Edakkal Hermitage Wayanad is a resort that aims to call attention to the little known Edakkal Caves and the beauties of eastern Wayanad. This is boulder country and the rooms at the resort are built around the rocks. The resort is on a smaller parcel of land and the theme of rocks and caves is beautifully echoed here.

A tiny, spanking new tree house, for a very intimate couple is an easy climb up a bamboo ramp and gives you views out to forever. The terraced premises are exquisitely laid out, with soft grass and veils of Jacquemontia. The hospitality is unobtrusive and there is a home- stay feel to the dining. The jackfruit thoran and morkuzhambu are to die for, and when we get our morning appams we hurry to pour coconut milk over them before they float out of reach.

At night, dinner in a cave is a magical experience. On other nights, we are told, tables are set up under the stars on the stage of the amphitheatre. The same amphitheatre the next morning is ideal for bird watching. The surrounding trees are teeming with golden orioles, red cheeked bulbuls, coppersmiths, drongoes and tiny flitting things that hide in the shrubs. In the infinite distance the hills float on an ocean of mist.

The caves themselves, a vigorous climb from the resort are not to be missed. Apart from the mystery of the inscriptions and Neolithic rock art, the boulders that shape them are astonishing. A deep fissure on the far side gives us a clear view out to Phantom Rock, many miles away. The fissure was caused by an earthquake and reminds us of the fragility of even this massive natural formation and its hard document of the human presence.