---
title: "How many steps up Batu Caves? 272"
description: "272 steps up Batu Caves in Selangor, Malaysia. Open to climb. What that count reaches, the height climbed, the average rise per step, and how it compares."
url: https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/batu-caves/
site: "At One Place"
---

# How many steps to the top of Batu Caves?

**Steps to the top of Batu Caves: 272**

Reaching the Temple Cave, in a limestone hill above Kuala Lumpur · open to climb

The 272 steps were painted in rainbow colours in 2018, which caused a heritage dispute because the site is a gazetted heritage area and the work was done without approval; the colours stayed and are now the reason most visitors photograph the stairway at all. The 42.7 m golden statue of Murugan at the foot of the steps is the tallest of its kind in the world. During Thaipusam, well over a million pilgrims climb, many carrying kavadi. The macaques on the stairs are habituated and will take food and bags.

## The numbers

- **Steps:** 272
- **Reaches:** the Temple Cave, in a limestone hill above Kuala Lumpur
- **Public access:** Open to climb
- **Where:** Selangor, Malaysia
- **Height climbed:** 100 m — 328 ft
- **Average rise per step:** 368 mm

## What the climb is like

10-15 minutes. Steep but broad; the steps are uneven in places and the monkeys are the main hazard.

> Published counts for the same structure routinely disagree by five to ten per cent, and nearly always for one of three reasons: whether intermediate landings count as steps, whether the final platform step counts, and where the climb is deemed to start. The figure here says what it reaches.

## How it compares

*Only the ones marked open to climb can actually be walked.*

- Bunker Hill Monument: 294 steps
- Arc de Triomphe: 284 steps
- York Minster central tower: 275 steps
- Batu Caves: 272 steps
- Saint Isaac's Cathedral colonnade: 262 steps
- Cape Hatteras Lighthouse: 257 steps
- Leaning Tower of Pisa: 251 steps

*Batu Caves ranks 46 of 56 here by step count.*

| Structure | Steps | Reaches | Access |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bunker Hill Monument | 294 | the observation chamber at 67 m | Open to climb |
| Arc de Triomphe | 284 | the roof terrace at 50 m | Open to climb |
| York Minster central tower | 275 | the top of the central tower, at 70 m | Open to climb |
| Batu Caves | 272 | the Temple Cave, in a limestone hill above Kuala Lumpur | Open to climb |
| Saint Isaac's Cathedral colonnade | 262 | the colonnade walkway around the dome, at 43 m | Open to climb |
| Cape Hatteras Lighthouse | 257 | the gallery below the lantern room, at 63 m | Open to climb |
| Leaning Tower of Pisa | 251 | the bell chamber at the top, at 56 m | Open to climb |

## Common questions

### How many steps to the top of Batu Caves?

272, reaching the Temple Cave, in a limestone hill above Kuala Lumpur.

### Can the public climb Batu Caves?

Open to climb. 10-15 minutes. Steep but broad; the steps are uneven in places and the monkeys are the main hazard.

### How high is that climb?

100 m, about 328 ft, which averages 368 mm per step.

## Related pages

- [Temples](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/temple/)
- [How many steps up El Castillo, Chichén Itzá?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/chichen-itza/)
- [How many steps up Tiger Cave Temple (Wat Tham Suea)?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/tiger-cave-temple/)
- [How many steps up Wat Phra That Doi Suthep?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/doi-suthep/)
- [How many steps up Wat Saket (the Golden Mount)?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/wat-saket/)
- [How many steps up Mount Haguro stone stairway?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/mount-haguro/)
- [How many steps up Kotohira-gū (Konpira-san)?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/kotohira-gu/)

## Sources

- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (https://www.wikidata.org/) [CC0 1.0]