Batu Caves
Being there
Hindu priests have used these caves as temples since their discovery in 1878 by William Hornaday. Crowds of Hindus visit the caves in January/February for the spectacular Thaipusam festival, when devout Hindus skewer portable shrines to their bodies and carry them all the way from central KL. They contain a large number of beautiful and fascinating statues of the Hindu Gods. Beware of the thieving monkeys (long-tailed macaques), discarded rubbish on the steps, and bat droppings in the cave. 272 stairs lead up to the cave.
The story
Batu Caves are a series of limestone caves in Gombak, Selangor, Malaysia. It is located on a 325 m (1,066 ft)–tall mogote, about 13 km (8.1 mi) north of the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. The cave complex contains many Hindu temples, the most popular of which is a shrine dedicated to Murugan, and is the focal point of the Tamil Hindu festival of Thaipusam in Malaysia. The complex hosts a 43 m (141 ft) tall Murugan statue, amongst the tallest Murugan statues in the world.