Batu Caves

It was nearly three weeks of me being in Malaysia but had not left my office city of Cyberjaya. The first break came with the plan of going to Kuala Lampur (popularly known as KL). Me and my friend decided to visit the famous Hindu Cave temple “Batu Caves”. This temple is located at the exterior of KL. We started with the route analysis to reach as both of us were new to KL and have just little knowledge that we have gained from listening to people around our work place.

A little notes about Batu Caves.  Batu Caves is a limestone hill that has a series of caves and cave temples in the Gombak district, 13 kilometers (8 mi) north of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It takes its name from the Sungai Batu (Batu River), which flows past the hill. Batu Caves is also the name of the nearby village. The cave is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside India, and is dedicated to Lord Murugan. It is the focal point of Hindu festival of Thaipusam in Malaysia. Rising almost 100 m above the ground, the Batu Caves temple complex consists of three main caves and a few smaller ones. The biggest, referred to as Cathedral Cave or Temple Cave, has a very high ceiling and features ornate Hindu shrines. To reach it, visitors must climb a steep flight of 272 steps. At the base of the hill are two more cave temples, Art Gallery Cave and Museum Cave, both of which are full of Hindu statues and paintings. This complex was renovated and opened as the Cave Villa in 2008. Many of the shrines relate the story of Lord Murugan's victory over the demon Soorapadam. An audio tour is available to visitors. The Ramayana Cave is situated to the extreme left as one faces the sheer wall of the hill. On the way to the Ramayana Cave, there is a 15 m (50 ft) tall statue of Hanuman and a temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman, devotee and aide of Lord Rama. The consecration ceremony of the temple was held in November 2001.The Ramayana Cave depicts the story of Rama in a chronicle manner along the irregular walls of the cave. A 42.7-metre (140 ft) high statue of Lord Murugan was unveiled in January 2006, having taken 3 years to construct. It is the tallest Lord Murugan statue in the world.

At around 10am we left our hotel room and took a bus to Putrajaya from Cyberjaya. The bus condition was good and very few people were sitting. We have initially planned to take bus from Putrajaya to KLCC (Kuala Lumpur City Center) and from there will take metro to KL Sentral and from KL Sentral will take another metro to Batu Cave. KTM line is direct to Batu Cave with Batu Cave station as its terminal. When we reached Putrajaya we found to our disappointment that there is a lot rush for the bus and the bus will leave after 40 minutes. It was our first encounter with Malaysian bus system. We have heard of its bad condition and now have witnessed one too. Anyway we immediately switched plan and took KLIA transit train from Putrajaya to KL Sentral. The KLIA transit is the fastest means to travel. The condition of metro is very good and the speed of its travel is mind blowing. In less than 20 minutes we reached KL Sentral. We took KTM line and in 45 minutes reached Batu Cave station.

There was a lot of rush at Batu Cave entrance for two reasons that we understood. Firstly it was weekend and secondly only 1 gate was open which was used for both entering and exit from the temple. We waited patiently in the queue to enter the temple. The cave can be seen from very far. The hill itself looks very beautiful.  

At our arrival we were greeted by lots of monkeys. They are going for your peanuts and banana's, which we can buy downstairs in several shops, before we climb up to the caves. We climbed 272 steps, which lead us to the religious and magnificent Batu Caves. We were very exhausted after reaching top so took few minutes rest and then started our exploration to the place of devotion and natural beauty. The ceiling is 100 m above the ground and this huge chamber is lighted by daylight from several holes in the ceiling. At the end of the caves you can see the bright sky, when you look above you. I prayed at different temples present inside the cave. After paying homage to several Hindu Gods and taking lot of pictures of the cave from different angles we started climbing down the stairs.

At the base of the hill there are two more cave temples, Art Gallery Cave and Museum Cave, both of which are full of Hindu statues and paintings. This complex was renovated and opened as the Cave Villa in 2008. Many of the shrines relate the story of Lord Murugan's victory over the demon Soorapadam. The Ramayana Cave is situated to the extreme left as one faces the sheer wall of the hill. On the way to the Ramayana Cave, there is a 15 meter tall statue of Hanuman and a temple dedicated to Hanuman, the noble monkey devotee and aide of Lord Ram.

After having few snacks at the vegetarian restaurants at the cave complex we took our return route to Cyberjaya by following the same pattern i.e. KTM transit to KL Sentral and from there KLIA transit to Putrajaya and from Putrajaya to Cyberjaya by bus.

We were very tired after the whole journey. I took a fast nap to recover my energy. The trip was wonderful with my first homage to God outside my own country.