All you need to visit the Batu Cave in 2025

Batu Caves remains one of Malaysia’s most iconic religious and cultural sites, attracting visitors for its cliffs, colorful stairway, and temples. Located just outside Kuala Lumpur, it is easy to reach, free to enter, and suitable for a short morning or half-day trip. This 2025 guide covers everything you need to know before visiting: how to get there, opening hours, dress code, safety, best time to go, and what to expect inside each cave.

What Are the Batu Caves?

Batu Caves is a complex of Hindu cave temples set within a limestone hill. The main attraction is the large Murugan statue, with 43 meters tall at the base of the famous 272 colorful steps. The statue was under repair in 2025, so you’ll not see much of it. After you climb the stairs, you’ll be greeted by a huge cave, inside of which you’ll find the Temple Cave, the largest and most visited section. Be aware, that if you’re afraid of heigths, you won’t have a great time, especially on the way down. The stairs are quite narrow, although they are safe and have the same separation in all steps.

There’s additional attractions to the main caves. There’s also two temples on the bottom of the stairs, which are obviously less popular, but you can quickly see them. A key one to know is the Ramayana Cave, a paid-entry cave (15 RM) with detailed murals and statues depicting the Ramayana story. It looks pretty kitsch to my taste, but it’s certainly memorable. There’s also plenty of stairs inside that bring you to smaller sections of the cave, with stalagmites.

How to Get to Batu Caves

Batu Caves is located about 13 km north of central Kuala Lumpur. You can take a tour to go there, but it’s easier to get on your own. There’s trains going there from KL Sentral to Batu Caves Station, taking only 30 min and leaves you in front of Exit 3. You can also take a Grab, which will also take you 20-30 min. My Grab from the Petronas Towers costed 17 RM, which is less than 5€, and saves you lots of hassle. It also left me right in front of the main temple.

Important! If you come by train, you’ll be left next to Exit 3. Thus, the first thing you’ll see will be the Ramayana Cave, which is very sneakily labeled as “Sri Cave Batu Cave”. If you’re only interested in the main cave, skip that one and head towards the parking lot. You’ll have to cross the parking lot to reach the actual Batu Cave. I met some guys that got confused with this and ended up paying for the cave that they were not interested in.

Opening Hours

• Temple Cave: 7:00–21:00 daily. Some resources say it’s from 6 am, but I didn’t see it on site.
• Ramayana Cave: 09:00–18:00.

The caves are a popular destination, so the later you come, the more crowded it gets.

Fees

The Temple Cave is free to visit. If you’re being asked for a fee, that’s not the Temple Cave. The Ramayana Cave costs 15 RM.

Dress Code

Batu Caves is an active Hindu religious site. Thus, both men and women need to be dressed conservatively, which means shoulders and knees covered. If needed, sarongs are available at the entrance.

Be careful with the monkeys!

Monkeys are common on the stairway and inside the cave. They don’t wake up too early, so when I came at 8 am there were still not many. However, they are famous for grabbing food, plastic bags, and loose items. Thus, protect yourself from monkeys, and remember that they are wild animals, not pets.

How Long Do You Need?

For most people, 1.5–2 hours is enough to explore the main cave and likely to visit some of the other caves too.

Is Batu Caves Worth Visiting?

Absolutely! It is one of the most popular major attractions around Kuala Lumpur and combines culture, architecture, and natural scenery in one place.

Continue your visit

Check out this post about what else you don’t want to miss in Kuala Lumpur. If you enjoyed the Cave Temples, you can see more in Ipoh, a day-trip destination from Kuala Lumpur. Check also this post about Penang if you want to continue exploring Malaysia.

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