Visit the Batu Caves and its Hindu sanctuary in Kuala Lumpur

For this last day I already had to go back to Kuala Lumpur, which was done by a short taxi ride, which I shared with my friend Tony who was returning to Singapore, this time for 15 RM, to the bus terminal. The fares change between the outward and return journeys also for buses…who knows why…

I took a bus that went directly to LCCT, Kuala Lumpur airport, not because my flight was going to follow after, but because I wasn't going to lug my bag around, since I wasn't leaving right away and wanted to visit the Batu Caves.

Left early from Malacca…

The deposit cost me relatively expensive, 38 RM, but hey, at least I was leaving light for the bus (and I still took advantage of the free Air Asia skybus).

Getting to Batu Caves

From KL Sentral, I took the KTM again, they built a station at the foot of the mountain where the caves are, so very easy to access and inexpensive since the ticket is 4 RM return.

A view of Batu Caves mountain, before the KTM came along, the train line simply replaced the road.

Landscape on the way to the Batu Caves.

There is a train every 15 or 30 minutes depending on the time of day.

Batu Caves, an important pilgrimage center

These famous caves are located 14 km north of the city and have become a major pilgrimage site for Hindus. They are also the largest Hindu sanctuary outside India. It is the gathering point during the great Hindu festival of Thaipusam in Malaysia, which attracts up to 1,5 million devotees.

The caves today dedicated to the cult of Murugan (God of war and the youngest son of Shiva, one of the Hindu Gods of the Trinity) have not always been so and have only been so since the end of the 1878th century. First exploited by Chinese peasants who extracted guano there, the caves were popularized after they were recorded by an American naturalist in XNUMX. And it was an Indian trader who, inspired by the shape of the entrance to the main cave, wanted to dedicate a temple here to Muragan.

The imposing statue that adorns its entrance, next to the stairs, measures no less than 42,7m and is impressive when you arrive in front of it.

Here is a little guided tour in photos:

I arrive at the foot of the mountain, the cave of the villa in front of me is paying so I won't go.

The statue is very recent since it was inaugurated in January 2006.

There are 272 steps, wooden until 1939 then concreted since (and widened in the meantime)

It is the tallest statue of Murugan in the world and took 3 years to complete.

Crab-eating macaques hang around the area.

On my right, we can see the entrance to the "Dark Cave", the dark cave where there are bats, visit with the help of a guide and a flashlight... Closed today (but paying anyway).

This main cave, called the temple cave or cathedral cave, is formed of a corridor 100 m long, 30 m wide and approximately 100 m high.

Inside there are several spaces designed for Hindu deities.

It seems as if he is asking himself: "But what have I done to God?"

A ray of light shot from the ceiling.

Little souvenir?

View of the city in the distance.

WTF ??

Pigeons are also an attraction here.

Here is the Ramayana cave, I saw no one going to visit it (and no sign….). We can see in the background on the left the entrance to the train station and right next to it the statue (designated as a "murti" a term which designates the representation of a Hindu divinity) of Hanuman of 15 m, the noble monkey, the temple which we see here is dedicated to him.

Representation of Hanumam, the monkey king.