EDAKKAL PACKAGE
Effortlessly binding history and traditional values, the Edakkal cottages combines spectacular vistas of nature and the timeless appeal of heritage of the nearby pre-historic Edakkal caves, with its warm ambience and vernacular architecture. It is in this amazing environ that one can be as captivated by the past as with the present. It is undoubtedly here that one can explore the essence of Edakkal to experience its magic. It is irrepressibly here that one can succumb to the lure of cave art and the art of caving in.
Our cottages are named after various Paleolithic caves sites of repute from around the world. Size and nature of cottages were entirely based on the terrain available and the vegetation around it. Hence most of our cottages are perched on top of rocks and are wrapped around it. Materials have all been locally sourced and needless to say the design adheres to vernacular trends. The tree house is about as close to nature as it gets with a completely bamboo based structure supported entirely on a tamarind tree and executed by the expert craftsmen.
Dining in a natural cave lit with candles is a unique experience at the Edakkal.
Attractions
Sites of Rock Paintings
Attala : Located at 10°14'N latitude 77°09'E longitude. Situated near the village of Kavakudi in the west part of Marayoor township in the Marayoor Panchayat of Devikolam Taluk of Idukki District. About 94 painted motifs. Massive east facing rock shelter in dramatic location 1500 meters above bean sea level. Except for a few human and animal figures, most of the paintings are of abstract designs.
Ezhuthu Guha : Located at 10°15'N latitude 77°09'E longitude.
Toberimala : Located at 11°12'N latitude 77°13'E longitude. About 84 carved motifs.
Situated in the Tea Estate of Harrison Malayalam Ltd, some 14 kms to the east of Ambalawayal. (Visitors should seek permission from the estate owners. The shelter is hidden in dense forest about two kilometres from the estate office, and is accessible only on foot). Edakkalmala is on the west, and is clearly visible – though it is difficult to know for certain that this would have been the case before the area was deforested in the late 19th century. The Toberimala site is not a cave as such, but a west-facing rock shelter with a prominent overhanging roof. There are thin linear engravings inscribed in the rough grained ceiling (which slants at an angle of some 45 degrees) and in the northern wall, also 13 small cup-marks on one of nine boulders lying inside the shelter, and cross-hatched marks on the outer wall which may be an identification mark for the shelter. Unfortunately the rock surfaces have been badly damaged by recent visitors, whose engravings sadly lack the sophistication of their prehistoric forebears.
Tenmalai : Located at 08°58'N latitude 77°04'E longitude. Situated at the foot of Chendurni Hill in Tenmalai Village Panchayat and Anchal Block of the Pathanpuram Taluk of Quilon District, 66 kms east of Quilon. One large, carved motif. An east-facing rock shelter in which Mesolithic artefacts have been excavated. The unusually large carving (about 1.75 meters long) is on the northern outer face of the shelter.
Ancode : Located at 08°25'N latitude 77°10'E longitude. Situated in the village of Perunkadavila in Neyyattinkara Taluk of Trivandrum District, 25 kms north-east of Trivandrum. About 37 carved motifs. Rock shelter and cave with carvings of human and animal figures as well as abstract shapes on both the internal and external walls. Situated in the Koodakavu Sandalwood Reserve Forest at Marayoor in the Marayoor Panchayat of the Devikolam Development Block in Idukki District, at an elevation of 1000 meters above mean sea level. About 90 painted motifs. The most important rock art site in Kerala, receives a large number of visitors and has been extensively vandalised during the 20 years or so since it was brought to wide public attention. A painted rock shelter .
Kovilkadavu : Located at 10°15'N latitude 77°11'E longitude. Dozens of Dolmens around the area of an old Siva temple at Kovilkadavu on the banks of the Pambar, and rock paintings on the south-western slope of the plateau overlooking the river. About 10 painted motifs.
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