Situated high atop Ambukutty Mala hills, 25 kilometres away from Wayanad, located in the district of the same name, is Edakkal Caves – a true archaeological wonder and find. Known for its mystical rock formation and engravings that can be traced back to the Stone Age, Edakkal Caves is the hub for those interested in glimpsing a peek of the primitive way of life.

A trek up around 300 steps takes you to the Edakkal Caves. Despite the name, the place isn’t really a cave, but more of a rock formation where a boulder wedged itself between two other boulders, creating an odd shelter like structure. The name ‘Edakkal’ itself means ‘Stone in between’ in the Malayalam language, thus being appropriately named by the locals.

Significance and History
1200 ft above the sea level does the Edakkal Caves stand. It’s pictorial engravings are quite old in nature and the oldest of these interesting engravings can be dated back to 6000 B.C., the era that is known today as ‘The Stone Age’. Despite such an early civilisation which could have been using the area as a settlement, it was only discovered and recognised for its archaeological importance in 1895 by Fred Fawcett, a police official from the British East India Company on one of his hunting trips.

There is not much knowledge regarding the origins of these caves, other than the possible indications of an early civilisation having possibly existed here from the carvings. Whilst the earliest carvings can be from the Neolithic era, the latest are from 1000 B.C., clearly indicating that this rock formation hides a lot about the past of humans. There are symbols in the carvings which do indicate that the caves have been inhabited multiple times, but it has not been easy to decipher. Only around 400 of these have been successfully identified, and some of them are believed to have links to the Indus Valley Civilisation. 

Tourist attractions
The engravings on the walls of this amazingly queer rock formation are highly intriguing. It is what lures people to visit and truly be mesmerised by the works of our ancestors and the signs left behind by them. 

These carvings show a lot of interesting details – animals, humans, day to day occurrences and messages in different scripts. The complexity of these engravings and the humongous size of the entire thing is simple astounding. And it is not just these carvings that one gets to experience at Edakkal. The ancient burials, the ‘Muniyaras’ have been found to have lot of earthenware and tools which today are to be found in the ‘Wayanad Heritage Museum’.

And, to add to all this, the scenery from the top is also simply breathtaking. The vast stretch of tea plantations and the tall mountain peaks rising high against the background, the lush green carpets of nature at its best – simply enchanting is the view from the top and a great reward is it indeed, after the trek. A telescope can also be found near the caves, for one to enjoy the beauty of the landscape even further.