Batu Caves, just a short distance from the Kuala Lumpur city center in Malaysia, is the primary destination in this country during the yearly Hindu Thaipusam festival. The paramount cave, Cathedral Cave, is the nucleus of the storm to which a swirling mass of Hindu worshippers, predominantly Indian, surge to every year during Thaipusam. 272 concrete steps lead from the base of the hill up towards Cathedral Cave, with the local residents, macaque monkeys, scavenging the steps and area surrounding them for scraps of food.
The 2012 Thaipusam festival, which seems to get more popular here each year, witnessed close to one million pilgrims swarming to Batu Caves in the predawn hours on February 7. As the heat of the day descended onto the population, the pilgrims ascended the steps towards Cathedral Cave, their offerings or kavadi in tow.
The caves take their name from the Batu River (Sungai Batu), which flows at the base of the hills.
This panorama was taken a week after the Thaipusam festival, with the relative quiet and emptiness standing in stark contrast to the mass of worshipers cramming into every nook and cranny for the duration of the festival.
This amazes me that no matter where you go in the world….there are always pidgeons there waiting for your food.
Pigeons lurk everywhere. However, there were monkeys here to scoop up leftovers or try to steal from your hand.
Thanks again – for taking me along with you, at least virtually!
Hopefully the frequency of The Panorama Series is now more to your liking Elaine!