The Batu Caves are located just outside of
Kuala Lumpur and are one of Malaysia's top attractions. The
limestone caves of this complex contain many Hindus shrines, and
is one of only 10 Hindu temples in the world dedicated to the
Hindu God Murugan. Murugan is particularly revered by Tamil
Hindus, and the site is the focus of the Malaysian Hindu
community's Thaipusam celebrations. The festival commemorates
the occasion when Parvati gave Murugan a Vel (spear) so he could
vanquish the evil demon Soorapadman. The entry to the limestone
cave resembles that spear, and hence this spot's selection for
the temple. The sprawling complex contains temples in two caves
on the ground level, as well as the more spectacular limestone
cave temples that await visitors following the 272-stair climb
to the mouth of the caves' entrance. The major temples and their
significance is explained in the virtual tour below, which is
available both as a desktop tour and as an VR tour which permits
viewing via a headset, such as Google Cardboard.
Virtual Traveler's VR Batu Caves Tour
Virtual Reality Tour for
VR Headsets
There is also a version of this tour that works with VR headsets
(such as Google Cardboard) and it runs on both iPhones and
Android phones. It may be accessed by scanning the QR code to
the left. If you are viewing this on a smartphone, you may
access the tour by clicking on this link.
For iOS
devices: scan QR code with
device camera app, tap on prompt to open Safari, select "allow
device motion" and on the next prompt "allow access to motion
orientation." Turn device to landscape mode and a split screen
will appear. When the screen turns white, swipe up for
fullscreen and place device in headset. Here is
a video of how to do this--it is simpler than it sounds!
[Video opens in a separate window-close window to return to
page]
For Android devices:
use the phone's camera to scan the QR code, and then select the
tour you want to visit. Wait for the tour to load. Tour will
appear in a split screen, and tap on the "X" and the bottom menu
to go fullscreen. Turn the phone to portrait mode, place in
headset and enjoy the tour. Here is a
video on how to do it--it
is simpler than it sounds! [Video opens in a separate
window-close window to return to page]
