Batu Caves, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Kuala Lumpur, is a calcareous hill with three main caves and several smaller ones. This is one of the 100-year-old temple, located about 11 kilometers north of Kuala Lumpur, features idols and sculptures built inside and around the primary caves. The temple is regarded by Hindus to be a significant religious landmark, incorporated with interior calcareous formations said to be about 400 million years old.
Cathedral Cave – Batu Caves ‘ largest and most popular cavern – houses several Hindu shrines under its 100-meter-high arched ceiling. There are two other cave temples at the foot of Batu Hill – the Art Gallery Cave and the Museum Cave – housing numerous Hindu statues and paintings.
Temple History
It is said that the calcareous forming of Batu Caves is about 400 million years old. The indigenous Temuan people used some of the cave entrances as shelters.
Chinese colonists started excavating guano as soon as 1860 to fertilize their patches of vegetables. They became famous, however, only after the colonial authorities recorded the limestone hills in 1878, including Daly and Syers as well as American Naturalist, William Hornaday.
K Thamboosamy Pillai an Indian trader promoted Batu Caves as a location of worship. He was motivated by the main cave’s ‘ vel’-shaped entrance and inspired to dedicate a temple within the caves to Lord Murugan. In 1890, in what is now known as the Temple Cave, Pillai, who also founded the Sri Mahamariamman Temple, Kuala Lumpur, installed Sri Murugan Swami’s murti. The Thai Poosam festival has been held there since 1892 in the Tamil month of Thai (which falls in late January / early February).
Address: Gombak, 68100 Batu Caves, Selangor, Malaysia.
How to Reach The Temple
By Car: Batu Caves is available by vehicle or taxi as it is located in the Batu Caves region next to the primary MRR2 highway.
Monorail and Bus: From KL Sentral, take the monorail service to Titiwangsa station. Alight here and take the bus to Batu Caves.