10 things to do at Batu Caves....

Batu Caves is said to be one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside India, and is dedicated to Lord Murugan. It is the focal point of Hindu festival of Thaipusam in Malaysia.The limestone forming Batu Caves is said to be around 400 million years old, amazing huh....

 Batu Caves is most busiest during Thaipusam when it becomes a pilgrimage site not only for Malaysian Hindus, but Hindus worldwide, some hailing from India, Australia, Singapore and many other places....

During the school holidays and certain weekends when I do not have much to do, I would bring my daughter here as she loves it here....so I am going to share 10 things we did and what you can do at Batu Caves. These are my personal list and done by a non-professional ok, and in no particular order....hehehe and no, it does not include carrying the kavadi or walking on fire or rock climbing and so on yet....though that can be added on to the list in the future... 

No 1: Enjoy the view... If you are there early in the morning like me.. I always love visiting Batu Caves early in the morning around 7am, when the weather is cooling and the burst of colours in the sky is so fascinating...

No 2: Climb the steps...There are  272 steps, which will lead you to religious Temple Caves on top.... and a magnificent view....

It sure is a tiring climb and for first timers, you probably will stop and pause 5-6 times along the way....

But the exercise if great and it gets easier the more you climb... Hell.. I tell you in the length of time I take to climb to the top, there are a few other athletic people who have gone up and down 2x or 3x.... and that makes me ashamed of my own stamina, pathetic!!!.... hahaha

No 3: Feed the birds.. you can feed the birds with last night's unfinished rice... or uncooked rice, or bird seed or bread....

And if you are lucky, the birds will land on you for a more personalized feeding.. heheeh

You can even find contortionists like this gray pigeon here... hahaha

  

My daughter loves doing this...

A white pigeon landing on her for bread.... but well, do prepare some anti bacterial wet wipes as some of these pigeon's feet are dirty, having stepped everywhere and even in their own poop....get the idea??!! So once the feeding is over and the bird is gone, you need a good clean down...

No 3 and 4: DO pay a visit to the Cave Villa.. to challenge your fears and meet up with the creepy crawlies and well to admire the artwork, paintings, statues.....

The ticket pricing for entry to the Cave Villa....

You get to go through the bridge over the lake filled with lots of fishes.....you can feed the fishes here... if you like too...

  

Take a peek into the Art Gallery filled with photos of Batu Caves, and loads of colorful statues of all the Hindu deities, gods and goddesses..

It does not matter what religion you are, there is always something to learn about other religion and cultures... be respectful and learn whatever you can...

There are some animals inside the Cave Villa area.. which you can admire as well... as the peacocks...birds..and if you like it you can take a picture with the birds for a small fee (parakeets and parrots)...

This cute raccoon that reminds me of Puss in Boots in the movie Shrek, with his ten cents pitiful look...

Head over to the Cave Villa, a different cave on the other side from the Art Gallery where many more stone carvings? depicts moral stories and Indian mythology (I think) with some good advice written in Indian, English and Chinese.... Go deeper in until you come to some steps...head up to the steps 

... and get ready to face your fears (if you are scared of creepy crawlies...) since this is the realm of the reptiles...

My daughter and I were sure fascinated by the baby cobras (just one week old then) that were kept in a plastic aquarium with remnants of the eggs they hatched from...We were told by the caretaker that these babies were already venomous....

If you are brave, do feel free to take a picture with one of the pythons there, there are a few of them and you can choose which one you prefer... they are just so gorgeous... and I love the feel of their skin... somehow very cool and soothing to touch...

Did you know I was once absolutely terrified of them... I somehow faced my fears and am in love with pythons now... ONLY pythons.. However, I still do not dare touch another snake yet... not even the smaller corn snake or milk snake or whatever...

There are a variety of snakes here, from corn snakes, cobras, pythons, water snakes etc and you can find snapping turtles, lizards, tortoises and a crocodile even... but do not expect the best conditions as this is a reptile sanctuary inside a cave.. I kinda expect to almost encounter a loose one somewhere...hahaha....but no, they are supposedly well kept.. it's just that the ground of the place is wet and it's covered with sand...

No 5: Feed the piranhas...Ok, not piranhas, I am kidding, but the pond at Batu Caves is brimming with thousands of starving fish that look like piranhas on a frenzy when you feed them....

There is a fish farm here.. with Talapias

... and Catfishes too.... and my guess is some of these fishes escape and join the other fishes in the pond.... I spotted huge kalois, an arapaima or two, an arowana or two... kois, lots of catfishes and other fishes... 

Don't believe me, get a packet of fish food for RM2 at the little souvenir shop next to the pond and pour the packet into the pond and see the fishes turn to piranhas on a feeding frenzy....LOL

  

No 6: Feed the monkeys.. ok, maybe not, as it can be dangerous.. depending on you... but if you want to feed the monkeys, be very, very careful... be respectful and well be cautious...but for me, monkeys are also living creatures in search of food.. and there are people who feed them...

My little girl is born in the year of the monkey and she likes seeing  monkeys... so it was a treat getting to feed the monkeys...

I allowed her to feed lone monkeys away from the other crowd of monkeys... yeah... if you want to feed the monkeys make sure it is the ones away from others and one which is of small size...

 There was a bigger monkey that came and I quickly told my daughter to give him the whole slice of bread she was holding and pulled her away... bigger monkeys can be fiercer and also more aggressive... So feed at your discretion and be cautious..

No 7: Get some mehndi done . You can get a lovely mehndi design drawn on your hand for just RM10 

Mehndi is drawn using some henna paste on your hand or feet.....but people normally do it on their hands...

It can last you a week or so and you will definitely love the design....

No 8: Indulge in some sweets or snacks  There are a couple of stalls there selling savoury snacks, preserved (sourish) fruits/ nuts and even Indian sweets/ candies.. so do indulge in it if you like... hehehe

No 9: Pay your respects to Lord Hanuman.. Hanuman is a monkey deity renowned for his courage, power and faithful, selfless service. He is a great devotee of Lord Rama. He symbolizes heroism and valor to fight for the cause of dharma, devotion and selfless service, and above all, humility.

There is a 15m / 50 feet tall statue of Hanuman towards the back of Batu Caves very near the Batu Caves komuter station...

as well as a temple dedicated to the Monkey Deity....

No 10: Explore the Dark Caves Ok, I did not explore it this time but I did a year or so ago with Abran, my facebook friend, self-adopted brother and good friend from the USA.. you will find the Dark caves on the 220 steps or something climbing the Batu Caves...It is on your left and you cannot miss it. 

However it is only opened at about 10 am or 10.30 am... and since I was there early, so we missed it... You have to pay about RM35 per adult or RM25 per child for a half and hour or so tour inside the cave..

Inside the cave, you will be given a construction hat and also a torch before being set into groups to follow your specified tour guides who will point interesting sights and critters out to you...

 FYI the Dark Cave here is home to the rarest spider in the world, The Trapdoor Spider (Liphistius Batuensis), as well as to an ancient animal community of over 100 million years old. It is also the most researched tropical cave in the world filled with breathtaking  and magnificent geological cave formations. It is indeed a lovely experience and I would so do it again...

For more on this, check out http://www.darkcavemalaysia.com/

And there you have it... my list of 10 things to do at Batu Caves... some of which you might think silly or stupid... but well, this is just my opinion and thoughts.... 

So now you know what to expect or do when you are there at Batu Caves... of course, there are also Indian food shops and all you can try out if you so desire....

Bye for now.... 

Note: Pictures of the Interior of the Dark Caves do not belong to me and has been taken from the Dark Caves FB for visual purposes.