5/5 Hoa Moc L. 2 years ago on Google
Batu
Caves
(named
for
the
Sungai
Batu
-
Batu
River
which
flows
nearby),
one
of
Kuala
Lumpur’s
most
frequented
tourist
attractions,
is
a
limestone
hill
comprising
three
major
caves
and
a
number
of
smaller
ones.
Located
in
Gombak
-
Selango,
approximately
12
kilometres
to
the
north
of
Kuala
Lumpur,
this
more-than-100-year-old
temple
features
idols
and
statues
erected
inside
the
main
caves
and
around
it.
Incorporated
with
interior
limestone
formations
said
to
be
around
400
million
years
old,
the
temple
is
considered
an
important
religious
landmark
by
Hindu.
The
caves
were
little-known
except
to
local
residents
until
1878,
when
the
American
naturalist
William
Temple
Hornaday
revealed
their
existence
to
the
wider
world.
Then,
K.
Thamboosamy
Pillay,
a
leader
of
the
Tamil
Hindu
community
in
Malaya
(as
the
region
was
then
called),
built
a
temple
within
the
caves
in
1891.
It
is
said
that
he
took
inspiration
from
the
similarity
in
shape
of
the
cave
entrance
to
the
tip
of
the
vel,
or
spear,
traditionally
wielded
by
the
deity
Murugan.
Thaipusam,
the
Tamil
Hindu
festival
devoted
to
Murugan,
was
first
celebrated
on
the
site
in
1892
and
is
now
a
major
event
that
attracts
hundreds
of
thousands
of
pilgrims
annually.
A
colossal
gold-painted
statue
of
Murugan,
made
from
reinforced
concrete
and
42.7
metres
in
height,
stands
near
the
base
of
a
flight
of
272
concrete
colour-painted
steps
(originally
built
by
wood
steps
in
1920).
As
visitors
climb
the
steps,
they
are
frequently
accosted
by
macaques
begging
aggressively
for
food.
At
the
top
of
the
steps
is
the
entrance
to
the
largest
cave,
called
Cathedral
Cave
or
Temple
Cave.
Within
it
is
the
largest
of
several
temples
on
the
site.
At
a
lower
level
on
the
flight
of
steps
is
Dark
Cave,
which
is
sometimes
closed
to
visitors.
Other
caves
lie
still
closer
to
the
base
of
the
steps.
Ramayana
Cave
has
an
entrance
marked
with
a
statue
of
the
monkey
god
Hanuman,
hero
of
the
Indian
epic
poem
Ramayana.
Cathedral
Cave
houses
several
Hindu
shrines
beneath
its
100-metre-high
arched
ceiling.
At
the
foot
of
Batu
Hill
are
two
other
cave
temples
–
the
Art
Gallery
Cave
and
Museum
Cave
–
which
houses
numerous
Hindu
statues
and
paintings.
*
Photos
courtesy
of
Internet
and
Facebook.
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