Malaysian Hindus carried offerings up hundreds of steps to a major temple to mark the annual Thaipusam festival in celebrations that were scaled back due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Hundreds headed to the Batu Caves temple complex outside Kuala Lumpur and walked barefoot up 272, multi-coloured steps to reach the site, carrying offerings such as milk pots.

But celebrations were muted compared with the years before the pandemic, when huge crowds would throng the site, with officials limiting numbers to cut the risk of Covid-19.

Hindu devotee Krishnan Karuppan told AFP that he arrived at the temple before dawn. “Many people are afraid (to come),” he said. “My own children didn't come — they're all at home.”