 |
| Pre-historic stone age tombs |
We had a a light breakfast of
Idli Wada Mix with Sambar washing it down with strong Kerala coffee. Took a stroll on the serene beach for a while and then left the heavenly Cherai
(Read here)
We were heading on our quest to seek the secret of centuries old stone age existence of a mysterious portal tomb or portal grave, archaeologically called
Dolmens in the midst of a never seen or heard “Sandalwood forest”.
The place was in a hidden paradise of Kerala-a small and beautiful green mountain town of
Marayoor near famous tourist hill station
Munnar.
We had to go via
Ernakulam as we had to pick up another friend of mine who had come from
Chinnai. The distance to
Munnar and then to
Marayoor was approximately of 150 Kms. From
Ernakulam.On the way to Munnar, a diversion from a place named Kothamangalam, after 12-15 kms, took us to an awesome
'Bhoothathankettu Dam'. Large blocks of unshaped stones were placed on both sides of the
Periyar River to form the dam, making it look like a natural dam built by superhumans. The name
Bhoothathan Kettu, means
"monster fort"; past generations believed it was built by a Bhootham (
monster).
From
Munnar we covered another 40 Kms to reach
Marayoor. On the way we passed through scenic tea gardens on slopping green hills! And then we entered into Sandalwood forest.
 |
| Sandalwood forest |
A first time and perhaps a lifetime experience, indeed!. We got down from the car, rushed to the trees, rubbed our palm on the trunk of the trees and yes, there was a sandalwood perfume!
 |
| Marayoor Tourist Home |
Finally, we were at
Marayoor and headed straight to
Marayoor Tourist Home, a small neat place with basic amenities. As we reached in the evening after a journey of about 5 hours from Cochin, we just cooled off and hit our beds after an early dinner.
 |
| Dolmens or Muniyaras |
The next day was to know about pre-historic civilization which existed around Marayoor. Our guide, Mr. Pillai took us around into nearby hills to show us
Dolmens or Muniyaras- the stone coffins with underground tunnels, which date back to the Neolithic period.
[
A dolmen, also known as a portal tomb, portal grave, or quoit, is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb. Most date from the early Neolithic period (4000 to 3000 BC) They are generally all regarded as tombs or burial chambers; Apart from overground dolmens, underground burial chambers built with dressed stone slabs have also been discovered in Marayoor. All these dolmens are made from heavy granite slabs, mined using primitive technology. This was a burial ground for several centuries for a noble tribal dynasty known as Adi Cheras, the royal family, which rose as a paramount power in South India in the first century. Most of the over ground dolmens found were made before the Iron Age since no tools were used to dress the granite slabs. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolmens]This was incredible! What an amazing Kerala is what a great country India is! We just sat there staring at those tombs!
 |
| Marayoor |
The following day we visited many interesting places including wild life around Marayoor.
It was like a heaven on earth, exotic and pristine, Marayoor was a unique place where beauty meets adventure. It was an enchanting destination for us offering diversity in every aspect of the land and culture...... hamlets, rocky hills, rivers, brooks, cave temples, paddy and sugar cane fields, waterfalls, sandal wood and bamboo forests...…I felt this rain shadow region, was blessed with abundant natural beauty and wildlife. Really wondered why
Marayoor till now has not been overrun by tourists? Perhaps apart from rain shadow region it had been a Munnar shadow region!
In a way good. Marayoor still was an exotic, mystic in Stone Age heaven.
T
o visit, you can club Munnar and MarayoorMap:
View Larger Map