EDAKKAL CAVES

EDAKKAL CAVES

The Edakkal Caves   in Wayanad are magnificent formations of nature. The word 'Edakkal' itself means 'a stone in between'. The structure of these caves is truly extraordinary as a big boulder balances itself on two relatively smaller boulders, thus forming the truly fascinating Edakkal Caves of Kerala. These caves are a very popular tourist attraction of Wayanad. The cave has two levels inside that can be entered through an entrance that is merely 5 feet in height.

The lower chamber is around 18 feet long and 10 feet high. A small passage from there leads to the upper chamber that is around 95 feet long and 18 feet high. This truly magnificent structure is a storehouse of pre-historic art forms. These etchings and carvings on the walls of the caves are truly fascinating as they date back to almost 5000 years. This attracts historians and archaeologists from all over the world. The Edakkal Caves have been the cradle of human civilization at different stages in history.

          The Edakkal Caves are situated at Ambukuthi mountain ranges near Ambalavayal, about 12 km from Sulthan Bathery in Wayanad district of Kerala.The size of each engraving in the lower part ranges from two feet and the upper part contains engravings of more than six feet in size.

      The stone carvings inside the caves shed light on the life and culture of the ancient cavemen who lived in the Neolithic era or New Stone Age, from 4000 BC to 1700 BC.After conducting trail digs in December last year the department decided to go for a full fledged digging on March 14 to clean and re-excavate the caves due to sediment-metal and dust deposits up to 90 centimeters deep.The entire operation was led by Hemachandran, Superintending Archaeologist and D. Mohanan, Excavation officer of the state’s Archaeology Department .Hemachandran said: "During the re-excavation we have got many important artifacts used by these people including a round stone tool used for chiseling and this is a major finding as in earlier trials we did not get artifacts and this will definitely help us in studying more about the engravings and its creators".Archeologists believe that this is a major finding after 1894, which will help to assess their antiquity and significance to the drawings that already exist in the cave. Fred Fawcett, Superintendent of Police of the then Malabar District, discovered the Edakkal Caves in 1890
     The Edakkal caves were reopened for tourists after renovation on Tuesday, 1^st march, 2011. The District Tourism promotion council (DTPC) spent Rs 10 lakh for renovation works such as erecting stainless steel stair cases with polished granite slabs and hand rails leading to the caves and two iron gates. The public works Department constructed a 1 km long concrete road to the caves from the parking ground at a  cost of Rs 37 lakh. The department allocated Rs 6 crore to construct a 6 km road of national high way standards that connects the caves to the NH212.
   The state Archaeology department earmarked Rs 30 lakh for the scientific preservation of the rock engravings(petroglyphs) on the walls of the Neolithic monument and the work was progressing. Private jeep service to the caves was banned and the ticket charge to the caves was hiked from Rs 10 to Rs 15 for adults.

Prof. John Kurakar