These caves in Idukki are as mesmerizing as the ones in Thailand

The daring cave rescue in Thailand left us in awe about the mesmerizing yet dangerous cave complexes. Kerala too has some amazing caves which draw visitors in large numbers every year. Here are three of the most amazing caves in Idukki.

Marayur Ezhuthala Cave

This natural cave which is also known as the ‘sarpa para’ (serpent cave) is situated in the sandalwood reserve at Marayur. It is believed that great sages had stayed in this cave about 3000 years ago. One significant feature of this cave is the pre-historic paintings found on its walls. These human and animal motifs are believed to have been drawn by hunters. Before setting out for hunting expeditions in the forest, they drew the image of an animal believing that they would be able to hunt it down.

Archeologists from around the world have conducted many researches and studies inside this cave. Entrance into the cave is regulated by the forest department. The cave is big enough to accommodate only one person at a time. However, the people in the locality say that one can walk at least half a kilometre into the cave.

Thankayyan cave

One reaches the gap road by travelling about 15 km from Munnar on the Kochi-Dhanushkodi highway. On one side of the gap road is a deep gorge and on the other side is a huge rock. The Thankayyan cave is on this huge rock. The legend says that a thief, Thankayyan, who hid in this cave, robbed the travellers and distributed the stolen things among the poor. It is believed that Thankayyan had died in Tamil Nadu where he stayed in exile. However, the Thankayyan cave has become one of the favourite destinations of tourists.

Recently, as part of increasing the width of the gap road, the rock was broken by controlled explosions. This has destroyed a part of the Thankayyan cave.

Vaishali cave

This 500-meter tunnel like abandoned cave, which was formed by blasting off rocks as part of the construction of the Idukki dam, was found by the legendary film maker Bharathan. The world saw the incredible charm of this man-made cave when Bharathan turned his movie camera towards it. Significant portions of his movie ‘Vaishali’ was shot inside this cave.

The cave came to be called as the ‘Vaishali’ cave after the release of the movie. Though there is another man-made cave near the Idukki dam, visitors are attracted in large numbers to Viashali cave.