Edakkal Caves: A place like none other

The Edakkal caves as the name suggests is not actually a cave but a cleft formed by two stones at a height of 1200m in the Ambukutty Mala. Edakkal means cleft in Malayalam & the passage formed by such a natural arrangement is what visitors see as they walk along the passage. One has to hike for around 45 minutes to reach the caves & the hike itself is a walk to the past. More than the caves, what is intriguing about the Edakkal caves is the Petroglyphs that one finds inside which are considered to be over 6000 years old. The paintings & rock carvings are quite rare & so make it difficult to decipher. As per historians, the paintings & carvings date back even before the Indus civilization which is considered to be the oldest.

The cleft formed here is 30ft deep & one rock is heavier which makes a roof over the other. The cave existed from when no one knows but they were only discovered in 1890 by a Police officer of the erstwhile Malabar state who accidently came to these caves on a hiking tour. One look at the caves & the petroglyphs made him realise that what he had discovered would change the way the world understands evolution & human existence. He wrote an article highlighting the petroglyphs and anthropologists, historians & archaeologists flocked to the caves to understand them. The caves have two chambers, lower & higher which have carvings of human, animals, household items, writings. One has to wonder how well the carvings were made with limited tools & how such a civilised set of people lived here. As per the historians, Neolithic men are said to have lived here which dates back further to the people in the Indus valley.

Apart from the caves, one can also see many muniyaras or temporary shelters made in rock which also had pottery in them while it was excavated. All the earthenware is today stored in the Wayanad Heritage museum. Though the cleft is a great natural structure but it would not have formed without intervention from an external affect. As per anthropologists, they consider the formation a result of weather turbulence or an earthquake. The known folklore though is related to an event in mythology where Luv & Kush the sons of Lord Rama is said to have shot an arrow toward Ambukuthi mala to impress their teacher which made the mountain crack & caused the cleft.

The visit to Edakkal caves is important for all who come to Wayanad, the visit is not just to see the caves but to be in presence of people who lived in these caves & are possibly every person’s ancestor.  The connection of the caves with the Indus valley can be seen in one important cave carving called “man with jar cup” which is similar to what was found in the Harappa excavations. This carving makes a connection but one cannot substantiate whether the people who lived at Edakkal came from the Indus valley or not. One still does not know what the connection is or whether there is any but what makes your visit at the Edakkal caves is heritage and every person should come here.

IMPORTANT: The visit to Edakkal is only for abled bodied persons as there is a steep rugged walk up the caves. Please take rest and hike with care.