PETALING JAYA, Malaysia — Batu Caves greet visitors with a new look – 272 colorful steps of the staircase!

 

Starting Sunday, members of public discovered the 272 steps of the staircase leading to the iconic Hindu Temple – Sri Subramaniar Swamy Temple at Batu Caves is given a facelift – rainbow colour staircase.

 

Photos of the refurbished Batu Caves went viral on social media, making it the latest hotspot in Kuala Lumpur.

 

The Hindu temple abides by the once in 12 years of ’consecration ritual` (Maha Kumba Abishegam) to carry out refurbishment.

 

The colourful 272 steps of the staircase is part of the refurbishment to upgrade Batu Caves.

 

The Hindu temple secretary C.Sethu Pathy said refurbishment started early last year and completed last Sunday.

 

The entire project cost RM 5.5 million ( USD 1.34 million).

 

He said the last consecration ritual was held in 2005.

 

“As one of the famous tourist spots in the country, we realize that we need to contribute to tourism industry. This year we decided to use color as our theme to present the entire Batu Caves with traditional Indian color“ he said.

 

The refurbishment project took one and a half years and the colorful 272-step staircase is most striking. Painting of the staircase only took a few days but the staircase looks fabulous after given a new coat of paint.

 

“Apart from the staircase, we have also touched up and upgraded the Statue of Lord Murugan, the arch and the temple.

 

“We increase the existing eight pillars from 8 to 12 with story of Lord Murugan painted on the pillars,” said  Sethu Pathy.

 

A consecration ceremony would be held on 31 August.

 

In conjunction with the ceremony, traditional dances , music and cultural performance would be held on 30 and 31 of August.