Batu Caves
written by jeepeng
on May 9th, 2008
(2 votes)
Batu Caves is a limestone hill in the Gombak district, north of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia which has a series of caves and cave temples. How to get there? By bus from Lebuh Pudu (in China Town) every 30 minutes. Journey takes about 45 minutes. These pictures were taken during Hindu community’s yearly Thaipusam festival.
The festival attracted up to million pilgrims every year, devotees prepared for the celebration by cleansing themselves through prayer and fasting. On the day of the festival, devotees will shave their heads undertake a pilgrimage along a set route while engaging in various acts of devotion, notably carrying various types of burdens. At its simplest this may entail carrying a pot of milk, but mortification of the flesh by piercing the skin, tongue or cheeks with skewers is also common.
Visitor has to climb in order to access the temple at the summit of the hill with 272 steps. If you go up the stairs, you can meet a lot of long tailed-macaque monkeys and if you have peanuts with you, you can take photos of them, carrying their babies for the peanuts. There are locals in the entrance, who will approach you to sell peanuts! An audio tour is available for visitors. 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.
There is a 42.7m high statue of Lord Murugan that took 3 years to construct was unveiled in Jan 2006. Devotees at Batu Caves during Tahipusam are friendly, they will probably accept to be photographed if you ask permission politely.
http://www.virtualmalaysia.com/destination/batu%20caves.html
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