JUST TO SHARE (Lau Tai Onn): A Half-day Trip To Batu Caves, Gombak, Selangor

On Tuesday, September 18, 2018, I had dated my cousin Pan MW to visit Batu Caves, Gombak, Selangor so that I could also hand out to him some goodies bought from my recent Henan tour.

This is the first time I visited Batu Caves after many decades since I went there as a primary school student as far as I could remember!

I left home at 8.10am to drive to Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS) at Bandar Tasik Selatan amidst drizzling. The traffic in my BSL garden was itself very jammed and I managed to reach TBS only at 9.45am. Pan MW must have waited more than an hour and we were supposed to take the 9.18am KTM train from TBS to Batu Caves.

We boarded the 10.18am train with a concessionary ticket of RM 1.90 each for being senior citizens, reaching Batu Caves at 11.25am. By that time, the rain had stopped. It was cloudy throughout our less than 2-hour stay.

I was quite impressed with the gigantic Murugan statue and the colourful steps. The flights of 272 steps were quite steep and there were many monkeys loitering along the way.

A bit of the background of Batu Caves is as follows:

Batu Caves is a limestone hill that has a series of caves and cave temples in Gombak, Selangor, Malaysia. It takes its name from the Sungai Batu (Stone River), which flows past the hill. The cave is one of the most popular Tamil shrines outside India, and is dedicated to Lord Murugan. It is the focal point of Hindu festival of Thaipusam in Malaysia.

Entrance to Batu Caves with the Murugan statue

Batu Caves in short is also referred as 10th Caves or Hill for Lord Murugan as there are six important holy shrines in India and four more in Malaysia. The three others in Malaysia are Kallumalai Temple in Ipoh, Tanneermalai Temple in Penang and Sannasimalai Temple in Malacca.

黑風洞（馬來語：Batumalai Sri Subramaniar Swamy Devasthanam、Batu Caves）是個擁有一系列洞穴與寺廟的石灰岩山丘，位在距離馬來西亞吉隆坡北方13公里的雪蘭莪州鵝嘜縣。其名「Batu」來自於山丘旁的巴都河，此外黑風洞也是當地的村名。黑風洞為印度外著名的印度教聖地之一，祭拜室建陀，並且是馬來西亞大寶森節慶典的重鎮。

Wooden steps up to the Temple Cave were built in 1920 and have since been replaced by 272 concrete steps. Of the various cave temples that comprise the site, the largest and best known is the Temple Cave, so named because it houses several Hindu shrines beneath its high vaulted ceiling.

In August 2018 the 272 steps were painted in an extraordinary colour scheme, with each set of steps painted in a different range of colours. However accusations were almost immediately made by the National Heritage Department for a breach of law requiring authorisation for renovations within 200 metres of a heritage site. The temple's management disputed their failure to receive authorisation.

Rising almost 100 m above the ground, the Batu Caves temple complex consists of three main caves and a few smaller ones. The biggest, referred to as Cathedral Cave or Temple Cave, has a very high ceiling and features ornate Hindu shrines. To reach it, visitors must climb a steep flight of 272 steps.

At the base of the hill are two more cave temples, Art Gallery Cave and Museum Cave, both of which are full of Hindu statues and paintings. This complex was renovated and opened as the Cave Villa in 2008. Many of the shrines relate the story of Lord Murugan's victory over the demon Soorapadman.

The Ramayana Cave is situated to the extreme left as one faces the sheer wall of the hill. On the way to the Ramayana Cave, there is a 15 m (50 ft) tall statue of Hanuman and a temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman, devotee and aide of Lord Rama. The consecration ceremony of the temple was held in November 2001.

The Ramayana Cave depicts the story of Rama in a chronicle manner along the irregular walls of the cave.

Pan and I only visited the Temple Cave the entrance fee of which was free-of-charge after climbing 272 steps.

We left Batu Caves at about 12.30pm and caught the 1.05pm KTM train back to TBS. The frequency of trains is hourly.

After having our late lunch at TBS at about 2.00pm, we parted ways and I returned home at 3.30pm.

A pose with Pan MW

I wore short pants and sport shoes for the trip ready for cave-climbing

Standing at 42.7 m (140 ft) high, this is the world's tallest statue of Lord Murugan, a Hindu deity. It is said that this statue was made of 1550 cubic metres of concrete, 250 tonnes of steel bars and 300 litres of gold paint brought in from neighbouring Thailand.

This 42.7-metre (140 ft) high statue of Lord Murugan was unveiled in January 2006, having taken 3 years to construct. It is the tallest Lord Murugan statue in the world.