Gua Charas

Gua Charas is a cave temple near Panching village, hidden in a palm oil plantation about 25km west of Kuantan. A 400millions years limestone masiff that towers around 300 meters high, the hill has a large cave chamber accessible by steps from the foot below. Inside, a reclining Buddha statue is housed at the end of a large rib cage-like passageway, along with smaller altars placed at random recesses along the walls. Lit by lamps, interesting limestone formations can be viewed along the statues, the ground wet at some parts from dripping water, a natural feature of such landscapes. Open daily from 9am till 5pm, small ticket and parking fees are charged on visitors. It is recommended to visit during noon when sunlight enters the cave for nice photo effects. Some shirtless Hindu priests were washing an altar and a black pillar named Jala Lingam, representing the deity Lord Shiva. Nearby, statues of an elephant and a monkey were kneeling before a Buddha while towards the rear of the cave, another holy man was attending to a modestly sized Reclining Buddha statue. Between 11am and 12noon we can see the sun light thru caves hole reach Buddha face. It is not the most attractive reclining Buddha in Malaysia but the fact that it was constructed in such a setting is impressive. Every corner of the caves you can see the water dripping and real lively caves which we called stalagmite and stalactites. It’s really huge caves would say 4 to 5 times bigger than Batu Caves. I was amazed with the way they build the path way and some of the shrine with just depend on rope and public help. The temple was well clean and I was blessed when reached the temple around 11am with Abhishegam continue with prayers at 12noon. Those who really wanted see the temple and caves please try to reach by 11am. Note: Please do not touch any of caves stones especially when it’s wet which will affect the growth.

A place on the way to Lembing. Tickets and parking price are reasonable. The steel stairs outside the cave is a bit scary, be careful. But it worth the climbing up! The cave is very chill inside, and I can see the pavements inside the cave have been improved a lot over the year. A interesting place to see many Hindu and Chinese temples co-exist in one cave.

My journey to Sivan temple gua charas was very astonishing. Of course it is a steep climb to reach the cave entrance, so kindly take note as it is not safe to take small kids or anyone having trouble climbing stairs. The interior of the cave is well constructed. But the steel steeps leading to the cave entrance are quite rusty , some steeps look like it is in danger of breaking . So again a gentle reminder, please be cautious . However if you managed to reach inside the cave many wonderful deities, like shivan, yinayagar, Hanuman , sleeping Buddha and many others do inquire before going there as the signboards say the cave is closed at 5pm. There are toilets right at the parking area and also inside the cave.

Awesome rock formations within the cave make it worth visiting even without the Buddha

Beautiful architecture and natural formation of the cave. Legends says there is a big white snake around this parts. If you get a glimpse of it. Very good luck. Anyways the place is also filled with different types of sculptures of both Hindu and Buddhist cultures. Very cooling inside the cave. But to get to the cave need to climb a short but steep flight of stairs. Do thread carefully. Worth the climb though.