Everything you Need to Know Before your Visit to the Batu Caves

4/17/2023

The Batu Caves of Kuala Lumpur are hands down the most popular attraction for visitors in Malaysia. With colorful stairs leading up to a series of Hindu cave temples, chances are if you're headed to Malaysia, you're also planning a stop here. Lucky for you we've done all the research you need for your trip, and based on our own experience just the other month, have compiled it all into one easy-to-read article. Scroll to the bottom for a simple list on what you should know before your visit!

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What [and where] are the Batu Caves?

The Batu Caves are formed from out of limestone local to the area, which is said to be over 400 million years old. With a large, golden statue of Lord Murugan at the front, the original wooden stairs were built around the 1920's, although they were soon replaced by concrete and later painted with bright colors in 2018. It's estimated to receive close to 2 million visitors a year, making it one of Malaysia's top attractions. Located only 13 kilometers north of Kuala Lumpur, this spot is easy to get to and is especially busy during the festival of Thaipusam, during the month of January. But the craziest fact? The caves themselves are home to over 200 species of plants and animals!

We stayed at the Santa Grand Signature in Kuala Lumpur and loved that it was within walking distance of the Petronas Towers!

Things to Know Before Your Visit

If we're being honest, our trip to the Batu Caves were quite a disaster. However, we now have a full list of things we wish we would have known before we visited! We hope this makes your trip easier and smoother, and if there's anything you still have questions to feel free to leave them below!

How To Get There : The Batu Caves are located 13 kilometers north of Kuala Lumpur. Being so close to the city, there are multiple ways to get there. Our best recommendations would be to take a Grab (Asia's equivalent to Uber) or to take public transportation. Because we were staying downtown Kuala Lumpur we took the metro, which took about 45 minutes and cost us about $1.
Opening Times : The Batu Caves are open from 7am to 9pm Daily, and on average takes visitors about 2-4 hours to explore.
Best Time to Visit : Although most people will typically tell you to visit at sunrise, we found that the early morning was full of photographers trying to get the perfect spot. Tours start around mid-day, so we recommend avoiding this time at all costs. Our visit during the afternoon and evening was perfect, with not too many people allowing us to get all the photos we wanted!
How Many Stairs? : There are 272 colorful stairs leading to the main Temple Cave.
How Many Caves? : There are 3 caves that make up the Batu Caves. The Temple Cave is at the top of the stairs, and is the most popular. The Ramayana Cave is the second most popular, and has a large, sleeping Kumbhkaran figure. The third cave is the Dark Cave, and is now unfortunately closed to visitors.

Price : Entry to get into the Batu Caves differs depending on the cave you wish to visit as well as your nationality. For the Temple Cave, all visitors are allowed in for free. The Ramayana Cave costs 5 ringgit (or about $1.08 USD) per visitor. The Dark Cave, when open, charges 7 ringgit ($1.51 USD) for locals and 15 ringgit ($3.24 USD) for visitors.
Bathrooms : Although they were under construction when we visited, there are a large set of bathrooms to the right of Lord Murugan when facing the colorful stairs, just make sure to bring your own toilet paper!
Beware of Monkeys : Seriously, even if you don't see any right away I promise they are lurking right around the corner. Lol. Although they didn't feel too aggressive to us, it's important to keep all your belongings on you, especially food/drink wrappers and containers!
Dress Appropriately : Although the Batu Caves have gained serious traction as a top tourist spot in Malaysia, they are first and foremost Hindu Temples, meaning there are certain clothing items that you should consider wearing. It's important for all guests to cover their shoulders, as well as for females to consider wearing a long skirt/dress that covers their knees. If you aren't covered up enough, you'll be asked at the entrance to wear a sarong that they have available for a small fee. It's also worth noting however, that we saw many visitors wearing shorts right above their knees that were not asked to wear a sarong.
Go Rock Climbing?! : This might be a bit of a tangent, however, we recently learned you can go Rock Climbing at the Batu Caves! There are multiple guide companies that will take you out for an epic adventure with over 100+ different routes!