Dhak Bahiri – An Unsuccessful Attempt, Successful Hike

I had been on a hike to Dhak - Bahiri Caves in the Sahyadris. Though we planned it out as a short night trek it ended up being one hell of a long adventurous hike.

Amit, Mohit, Vikram, Varun and Me started off from Lonavala around 2:00 am at night. We lost our way initially in the city but the choukidars (watchmen) got us back on track. We had to reach Tungarli Dam and follow the trail half-way (approx 6kms) towards Rajmachi. Then take a right and hike towards Mansarjuma range. It took us 3.5 hours to walk in the moonlight with a couple of breaks in between to reach a place which looked like a village. It was breezy and so we though of sleeping for a couple of hours and hike the rest in daylight. We accidentally discovered a Hanuman temple while it was still dark and slept in it.

Lagoona Board near Tungarli Dam View of the valley @ NiGht tHe GaNG - ME Divine Intervention DSC00274 Hanuman Mandir

We got up by around 7:30am by noises around and so tried to figure out our location. We were at a village and it was good to know that we were still on the right trail. We also met another group which were asleep in a school nearby. They pointed us in the direction of Dhak vaguely and we took off so we could reach early. We were still 2.5 hours away from our base, Kondeshwar Temple.

DSC00277 Village and Rajmachi twin forts (Srivardhan and Manoranjan) in the backdrop Silver lining... DSC00282 DSC00283

What followed next was following a trail in the wrong direction for another 1.5 hours through the jungle. At a point we were totally confused and couldn't find a distinct trail. It was then that I indulged in photographing wild flowers.

Wild flowers of Sahyadri Wild flowers of Sahyadri Wild flowers of Sahyadri Wild flowers of Sahyadri Wild flowers of Sahyadri Wild flowers of Sahyadri Wild flowers of Sahyadri Wild flowers of Sahyadri Wild flowers of Sahyadri Wild flowers of Sahyadri Wild flowers of Sahyadri Wild flowers of Sahyadri Wild flowers of Sahyadri Wild flowers of Sahyadri Wild flowers of Sahyadri

Finally, we decided to get back to the village and ask the villagers. We had already lost 2 hours, had 2 bread packs and just half a bottle of water. Back in the village, we understood where we missed the trail from the villagers and refilled our bottles. We thought of having breakfast and then continuing the hike. We had our bread with a generous serving of butter and moved ahead.

Solar panels Breakfast time

This time we were on the right trail. We could see the village, the dam, Rajmachi twin forts (Shrivardhan and Manoranjan) and a distinct trail most of the time. It was 11 by now and we were hiking in scorching heat. We followed the trail through the forest and finally got a glimpse of Dhak. There it was standing tall and a delight to our eyes after so long. Finally, we could see our destination and thus pull ourselves through rest of the hike.

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Dam and Rajmachi twin forts (Shivardhan and Manoranjan) View of Dhak Bahiri Manzarjumba range View of Dhak Bahiri Rajmachi twin forts (Shivardhan and Manoranjan)
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Our next stop was the Kondeshwar Temple. We took rest in the temple for some time and started off for the final stretch. We had grossly miscalculated the time needed to get here. Initially, we were thinking of reaching Kondeshwar by 6am and now it was 12:45pm. The last ST bus service from Jambivali (nearest village) to Kamshet was at 6:00pm. So, we had to make sure that we reached the village by that time.

Kondeshwar Temple and water cistern Kondeshwar Temple Kondeshwar Temple Kondeshwar Temple and Dhak in the background Inside Kondeshwar Temple Inside Kondeshwar Temple Inside Kondeshwar Temple

Most of the last stretch was through the jungle. Feels good to have vegetation to protect you from the sun.

View of Dhak Bahiri Jet Airways :) View of Dhak Bahiri Wild flowers of Sahyadri Wild flowers of Sahyadri View of Dhak Bahiri from the jungle

Finally, we reached the point from where there is a steep descent to approach the Bahiri caves. After a 30 feet descent on the right you see a big cave which can accommodate atleast 30 people. From there crossing the rocks and climbing up leads you towards the Bahiri caves.

Steep descent to Bahiri Cave Steep descent to Bahiri Cave Steep descent to Bahiri Cave Steep descent to Bahiri Cave Path to Bahiri Cave Path to Bahiri Cave Path to Bahiri Cave 1 Thumps Up :) 2 Thumps Up :)

The path ahead looked dangerous. There was a clean fall of 80 feet of the left and the inclination was around 70 - 80 degrees throughout. The footing of the rocks was a few inches at most places. Me and Amit ventured ahead, others rested in the cave. Actually, they kept a close eye on our movement and guided us along the path when needed. It was 2:30 pm and the basalt rock was hot. No way could we support ourselves on the rock face. Our fingers had a burning sensation each time we took support on the rock. The climb was getting riskier. With no solid footing along the path stopping was not an option. We somehow got ourselves to safer location where we could stand on our feet without taking support from the rock. Next up was a vertical climb and then a rope climb to top it all. Because of the lack of water intake we were more susceptible to cramps. It was then that we decided that we better stop. Lets make another attempt, next time in the morning. Finally, it was a sane decision and we carefully got ourselves back to the cave where others were waiting.

Rock face near Bahiri Caves Path to Bahiri Cave Jay Bhavani

Thats it! We headed back to the village and had some refreshments before hopping onto the ST bus to Kamshet. Journey back home was long (Kamshet - Lonavala - Kalyan - Slow train - Dadar - Borivali) and I reached home at 1:30am. All along the journey I had an incomplete feeling but the satisfaction of not doing something outrightly foolish.

DSC00354 Last BByes!

All I want to say is, "I will be back ;)"

Dhak Bahiri during sunset

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Ready for an adventure?

Amit was here over the weekend for some placement activity of his. He is an HR (Assistant Manager) in Wipro. The last time when he was here we had a blast. We (me, amit and sankool) went around on bike to explore Mumbai's night life.Had Pav bhaji at Bhagvati around 2:30 in the night. We spent rest of the night at Juhu Hotel near the sea side sipping coffee. The next day around afternoon Amit and me left for Borivali National Park. We checked out the Tiger and Lion safari where we saw a very cute white tiger. The Lions there were pretty boring. Later in the day Swapnesh joined us and we checked out Gorail Beach. We reached the beach just after sunset and caught a glimpse of the boats on the beach in an unforgettable silhouette. Later, we just passed our time on a ramp which extended in the sea. There was a continuous balmy breeze and the pitch dark sky along with bright stars rendered an unforgettable image in our hearts. For dinner we visited Punjabi Pind at Raghulela Mall. The place just rocks. If I had not been to this place I could say I had never been to Punjab, but can't say that now. It was FuN.

This time around I was a little busy with things (some deadlines at office) and my trip to NirmaLabs didnt make things easier. He stayed over at my place and had dinner too. Mom had prepared some nice pulav and salad to go with it. We had a marathon session of debate after dinner. I must confess I am not at all good at debates. The last debate I remember I ended up supporting the opponent's claim. If historical records are to be considered then Amit is a pro. Even then I managed to defeat Amit. Amit said he hadn't practised it for long (What an excuse). Anyways the next day I had lot of things lined up to complete before I left the city so we couldn't plan anything in advance. After a lot of confusion (from Amit's side) we decided to meet at Andheri around 10pm. I somehow managed to reach on time. We decided to have dinner at Alfa. When Amit's around I can depend on him choosing the menu. We started with Chicken Kutubshahi and Prawn Masala with Naan. Then went on to Chicken Afgani and Jeera rice. Finished with Rose Falooda and Phirni. Had a masala paan to top it all.

Invitation

We both are by instincts adventure enthusiasts. Amit has trekked more than 80 forts in Maharashtra. Some of which he has trekked multiple times. During dinner we were thinking of planning some adventure in the coming months. Amit wanted to trek the Himalayas in August - October. I thought of a cooL trekking cum desi trotting experience. The deal was to start with a set amount of money and set number of days and to try and cover as much of a particular location. Sounds interesting? Here is the formal invitation if you want to be part of this expedition. Pre-requisites include compatibility, excitement and zest to take things as they come by. Shoot me an email or push your comments here.