A beautiful mix of Geology and Culture – Batu Caves with kids

If you’ve spent even a few minutes researching the best places to visit in Kuala Lumpur, you’ve probably seen pictures of a rainbow-colored staircase leading into a mountain cave. This is the entryway into one of the best-known Hindu temple complexes in Malaysia, the Batu Caves.

What Are the Batu Caves?

Checking out the wide variety of beautiful temples and mosques in easily one of the best things to do in Malaysia, and Batu Caves is quite possibly the best known group of Hindu temples in the country! Rather than a single cave, the Batu Caves are a series of naturally occurring caves located in the northern part of Kuala Lumpur that have been transformed into a series of small Hindu temples and shrines. These temples have been a major destination for Hindu practitioners for decades, but the caves have also recently gained international attention thanks to a rainbow-colored paint job that transformed the staircase leading up to the caves into one of Malaysia’s most Instagramable spots.

The History of Batu Caves

No one really knows when the Batu Caves themselves were discovered, but the first people to make use of them were Malaysia’s indigenous population, the Orang Asli, who regularly used the caves as shelter. However, they also eventually caught the eye of Chinese settlers, who instead used the caves as a ready source of bat guano.

It wasn’t until the late 1800’s that the caves began to be used as a place of worship. In 1890, the first Hindu statue was installed in the area that is now known as Temple Cave, and soon after, Hindu worshippers began to regularly use the caves for festivals and worship.

As time went on, improvements started to appear. Wooden stairs were replaced by concrete ones, and more shrines and statues made their way into the caves. Many of these improvements focused on Temple Cave, but several of the smaller caves in the area were also changed into shrines and galleries, as well. And, as the caves brought in visitors, the visitors began to bring in vendors, turning the caves into a full-blown attraction.

The Batu caves find Instagram fame

In 2018, the decision was made to paint the previously unpainted staircase leading up to Temple Cave. In part, it was a change intended to beautify the caves for pilgrims visiting the area, and in part it was an attempt to bring in more tourists.

It was a choice that came with a bit of controversy, as the change to the stairs was enough of a change to put the Caves’ status as a Malaysian national heritage site at risk. However, it was ultimately deemed worth the risk, and in the years since, Batu Caves continues to be a popular location for visiting photographers looking for a rainbow-colored back drop!

What is there to do at Batu Caves?

Whether you’re coming to Batu Caves as a way to explore the vibrant Hindu Temples, to see the mostly wild macaques, or simply as a way to get your steps in at a location that beautifully blends nature’s beauty with interesting architecture, you won’t be disappointed!

See the Golden Statue of Lord Murugan

When you first arrive at Batu Caves, the Golden Statue of Lord Murugan will almost certainly be the first thing you see! Coming in at 140 feet (42.7m) tall, this is the tallest statue in all of Malaysia, and the second tallest statue of Lord Murugan in the world! (The Muthumalai Murugan Statue in India is 6 feet taller.)

However, it isn’t particularly old.

The statue was unveiled in 2006 during the annual Thaipusam festival, and is made of reinforced concrete and covered with 300 liters of gold paint. Despite its relatively young age, it is a huge draw to the area, and an impressive bit of statuary!

Climb the Batu Caves Rainbow-colored Staircase

Located to the left and directly behind the Statue of Murugan, the Batu Caves staircase gained internet fame when it received a rainbow-colored paint job in 2018. Despite that relatively recent painting, the stairs are already showing signs of wear and, and much of the paint is chipping away. It’s still gorgeous from afar, but a bit drab up close.

The staircase is composed of 272 concrete steps, and can be quite draining to climb, if you’re not used to climbing stairs. However, it’s the only way to get the top and check out the most well-known of the caves, Temple cave!

That may not always be true, though, as the owners of the caves have announced that they are considering installing escalators to help make the caves more accesible!

Take in the beauty of Temple Cave

Located at the top of the staircase, Temple Cave is the location where most of the Batu Caves Temples and shrines are located. And, in fact, it is also the place where the first shrine was added, way back in 1890. Today, there are several different things to do in Temple Cave.

Visit the Hindu Shrines in Temple Cave

Today, there are two larger Hindu temples in the Temple Cave, as well as several smaller shrine areas.

The first temple you’ll come to is the Sri Velayuthar Temple, or Main Temple. Visitors are asked to remove their shoes before entering the temple proper, and can pay a small fee to pass further into the temple and receive a blessing.

The second temple is at the top of a second, much smaller, staircase located near the back of the cave.

Temple Cave macaques

If you make it to the back of the cave, you’ll notice that there are a large number of resident macaques that call Temple Cave their home! Most of them will hang out directly across from the temple at the top, and they attract pretty large crowds of tourists on their own.

Hindu practitioners will often bring food and flower offerings to the different temples, and the monkeys subsist largely off the scraps from those offerings and “gifts” that tourists give them. If you bring food with you, you will be approached by macaques looking for food, at some point.

While they can be aggressive, they typically ignore anyone who isn’t antagonizing them. And they’re a lot of fun to watch!

Temple Cave amenities

I highly recommend bringing your own water for the hike up the stairs, but it’s worth pointing out that there is a small drinks stand at the top for anyone who forgot to bring water with them. It’s cheaper to buy drinks at the bottom, but considering the 272 stairs the drinks had to be carried to be sold at the top, you can’t really fault the upcharge.

There’s also a gift shop where you can buy souvenirs to remember your trip. However, there are no restroom facilities at the top of the caves, which is incredibly important information for those traveling with kids.

Cave Villa Art Gallery

Of the other cave locations in the Batu Caves, most of them are located within the Cave Villa Art Gallery location. Located to the left of the Batu Caves when looking towards the stairways, the Cave Villa Art gallery hosts two separate cave sections (the Gallery Cave and the Museum Cave), a koi pond, several different species of tropical bird, and an on site restaurant. All of which is accessible for an entry fee of RM 15/person.

On our trip to Batu Caves, we didn’t get the chance to check out the Cave Villa Art Gallery, however, after doing a bit of research, I’m not too heartbroken about that. Reviews of this particular section of Batu Caves are…. pretty bad. And on top of that, there have been several complaints about how the animals in their exhibits are treated.

I personally do not have any experience one way or the other with them, but based on those facts, this is one that I would skip.

Sri Ramayana Cave Art Gallery

If you continue on past the Cave Villa Art Gallery, you can arrive at the furthest of the caves in the complex, the Sri Ramayana Cave. This cave is filled with interesting and colorful statues set out to tell the story of Rama, from Hindu mythology.

As you walk along the path, you can see his story told, from his birth to his marriage, to his eventual victory in the battle with the demon Ravana, who kidnapped his wife.

It was really interesting to see the story spread out in front of us with statues, and these caves ended up being my son’s favorite part of our trip!

Alongside the statues, there was also a stairway up to a large meditation room and two small waterfalls, which were a pleasant surprise.

Entry to the Sri Ramayana cave cost RM10/adult, and RM5/child.

Gua Damai Rock Climbing

For those who prefer climbing mountains to climbing stairs, the Gua Damai X park located on the backside of the Batu Caves mountain makes for a great opportunity! Gua Damai offers mountain climbing, abseiling, cave climbing, and even a zip line!

This is another area that our family didn’t check out during our visit, and it’s location on the other side of the hill probably means it would be better off on a trip of its own, but its proximity to the Batu Caves earns it a place on this list.

Sample some delicious Indian Food!

Inside the Batu Caves complex there are several different cafes and food stalls where you can buy all sorts of treats! My family ended both of our trips to the cave with a fresh green coconut and some brown sugar appam. (A sweet, Indian pancake.)

There are tons of great food options to choose from, so I highly recommend taking a quick snack break after exploring the caves.

Are the Batu Caves worth visiting with Kids?

Ultimately, I would have to say, yes!

Our kids weren’t very excited to visit Batu Caves when we first brought it up with them. Partly, that was because they’re still a little “templed out” after our travels in Egypt. And partly, it’s because Kuala Lumpur has so many other kid-friendly activities that they wanted to check out.

However, despite their initial reluctance, both of our kids had a great time! Our daughter particularly loved watchin the macaques at the end of the caves, and our son really, really enjoyed seeing the statues in Sri Ramayana cave. (The Aru Shah book series had a lot to do with that, as it gave him some context to the myths. Be sure to check it out at your library.) 

So, yes! If you’re looking for fun things to do in Malaysia with kids, I would definitely say the Batu Caves fit the bill!