A trip to Wayanad is invariably incomplete without a visit to the world-famous Edakkal Caves located at a distance of 16 km from Sultan Bathery, residing in the Ambukuthi hills. This masterpiece cave of South India is about 4000 feet up the mountain and can only be reached by a long trek to the entrance of the caves, and a further 45 min trek to the Edakkal caves. The name actually means “a stone in between” (Edakku kallu). On the very first sight, you get the idea that it is not a cave but a wedge in between two big rocks.
Scientists stated that it is actually a fissure on the rocks due to some natural calamities or climatic changes. It has a dimension of 22 ft width, 96 ft length, 30 ft depth with a rock ceiling over your head. It was Fred Fawcett, the Police Superintendent, who discovered these caves in 1895 as part of his exploring and investigating the dense woods and rough terrains. As the caves had many speculations of human settlements from the Stone Age, they attracted archaeologists and historians from all around the world who tried to make sense of the scripts and drawings on the cave walls.
One can see three separate sets of petroglyphs within the caves which are almost 7000 years old. Edakkal caves have the widest collection of carvings from the Neolithic and Mesolithic Ages including stone scripts, weapons, symbols, motifs, animal and human figures etc. Different human figures with varied hairs, facemasks,s, and several motifs gave a real headache to the archaeologists for years.
Recently the researchers have speculated that the Edakkal caves had some sort of connection to the Indus Valley Civilisation, like a carving of “a man with a jar mug”
seen inside the cave is one of the renowned motifs of Indus Valley Civilisation.
One of the myths circulating within the locals says that it was Lord Rama who shot the mountain with an arrow that left a deep cleft on the rocks. The legend really goes through, as even the name of the hills is associated with the myth, “Ambu” means arrow and “kuthi” means pierced, Ambukuthi hills. As a result of which many people believe the caves are holy and one can see several idols kept near the caves. With a trip to Edakkal Caves, you can have the most wonderful weekend within mountain hills, knowing a lot about the ancient human settlements dating back to 1000 B.C or beyond.
Contact Details
Edakkal Caves
Nenmeni, Wayanad,
Kerala 673595
