Edakkal Caves are two natural caves at a remote location at
Edakkal, 25 km from
Kalpetta in the
Wayanad district of
Kerala in
India's
Western Ghats. They lie 1,200 metres above sea level on
Ambukutty Mala, beside an ancient trade route connecting the high mountains of Mysore to the ports of the
Malabar coast. Inside the caves are pictorial writings believed to date to at least 6,000 BC, from the
Neolithic man, indicating the presence of a prehistoric civilization or settlement in this region. The
Stone Age carvings of Edakkal are rare and are the only known examples from south India.