A Tour of The Batu Caves Temple in Kuala Lumpur

The Batu Caves, located just a few kilometers from the center of bustling Kuala Lumpur, is one of the most sacred Hindu temple complexes in the entire world outside of India. It's hard to believe you're so close to Kuala Lumpur giant skyrise buildings when you're surrounded by nature and lush trees at the temple and caves. The Batu Caves is a series of caves carved into the limestone cliffs in the region. The caves and rock formations are blanketed in green trees and shrubs. There are a numer of different caves, some with significant religious purpose and others that now are preserved for their rich ecosystems.

To start things off at the Batu Caves you'll have to begin by climbing 272 steps to get the mouth of the complex. The steps sound a lot more intimidating than the climb really is, it only takes about 5 minutes and isn't too challenging, and it's worth every step. Once you reach the top of the stairs you'll enter what's known as Temple Cave, a huge cavern that includes a ceiling that measure 100 meters in height. Continue walking through Temple Cave and you'll reach another small flight of step that leads to the Lord Murugan temple, a Hindu pilgrimage site. Minimal design and lit naturally from a hole in the high rock above, the cave and temple is a spectacular site to see. There are Hindu shrine, rock paintings, and interesting cave formations to check out.

After browsing around the Batu Caves for about an hour I got quite hungry so I decided to climb down and head to one of the South Indian food vegetarian restaurants waiting at the base. So before heading back to Kuala Lumpur on the train, I had lunch. The meal was served on a banana leaf and included a heaping pile of rice topped with a variety of different curries and vegetarian sides. They were all good and the meal allowed me to regain al the energy I had lost from the climb. Full and after a good experience, I walked back to the Batu Caves train station and took the train back to KL Sentral station in Kuala Lumpur.

If you visit Kuala Lumpur, going to the Batu Caves is a must see attraction. It's just short train ride away, is a free activities, and there's some great vegetarian lunch waiting for you at the bottom!

Music used in this video:
Song Title: Digya
Author: Kevin MacLeod

[MarkWiens]

Hey, thank you very much for watching! I grew up as a kid in Kenya so I would always use all sort of accents to be better understood in Kenyan English and also Indian English... so I guess I just change my accent now without even thinking about it!

[MarkWiens]

Thanks for watching, the cave is beautiful as is the significance of the area. The buffet after the sweaty hike was awesome, I needed that boost of energy!

[MarkWiens]

Great to hear that, thank you for sharing, and glad it brought back some good memories!

[mridhu]

nothing like a meal on a banana leaf.. I visited Batu caves 10 years ago...this video brings back lot of memories! :) thank you :)

[MarkWiens]

Hey, yes I do! I grew up in Africa and was always changing my accent to be better understood, so I still tend to adapt my accent depending on who I'm speaking to!

[MarkWiens]

Hey Adam,
It's the common way to eat South Indian food, and while they do have spoons available, most locals choose to eat with their fingers. And for myself, I just enjoy eating with my fingers, it's fun!

[MarkWiens]

Hahaha, thank you very much! I appreciate all of your support.

[MarkWiens]

For this trip, I did travel alone, but most of the time I'm either with one of my friends or my girlfriend. Hah, yes, I always get lost, but wandering around and finding the correct way is one thing I love about travel!

[KenOfthewest]

Best of everything, temple, exercise up the steps and great food, pure heaven!

[douglasdennis]

I've climbed these stairs twice in my life. Once in 1994 and again in 2013. It is amazing how much the area has developed during that time.

[MarkWiens]

Yes Ken, a winning combination for a great day!

[RockXdomination]

The Batu Caves are absolutely beautiful..

[walktheparth]

That's a lot of rice for second helping! The food looks delicious! Thanks for sharing!

[clementong]

had started with watching the newer videos in Europe... then i decided to come here where its feel more down to earth and real

[MarkWiens]

Haha, yes, big seconds and it went down real well! Thank you for watching!

[FoelIsafPontllyfni]

Looks great culture and food! My kind of place. Will give it a go. Just looking for some more culture and food in KL.

[JulieLZhu]

Mark, thank you for the vids. I am traveling to Australia later this year and decided to stop in Singapore for a week because my flight makes a connection there anyway. I was thinking about taking a train up to KL from SG, but after watching your Malaysia vids, I will be checking out KL for sure! Thanks again.

[MarkWiens]

Yes Hasbulah, great meals for great prices! Are you from KL?

[MarkWiens]

Yes Zique, and food tastes better too!

[hypaish]

It's so cool that you can do that! Thanks for your response! And of course for your videos!