Batu Caves is located about 12 km north of Kuala Lumpur. It is a limestone hill penetrated by caves. The nearby village is also called Batu Caves and the Sungai (river) Batu flows outside the hill.
There are a series of Hindu temple caves, the most famous being the Temple or Cathedral Cave where the annual Thaipusam festival is held. The first temple, the Sri Subramaniam Swamy was established in 1891, and is dedicated to Lord Muragan, also known as Subramaniam. A flight of 272 steps lead up to the cave. The cave is one vast chamber and goes through to a huge skylight at the far side. The first Thaipusam was held in 1892, and today attracts some 800,000 people. It is a festival of penance for Hindu devotess, who carry kavadis and put spears though their cheeks and tongue, and hooks in their back. It is a combination of devout fervour, supreme sacrifice and thanks-giving. It is held annually on the night of the full moon during the tenth Hindu month of Thai, which falls between January 14th and February 14th.
Various other caves in the hill have been established as temples. ART GALLERY CAVE and SMALL DARK CAVE are located behind the pond at the foot of the stairs. There used to be a RM1 entrance fee to cross the pond on a walkway and enter the caves which are packed full of Hindu statues and paintings. But now this area has been packaged as Cave Villa , see also archive news and the Cave Villa website.
Near the tall statue of Hanuman the monkey god, is Lower Ganesh Cave, although this is currently closed.
East of the main temple complex is the small Ayapam Temple and Gua Sitanggan.
Batu Caves is famous for the long tailed macaques which inhabit the area, and over the years have become more opportunistic and more aggressive as they snatch food and other items from visitors. So I was surprised to find on a visit in mid June 2010 that all these monkeys had gone, leaving in their place flocks of pigeons. I suspect the monkeys have been "removed" but I don't have any information. They were presumably there in May as they were mentioned in The Star. However by Aug there were quite a few youngsters around so it seems the population is on the increase again.
There are a series of Hindu temple caves, the most famous being the Temple or Cathedral Cave where the annual Thaipusam festival is held. The first temple, the Sri Subramaniam Swamy was established in 1891, and is dedicated to Lord Muragan, also known as Subramaniam. A flight of 272 steps lead up to the cave. The cave is one vast chamber and goes through to a huge skylight at the far side. The first Thaipusam was held in 1892, and today attracts some 800,000 people. It is a festival of penance for Hindu devotess, who carry kavadis and put spears though their cheeks and tongue, and hooks in their back. It is a combination of devout fervour, supreme sacrifice and thanks-giving. It is held annually on the night of the full moon during the tenth Hindu month of Thai, which falls between January 14th and February 14th.
Various other caves in the hill have been established as temples. ART GALLERY CAVE and SMALL DARK CAVE are located behind the pond at the foot of the stairs. There used to be a RM1 entrance fee to cross the pond on a walkway and enter the caves which are packed full of Hindu statues and paintings. But now this area has been packaged as Cave Villa , see also archive news and the Cave Villa website.
Near the tall statue of Hanuman the monkey god, is Lower Ganesh Cave, although this is currently closed.
East of the main temple complex is the small Ayapam Temple and Gua Sitanggan.
Batu Caves is famous for the long tailed macaques which inhabit the area, and over the years have become more opportunistic and more aggressive as they snatch food and other items from visitors. So I was surprised to find on a visit in mid June 2010 that all these monkeys had gone, leaving in their place flocks of pigeons. I suspect the monkeys have been "removed" but I don't have any information. They were presumably there in May as they were mentioned in The Star. However by Aug there were quite a few youngsters around so it seems the population is on the increase again.
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