Edakkal Caves

Edakkal Caves are prehistoric caves dating from at least 5000 BC in Edakkal town of Wayanad District of Kerala State of India. It is assumed that the Edakkal caves had been inhabited at various stages in history.The Edakkal caves are situated on the western side of Ambukuthimala, hill twelve kilometers south-west of the town of Sultan Bathery. The caves were discovered by Fred Fawcett, a police official of the erstwhile Malabar state in 1890.

Edakkal Caves On Google Map

The lower chamber of the cave measures about 18 feet long by 12 feet wide and 10 feet high and can be entered through an opening of 5 x 4 feet. A passage opposite the entrance leads upward to a small aperture in the roof through which one climbs up to the next storey whose interior is about 96 feet long, 22 feet wide, and 18 feet high. Light enters the cave through a big gap at the right-hand corner of the roof where the boulder does not touch the facing wall.

The walls on both sides of the Edakkal rock shelter are embroidered up to a height of over four meters. There are many human figures. A good number of the men have raised hair, of these the most elegant is the figure of a man whose left hand is unnaturally long and reaching his feet. In addition to the pictorial carvings, five ancient inscriptions have been identified of which two have been deciphered.