The dolmens of Marayoor

Marayoor is a village in north east Idukki, on the periphery of Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary. One of the highlights of Marayoor is the ancient burial chambers.

Although the display board says they could be about 3000 years old, there are opinions that some of the earliest dolmens are much older than that.

It is a fact that people lived here thousands of years ago. Looking at the forests of this region, it is safe to assume that dense woods covered the whole land then.

Dolmens are simple structures made of a few slabs of rock. The pictures below show their crude craftsmanship.

 The valley where they are found have a several dolmens scattered here and there. 

 Blue mountains in the background add to the wild beauty of the rugged terrain.

It is common to see them in small clusters.

There are opinions that people lived inside them. However, the size of the inner chamber is too small for a living space.

Apart from some fencing there are no guards or any protection to this valuable site.

Well, there is a board stating all the Do's and Don'ts. Great if everybody obeys those rules. But are we living in such as world?

It is surprising that ancient tribal men had such elaborate burial arrangements.

This is a hut near the valley-

Marayoor also has a few other attractions - natural sandal wood forests, jaggery making units etc. The scenery is great as well.

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