Batu Caves is a focal point of Hindu belief in Malaysia.

During my trip in Kuala Lumpur, my American friend and I had a sidetrip to the Batu Caves. The popular tourist attraction in Selangor, Malaysia is reachable by train for 57 minutes. It is one of the most famous Hindu shrines outside India and the focal point of the Thaipusam festival in Malaysia. Batu Caves took its name from the Batu River (Sungai Batu) flowing past the hill and its is the tenth (Pattu in Tamil) limestone hill from Ampang.

Lord Hanuman is a Hindu God and devotee of the god Rama.

Batu Caves is a limestone hill containing a series of cave temples. We were welcomed by a 50 ft tall statue of Lord Hanuman, the Monkey God and a temple dedicated to him.

Rama is the seventh avatar of the Hindu supreme-god Vishnu

Nearby is the Ramayana Cave over-embellished with spectacular dioramas of the Indian epic Ramayana, the story of Rama (the seventh avatar of the Hindu supreme-god Vishnu) along the irregular walls of the cave. A giant statue of Kumbhakarna can be seen lying near the entrance.

A giant sleeping statue of Kumbhakarna inside the Ramayana cave.

A diorama depicting the story of Rama.

Entrance Shrine at the Batu Caves.

After the Ramayana Caves, we went to the main attraction of the Batu Caves. Standing at 140 ft is the golden statue of Lord Murugan. Hailed as the tallest Lord Murugan statue in the world, it took 3 years to construct and was finally unveiled in January 2006.

The statue is the tallest Lord Murugan statue in the world.

The shrine looks more majestic because of the giant statue. The main Cathedral Cave can be reached after climbing a steep 272 steps. There were many tourists when we went there and there were many macaque monkeys frolicking around the stairs. I was scared of the monkeys as they might steal something from us or attack us. There were some stupid tourists feeding the monkeys (so they clustered at that part of the stair) and there was this “most stupid” tourist teasing the monkeys making them agitated and angry. These tourists should be aware that what they were doing might be dangerous to other people.

A shrine inside the Cathedral Cave.

Hindu Gods inside the Batu Caves.

Murugan temple inside the Batu Caves.

Diorama of Hindu Gods inside the Batu Caves.

Inside the cave is the Murugan Temple where some Hindu religious rites were being held at the time of our visit. There are also two minor caves located at the foot of the hill called the Art Gallery and Museum Cave. There are statues and paintings dedicated to the Lord Murugan.

A Hindu temple inside the Art Gallery Cave.

I have visited a lot of Buddhist temples and it was in Malaysia that I first visited Hindu temples including the Batu Caves. Except for the unruly tourists, it was a great experience.