Every itinerary I saw for Kuala Lumpur included absolutely beautiful pictures of a magical and colourful cave complex a short distance from the city centre, known as Batu Caves. I knew I had to add it to my list, and whilst I am really glad I visited, it was probably my least favourite stop on my Malaysia itinerary and I do think it is overhyped if visiting for tourist purposes. It is, however, undoubtedly a really important and beautiful cultural and religious site, and impressive to see – as I climbed the 272 coloured steps upwards, it was impossible not to be in awe of the setting and scale of this UNESCO World Heritage site.
Let me tell you about my visit, and hopefully it can help you plan yours.
- A bit about Batu Caves
- How to get to Batu Caves from Kuala Lumpur
- Important Visitor Information
- What to see and do at Batu Caves
You can read more about things to do in Kuala Lumpur: HERE
A bit about Batu Caves
Batu Caves are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a place of extreme sacredness for the Hindu community. Batu Cave’s most iconic feature, which is the image seen all over Instagram and the travel guides, is the incredible 140ft gold statue of Lord Murugan which sits at the entrance to the main cave.
Batu Caves are a series of four limestone caves which are over 400 million years old, and since 1891 they have housed a myriad of Hindu temples. The main temple is in honour of he of the massive gold statue – Murugan, the Hindu God of War.
The name Batu comes from the nearby River, Batu Pahat, and the word Batu itself is derived from the Malay for “rock” – which feels appropriate. Aside from the religious temples, Batu Caves are also a biodiversity hotspot consisting of many plant and animal species, over 21 species of bat and a whole host of monkeys. It’s also a haven for rock climbers, with over 100 climbing routes on the north face of the caves if you’re feeling adventurous.
How to get to Batu Caves from Kuala Lumpur
- Organised Trip – many people book on to an organised tour via one of the major tour providers. These typically cost around £10-20 per person including transport for the 17km journey from Kuala Lumpur.
- Grab – much cheaper is to use the taxi app Grab, and order a private car to the site. Ours cost £1.80 for the two of us each way. Much of the Batu cave site is free to enter so this works out much cheaper.
- The KTM Komuter train – the cheapest option is to take the train, via the Komuter train that runs from Tampin in the south, through Kuala Lumpur, and up to Batu Caves in the north. People often get the KTM Komuter train from KL Sentral as this is the main transport hub in Kuala Lumpur, but you can get it from other stations in Kuala Lumpur, like Bank Negara and Putra. At the time of writing, prices were about 50p per person.
Important Visitor Information
- There are a number of caves to explore at the site – Entrance to the Temple Cave is free, Entrance to Ramanya Cave is £2.50, and Entrance to the Cave Villa is £2.50 (at the time of writing)
- The site is open from 7am – 9pm daily (though please check if there is a religious festival on before visiting)
- I recommend arriving early (pre 9am) if you want to see it reasonably quiet
- Entrance to the Temple Cave is up 272 steps, so a moderate degree of fitness and mobility is required
- There are a number of other temples at the site, outside of the caves
- Monkeys roam the site freely and can be quite aggressive – we saw one scratch a woman who was in its face trying to take a photo. Give them plenty of space.
- As it’s a religious site, it’s important to be respectful with dress code. I wore trousers and a t-shirt that covered my arms, though plenty of people were in shorts with no problems.
What to see and do at Batu Caves
Temple Cave
The main draw is the Temple Cave guarded by it’s huge gold statue of Murugan. Climb the 272 stairs behind him, and enter a vast cave, with a temple nestled at the heart of it, which dates back to 1920. It’s a very active temple, and was really busy with Hindus worshipping at the time of our visit. You can also walk through the main cave, through to a second cave to find another temple site – and lots more monkeys of course!
Ramanya Cave
Many visitors to Batu Caves only visit the Cave Temple, due to Ramanya Cave having a small entrance fee. That makes this cave much more enjoyable as it’s got a more laid back feeling, and definitely fewer people. Ramanya Cave is famously known for its kind of mad storytelling via big gold statues with interesting expressions – you can’t miss the giant statue of Kumbhakarna, brother of Ravana and a deep sleeper (note the attempts to wake him with arrows and cymbals). You can also climb the stairs to a shrine featuring a naturally occurring lingam, a stalagmite that is a symbol of Shiva.
Cave Villa
The Cave Villa, which sits at the foot of the hill between the two caves above takes you through a lovely koi pond and a water garden via a raised walkway. It’s very pretty from the outside but we opted not to go inside as it does house animals in a way I’m not comfortable with, and a little girl was outside crying as there was a dead turtle just floating in one of the tanks. I also see from Trip Advisor a low rating, with many reviews saying do not visit due to animal conditions.
Other Areas
There are also a number of other areas within the caves that can be visited. Off of one of the steps on the staircase up to the Temple Cave, is Dark Cave, which is a deep (and dark!) cave that can be visited independently or with a guide. On the day of our visit it was closed, but it looks really cool. There are also a number of other temples at the site, including Sri Subramaniar Temple and Murugan Temple, though we didn’t visit any of these as they are primarily for prayer.
So there you have it – are Batu Caves worth visiting? Yes, absolutely – they are a beautiful and important religious site and an icon which is part of Malaysia’s culture. However, I do think they have become overtouristed to the point they aren’t that enjoyable. It did feel quite badly maintained, the Cave Villa didn’t sit right with me, and I was about ready to take down about 6 Instagrammers standing there in skimpy dresses blocking the way while elderly Hindu ladies were trying to get to a sacred site and pray. It left me with mixed feelings, but is is undeniably impressive and well worth a trip if you’re in Kuala Lumpur.
Thanks for reading – stay safe and happy travelling!
Saasdia Travel Gid
Leave a comment