Batu Caves

The limestone that forms the hill is estimated to be around 400 million years old. The caves' religious story begins in the late nineteenth century. K. Thamboosamy Pillai, a Tamil trader and community leader in Kuala Lumpur, was struck by the shape of the main cave entrance, which resembles the vel, the spear carried by Lord Murugan. He promoted the cave as a place of worship and a shrine to Murugan was established in 1891. The first Thaipusam festival was held there the following year.

The original climb was a rough path until 272 concrete steps were built in 1940. The giant gold-painted statue of Murugan was unveiled in January 2006, and in 2018 the steps were repainted in the rainbow colours that now appear in so many photographs.

Thaipusam, held in the Tamil month of Thai (usually January or February), turns Batu Caves into the focus of one of the largest Hindu gatherings outside India. Devotees who have prepared for weeks carry milk pots or elaborate kavadi structures up the steps, many of them after a night-long procession from the Sri Mahamariamman Temple in central Kuala Lumpur.

Batu Caves is the spiritual heart of Malaysia's Tamil Hindu community, and it is busy with families making vows, couples marking special occasions and devotees fulfilling promises. Shoes come off at the shrines, bells ring during prayers, and the smell of camphor and jasmine hangs in the air. During Thaipusam the site becomes a vast festival ground, with hundreds of thousands of people, music, chanting and kavadi bearers in trance. The macaques are part of daily life here too, so locals keep food and plastic bags out of sight.