Batu Caves Day Trip
– Kuala Lumpur

Batu Caves Kuala Lumpur

One of the other amazing destinations to visit while in Kuala Lumpur are the Batu Caves located just outside the city. They are accessible by train and more than easy to reach no matter where you are within the city. I had read about this place prior to visiting and my excitement for reaching it was growing. As soon as we arrived to the city, you will be able to see the world’s tallest statue of Murugan, a Hindu deity, located outside the cave from many vantage points all across Kuala Lumpur.

Standing at 140 feet tall, this quite a dominating statue to stand in front of, especially at its base…

The train took just 30 minutes for us to arrive from the center city and it stops right near the front of the cave. Happy news for all those out there that aren’t much for walking far distances. However, for us, we never mind the walk though it was welcome too as we had already been running around the streets of Kuala Lumpur all day by foot.

The level of detail on top of the structures in and around the Batu Caves…

No matter where I went, you just can’t escape these little guys, they were everywhere… on the streets, inside the caves, and just about all up in your face as you walked. The only thing that seemed to keep them away were the monkeys…

And when you finally arrive, walking up to the Batu Caves is a completely different type of experience than seeing it from afar. I’m pretty sure after having been throughout SE Asia, China and other areas, that this statue was by far the largest and most impressive I’d stood in front of. Looking at this picture below, in relation to the people standing in under it, can you grasp the sheer size of this statue?

Yep, it’ll make you feel plenty small… those folks on the steps look miniature size

The limestone forming the caves behind it are said to be more than 400 million years old however the Batu Caves were officially built as a religious shine back in the early 1890’s. Today, it’s known to be one of the most popular shrines for Hinduism and there is even a yearly festival that takes place here. And by the looks of the background of this statue, this ought to give you a clue as to what lay ahead… 272 grinding steps to reach the entrance to the cave.

An ‘up close and personal’ of the 272 steps climbed that humid Malaysian morning!

Needles to say, the steps up to the caves were a nice little workout and offered an amazing view over Kuala Lumpur. And the journey to the top just wouldn’t be complete without some special little friends… the monkeys of the Batu Caves.

They monkeys seemed to be everywhere. On the tops of buildings nearby, on the streets and sidewalks leading up to the Batu Caves as well as lining the steps as you make your descent. They are harmless really, just don’t feed them or even have food or water either in your hand or hanging around on the outside of your bag because they will most often ‘climb you’ to get it.

When we finally reached the top and entered the Batu Caves, it was a beautiful sight to see.

And it was also very cool, as is typical for a cave and a welcome change from Malaysia’s heat and humidity. As soon as we walked inside, there was music playing from afar. So far in fact that we couldn’t see who was playing, only that the music was reverberating off the walls of the cave we were in.

Eventually we reached the ‘band’

As we strolled onward inside the main cave area, there were numerous shrines and you could immediately sense the religious nature of where you were standing (just in case the 140 foot tall Hindu statue in front didn’t paint a clear picture).

There were also guided deep cavern tours available, which I wish I could have done if I had more time however, this would need to wait for another time. And no fees were collected for our visit though they do encourage and accept donations. Quite an amazing place and worth it indeed…

You could even have some Henna done at the base of the Batu Caves… that is, of course, if that is your sort of thing…

The Batu Caves – On Getting There and More:

The Batu Caves are just outside the city of Kuala Lumpur and are located around 8 miles (13km) north of the center city.  The easiest way to get there is to take a KTM Komuter train from KL Sentral to the Batu Caves. The train costs only RM2 per person each way.  You can also get there by bus, and if you would rather take a taxi, it would likely cost around 80RM for a KLCC-Batu round trip. However, the train was direct, easy and extremely backpacker affordable.

So if taking the train, simply take any metro to the city central station “KL Sentral” then take that to Batu Caves (it is a train not a metro)

Cost to enter the Batu Caves: it is free, though donations are accepted

For more in depth information visit, Batu Caves

And remember, don’t feed those crazy monkeys:)