves being very large and despite the tourists, still a relatively spiritual plage
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Batu Caves are really nice, we were there during some holiday and it was very colorful and crowded. I heard that no one should laugh at monkeys. I am wondering if it is truth.
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Caves kind of freak me out but these look pretty user friendly to even a novice like me and I love all the gorgeous colours of the sculpture outside too!
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Amazing place..:)
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