Welcome To Batu Caves

Whats About Batu Caves

Deep inside a lime stone mountain just outside the city of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, there is a cave. A huge cathedral like cave with walls that stretch almost to the sky, with birds flying high above, and wild monkeys running up its rock faced walls. This is Batu Caves, the most important Hindu temple outside of India, dedicated to Lord Murugan, an Indian deity. It has become a pilgrimage site for not only Malaysian Hindus, but Hindus worldwide from countries such as India, Australia and Singapore.

The Dark Caves

The Dark Cave is also home to the liphistius batuensis or the Trapdoor Spider which probably dates back to 300 million years ago and therefore is classified as a living fossil. The Trapdoor Spider is said to be found only in Batu Caves and was mentioned in the 1994 Guinness Book of World Records for being the most elusive of all spiders. A large part of the Dark Cave is closed to the public for conservation purposes but visitors are encouraged to go on a 45-minute educational tour, led by a guide in small groups of 10 people, walking through a few caverns and ending at The Great Chamber. I signed up for the tour and was pretty impressed by the quality of the tour: we were given hardhats and a torch light, and our guide, Zaf did a good job in explaining the history, ecosystem and geological formations of the Dark Cave. There is also a 3-hour Adventure tour which involves climbing, crawling and spelunking through the Crawl Passage.

Praying

Prayer or worship is considered to be an integral part of the Hindu religion. The chanting of mantras is the most popular form of worship in Hinduism. Yoga and meditation are also considered as a form of devotional service towards the Lord. The adjacent picture represents the Om sign, which is a sign of peace.