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A pleasant misty morning near the paddy fields in Wayanad. we even saw a few adorable birds which are not seen these days in cities.


You can see far there, tourists enjoy boating in a serene lake (of course safety jackets are provided. The Kerala state tourism department is in charge).


Lovely never-ending roads with tea estates on both sides in and around Wayanad


A beautiful place with full of grass and trees around; we rested a while here on the way......


Big brother Bamboosss!

Mother and kid of the month

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A drive through the jungle road

During the last week-end trip to Wayanad we had a lovely drive in this neat road which cut across the Tholpetty forest (wayanad district, Kerala). The forest stretches for about 20-25 km (altogether). If fortunate enough, one can see animals like elephant, deer, fox, wild boar, wild buffalo and various other birds and small animals preying and grazing on the road side. Tigers also do wander in deep interiors of this forest, though they are a very rare sight on roadside.
(please click on the pics to have a closer look)

'Yerumadam' or tree house on the way...Tribes, forest department authorities and environmentalists, and many research students use to stay here to get a better view of the forest and even to study animals and their behavior


A wild elephant protecting its kid from the photographer :).
In fact, one should not stop the vehicle on this stretch, should not horn or disturb animals or birds on this road. And at times, pointless photographers do all fundas to get a closer pic ;) which obviously irritates the animal. This at times makes scenes like elephant attacking a lensman.
None of the animals in this forest attack anyone unless they are disturbed in one way or other

A flock of deer enjoying the delicious toxin free food and fresh air!!!
In few other places like muthanga the roads which runs through the forest are blocked and no vehicles are allowed to ply during night, just to make sure animals inside the forest are not disturbed during night.

A wild boar got some stuff!
These are not seen often and mostly come in groups. Fortunately I got one here :)

Standing Tall Always!

Edakkal Caves (Neolithic Age)

Last weekend we had been to a lovely place called Wayanad, 4000 feet above sea level, in the state of Kerala, which has traces and testimonies of tribes who lived in caves.

During the British rule, Fred Fawcett a senior police officer and a pre-history enthusiast happened to see a Neolithic stone axe from a nearby coffee estate. Being an enthusiast and nature lover he started exploring the nearby forest and with the help of local tribes, discovered this cave in 1890.

With like minded scholar friends, he found out these are pre-historic carvings by Neolithic people carved with Neolithic Celts. This was a monumental discovery as these are the first samples of drawings on rock with rock tools, founded in India

The caves have at least three different types of petroglyphs, which means the cave carvings are of different periods and the oldest are said to be 8000 years old! The carvings consists of human figures, animals, circle shaped wheel like structures and various other complex drawings.

This is the boulder which makes the roof..
This is not a cave as such, but a naturally formed break up between two rocks 96ft long and 22 ft wide and a very big rock has fallen and jammed between the walls on top to make a natural formation like a roof. As per the geologists and archeologists, this happened due to natural forces like earthquake or landslip about 30,000 years ago.

The figure of a male with arms and head gear

These carvings are so rare and founded only in a very few places in India and Edakkal drawings are thus important not just because of its quality but also for its complex depiction of carvings.

A wheel is seen right there on top and a few other complex diagrams


These are Tamil Brahmi script on the wall

These carving with stone tools are said to be cavemen's way of communication or expressions of their Vision and Dreams in the absence of languages


As per scientists and archeologists, these Stone Age carvings and pictorial writings clearly state the presence of a pre-historic culture in this part of the world.

And yes..never ever miss this cave if you visit Kerala.. ;-)

Note: In spite of being in Global heritage list and hence getting enough funds to preserve, the local authorities are slightly slack in maintaining the premises. Though plastic is banned, one can see all these wastes in many places. At the same time, there is no point in blaming the authorities when senseless travelers (mostly local travelers) extensively carry and use plastic and carelessly dump the waste all around. Implementing a stringent law and a complete ban of plastic and food is the only option to safeguard the sacred cave and its premise.

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(can click on the pics to have a closer look)

These are few snaps of places which i have already shared with you all yet taken slightly from a different angel......ooops i mean angle..... :) (Madikeri)

Most probably will visit 'a place' this weekend.......will update and upload the photos once I am back.......till then.... ;-)