Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A 42.5m golden statue of Murugan stands sentinel at the foot of a flight of 272 steps
leading up to Temple Cave. Macaque monkeys scamper around the steps and shrines,
which are dwarfed by the enormous cavern. A cable car to the cave entrance is planned
for 2014.
Other Caves
At step 204, branch off to the
Dark Cave
(
www.darkcavemalaysia.com
; adult/child RM35/25;
10am-5pm Tue-Fri, 10.30am-5.30pm Sat & Sun, tours every 20 min)
S
to follow a 45-minute guided tour
around 800m of the 2km of surveyed passageways with seven different chambers. Dra-
matic limestone formations, two species of bat and hundreds of other life forms, including
the rare trapdoor spider, make this a fascinating excursion. See the website about organ-
ising a more challenging two- to three-hour tour, which involves crawling through the
cave's narrow tunnels.
At the Batu Caves train-station end of the complex stands a 15m-tall statue of the mon-
key god Hanuman guarding the Sri Anjeneyar Temple. Behind this is a giant golden chari-
ot pulled by 13 horses and the entrance to the newly restored art gallery of the
Ramayana
Cave
(admission RM1; 9am-5pm)
where scenes from this Hindu epic are depicted in vivid
tableaux populated by acid-trip-coloured statues.
At the foot of the steps up to the Temple Cave is the
Cave Villa
( 6154 2307;
www.cavevilla.com.my
;
adult/child RM15/7; 9am-6.30pm; Batu Caves)
, fronted by a pond packed
with koi carp. Psychedelically painted sculptures of Hindu gods arranged to tell parables
from the Bhagavad Gita and other Hindu scriptures decorate the caves. There's also a
2000-sq-ft bird sanctuary, a reptile zoo and classical Indian dance shows on the hour.
Zoo Negara
A trip to Batu Caves can easily be combined with a visit to
Zoo Negara
(
www.zoonegaramalaysia.my
;
adult/child RM50/25; 9am-5pm)
, 11km southeast. Laid out over 62
hectares around a central lake, the zoo is home to a wide variety of native wildlife, includ-
ing tigers and orang-utans, as well as other animals, insects and aquatic life from Asia and
Africa. Although some of the enclosures could definitely be bigger, it is one of Asia's bet-
ter zoos: successful breeding programs include ones that have produced false gharials,
African dwarf crocodiles and 200 of the highly endangered milky stork. You can buy bags
of carrot chips and bunches of green bamboo to feed the elephants, camels, deer and giraf-
