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WHERE ROCKS SPEAK HISTORY, A JOURNEY TO

                           EDAKKAL CAVES

A journey to explore something hidden or to dig more into the history of a place or a person is the most thrilling part of a journey or to be more specific a holiday trip. Most of the people visits the bewitching tourist destinations and return back with immense pleasure, indelible memories and thrilling experiences but if we try to make the trip more interesting by spending a little more time at the places where history speaks and take the pain to understand its significance deeply would gift the holiday trip a fruitful experience. The knowledge gained about a place and sharing it with others will increase its popularity and is like presenting a tribute to its superlative existence. It will be a wise decision to choose a historically relevant place as we get more to explore there. One such place is Edakkal caves in the land of Gods own country, Kerala. The older carving in the rocks which dates back to early BC s is the most significance of this place. Kerala welcomes all its guests around the country with Enticing packages like Kerala tour packages from Jaipur and tour operators like Holiday Mango Travel are all set to receive their guests to take the excitement of their holiday experience to greater levels. Wayanad is known to be the land of history and myths prevailing in Kerala. It treasures great bizarre epic episodes from Mahabharata and Ramayana. Apart from myths and epics, the Edakkal caves in Wayanad depict long back history carved in rocks.

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The Edakkal rocks have the meaning of " rocks in between" and was believed to be formed as the after effect of earthquake resulted in a fissure in the rock. the caves are the proof of early human settlements in the district. The carvings and drawing in the rocks are similar to the ones seen in Styria in European Alps and a few places in Africa are 7000 years old. What we can find there are various artifacts, engraved pictures of human and animal figures with peculiar headdresses, ancient stone script symbols and cave drawings of human figures, the swastika form, bows, knives, wheels etc. The caves are located at the top of a mountain called Ambukuthi mala which is 1200 meters above sea level. 

LEGENDS AND MYTHS ASSOCIATED

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There are offerings done at the top of the hills which gives us the clear evidence of some legends and myths prevailing in the caves. one such story was that the Ambukuthi mala was formed by the hitting of arrows of Lava and kush, the sons of Lord Rama. Another myth is that in the southern part of the caves, Lord Rama has killed the demoness Soorpanaka. Thus owing to the belief of the tribes there is an annual pilgrimage trek to the peak of the Ambukuthi hills.

DISCOVERY OF THE CAVES

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The caves discovery dates back to 1890 when the superintendent of police of Malabar district, Fred-Fawcett who was on a hunting trip came across a megalithic stone chisel. He was a researcher of pre-history and this paved a way for him to explore more about the place and after several local enquiries, he went on talking Wayanad high ranges on a quest for the proof of neolithic habitat. finally, on discovering Edakkal caves he came into the conclusion of the existence of stone age era on observing the carvings and engravings made of neolithic Celts. The discovery was the first specimen of engravings in South India.

 

TRAVEL TO THE CAVES

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Visiting Edakkal caves is like stepping into the bygone era which proves to be a great experience. Rely on any tour operators for efficient tripping as there are more relevant places nearby and guidance is required to visit those places. The newly wedded couples fond of having adventures like trekking, camping, safari etc can Avail the Kerala trip packages and explore more. Ticket counters are available at the bottom of the hills and trekking up towards the caves is a breathtaking experience and there are small food stalls running throughout the way for providing refreshments and shed out tiresome. on reaching the entrance of tte caves there is as steep staircase carved out of stone. The inside arena is calm and peaceful with differently shaped rocks can be seen inside. the roots of large trees creep inside the caves. The top panoramic view is marvelous and many villages can be the spot from there. the carvings show some resemblance to Indus valley civilization also it can be the meeting point of Harappa and Dravidian civilization. Experts suggest that these carvings can be an evidence of conduct of rituals. history says that the cave was inhabited by different civilization during the different point of times. The drawing of a man carrying a jar cup was the main attention towards Indus valley civilization. An iron rail is built to keep visitors away from damaging the carvings. scientists suggest that these were not actually the caves but a big rock would have fallen on the top of the other rocks forming a cave structure. A telescope in installed on the top to get the panoramic view of the hills. The caves actually have two chambers one upper and the other lower where the upper is 96 feet long and lower is of 18 feet long. It would take a painstaking trek to the top as the turns are so steep but on the way, oak trees and monkeys lining up for catching food items from tourists can increase your excitement level. Reaching the top will not disappoint the visitors as lot more are there to explore and a great feast is arranged for your eyes. 

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Presently there are almost 20 employees for guiding our trip to the top of the caves and its been 121 years after the discovery of caves and the authority is taking very good care of this historic magnificence of Kerala. To promote tourism, several upcoming developments are underway that would also Trigger more Kerala tour packages and some of them are
  • separate waiting rooms for those who are not able to participate in the trek
  • Lightning arresters
  • Refreshment shelters on the way with rain guard shelter
  • CCTV surveillance from the entry point of caves to inside arena
  • equipped medical aid post
  • 'Parking slots and seating

Kerala's historical magnificence must be visited once in your lifetime and the trip can provide knowledge on previous human settlements. The timings are from morning 9 to evening 5 and reaching earliest is preferred for clear viewing and comfortability.