That One kilometer hike from your parked vehicle may exhaust you…Bonnet macaques from the pepper wines may come down and try to grab the mineral water from you on the way…The 38 degree Celsius temp of the summer noon may trigger the sweat glands to form rivulets all over your body….But… once you enter into the front part of the Edakkal cave, the soothing cool air inside will begin to satisfy the other half of your – self, the soul. It is the satisfaction of enthusiasm, amazement and surprise. After having a face wash from the perennial stream inside of the cave, you can get ready for the climb to the next part of the cave… The thought of human presence in such a terrain and surroundings, millions of years back be an eye opening experience. It was the time when most part of the world remained barren without civilization and agriculture. On the same time a few of our ancestral bipeds were sitting inside of this cave and were imprinting their savagery arts on these rock surfaces… Rock art in the form of paintings can be seen most part of the world…but the rock engravings of Edakkal caves of Wayanadu distirct of Kerala are unique. The archeologists term the rock engravings as Petroglyphs which are pictogram and logogram images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, and abrading. The Petroglyphs of Edakkal caves include humans, animals, trees, wheels, carts and few scriptures… all of them represent the cultural signs of the past societies. A bold man who killed 100 leopards lived here…one of the inscriptions says…
Even though the first reporting about the Edakkal caves was being published in 1901 in Indian Antiquiry by F. Fawset, the erstwhile suprendintent of Malabar police, neither the exact period nor the messages of Edakkal engravings are not precisely done yet. It being observed that Edakkal caves had been existing since prehistoric period till AD 500 as a heritage centre for the artistic prayers…. Some of the newly found out figures are compared with signs and symbols reported from Chalcolithic and Bronze Age sites of the Indian sub continent. A link between Stone Age man with modern man…An era hidden among hills and rocks…An indication of Stoneage man’s civilization or artistic skill… Edakkal caves are beyond the words…
South Indian Naturalist Tours is very happy to share this element of culture with you so as to aware you about the unnoticed fascinations of South India and the dormant rejoice within them. We will be thankful to you in sharing it with people in your familiarity and to neglect it if you find them unwanted, as well.
Visit to this serene place included with two of the tours of Tusks & Trumpet trails…Have a visit to those pages…