Batu Caves
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The Batu Caves are a high series of interlinked caves in the limestone hills to the north of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The 'orang asli' (local tribes called Jakun) had been aware of the caves for a long time. However, they became famous only after it was discovered by the American Naturalist, William Hornaday in 1878.
Of the three caves that comprise the site, the largest and best known is the Temple or Cathedral Cave, so named because it houses several Hindu shrines beneath its 100 m vaulted ceiling.
These serve as the focus of the Hindu community's yearly Thaipusam festival. The site is well known for its numerous monkeys, which visitors feed, sometimes involuntarily. There are 272 steps that a visitor has to climb in order to access the temples at the summit of the hills. Many of the temples relate the story of Lord Murugan's victory over Soorapadam. An audio tour is available to visitors.
A little below the Temple Cave is the Dark Cave, a two-kilometer network of relatively untouched caverns. The caverns contain a diverse host of cave fauna, including some unique species. In order to maintain the cave's ecology, access is restricted. Those wishing to visit Dark Cave must contact the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) for permission and guidelines.
External links
- Batu Caves (http://www.malaysiasite.nl/batucaveseng.htm)
- Thaipusam at Batu Caves, Malaysia (http://murugan.org/temples/batu_caves.htm)
- Who is Lord Murugan? (http://www.nallur.org/Murugan.html)
- history of Batu Caves (http://www.journeymalaysia.com/MHIS_batucaves.htm)