Dhak Bahiri Cave Night Trek

The target - Dhak Bahiri Cave

We finally got to do something, which we had wanted to do for a long time - a night trek with a trekking group. The destination was Dhak Bahiri Caves situated on outskirts of Karjat, around 90 km from Mumbai. We both were very excited as we had never been on a night trek and especially not with a group. We went with a trekking group called TMI (Trek Mates India). We were charged 1100 per person, which was pretty reasonable considering they provided us with transport, lunch and breakfast.

Start of the trek with torches

Our meeting point was Pritam Hotel, near Dadar station at 10:30 pm on Saturday 9th April. We reached there in time but the bus got delayed. It was private non AC bus. We left from Dadar station around 11:15 pm and did two more pickups at Chembur and Sanpada bridge. By now we had all the people in the group. It was a group of 28 people including the organizers. We traveled for around 2 hours. The traffic congestion was horrible and we lost around one hour because of it. We took 15 minutes break at a highway petrol pump. We reached our destination by 4:00 am in the morning. It was dark at that time. The organizer of the trek (Vikram) provided us with refreshments and breakfast, which we could have had at our own leisure. We started our trek with torches and lights in hand. 

Trail during the day time

We walked for around 500 meters and reached a small bridge, where all of us introduced ourselves to the entire group. We could see that people from different backgrounds and varied trekking experience (for a couple of people it was first trek) had gathered together for this trek. After introduction we moved ahead. For next 15 minutes it was pretty flat trail littered with large pebbles and small rocks. Then, gradual climb started and after a short climb of around 10 minutes we came across a plateau top, where we took a 5 minutes breather and had some water and refreshments. Then we moved ahead and reached the base of a hill. Here it took some time to find the right trail, as it was dark and on both sides of the hill there was almost a 90 degree drop. So even with torches and lights we had to be very careful. Frankly, in all the darkness the only thing which we could make out was whether we were going up or down. Everyone was following the person in front of them. But even if we could not see much of nature, we had fun and we also knew that while returning we would get to see everything. 

The Chimney

By 5:30 am we reached a spot, which I called as Chimney as it was a steep climb down between two hills. The reason for this trek to be taken in night was because the hill within which the cave was situated was made of basalt rock, and it is not possible to hold those rocks with bare hand once sun starts heating it up. So we only had till 11:00 to reach cave and come back to chimney area. When we reached the spot there was another trekking group waiting to climb down the chimney. We had to wait for almost 30 minutes before I could climb down. 

Walk towards the horizontal portion

My crazy partner got down with the girls of the other group, as asked by the group leaders. We saw the night turning into morning in front of us. After we had climbed down the chimney, there was another narrow portion that we had to climb down with the help of ropes. Once you get down with the help of rope, you reach a flat area of couple of square feet and after that there is sudden drop. So we had to be very careful in getting down. When I got down I saw my partner resting with the only other girl (Namrata) of our group. Once again we had to wait for almost 30 minutes to let the other group in front of us to reach the caves and for our group to make it all the way down to the chimney to the resting spot. The chimney gap is narrow in the end so be careful of how much material you are carrying.

Caves in between

The organizers then went ahead to fix some ropes, which was required at the end to reach the caves. From our resting spot to the next area where we could properly stand, we had to do a horizontal walk. At the place where we were standing there was a small cave cut in the rocks. It was a nice resting spot for anyone who was tired.

The horizontal leg of climb

There was a long thin metal rod and rope secured to the rock face. The footholds were there but not much. So we were asked to face the rock all time and to never release the rope/ rod from our hands. On the other end there was a TMI person, to guide and receive incoming people. 

2nd Leg - the steps in rock

Once we reached that spot, there were pretty narrow and small stairs cut into the rock. Some of the stairs were not in good conditions hence a permanent thick rope was hanging for support.

3rd Leg - Broken steps

Using that rope we reach another spot where three/ 4 people were able to wait for their turn. From there it was another rope to pull yourself up using the broken steps as foothold. 

4th Leg - Horizontal Climb

After that we reached a small flat area where everyone was waiting for their turn. Once again there was horizontal walk on the rock face which led to the last leg of the climb up. 

5th Leg - Final climb to cave

Here, one TMI person was present to tie a rope around our waist for security and precaution. Then we had to pull ourselves using the rope and and few dried solid wooden branches tied together to act as foothold. Once we had climbed up we reached the cave. For people who are familiar with rock climbing or trekking, this climb was easy enough. If someone is scared of heights and is not familiar with rock climbing, this will be definitely difficult. But its not impossible, as for three people in our group, it was first trek

Temple inside cave

The cave was divided into two parts/ section. In one section there was a small water reservoir and Shiv temple. There was also a praying area and cooking area for temple priests. The second section seemed to me as a sacrificial chamber as we could see lot of bones, hides and fur. 

Water reservoir in cave

It was also littered with a lot of used utensils and garbage. May be in the past, it would have been clean but now the cave was just dirty, at least the second section was. We rested there for almost 30 minutes, as we waited for remaining members to reach the cave. 

Our Trekking group

By almost 9:00 am everyone had reached the cave. We had our breakfast there and also some dry snacks. The other trekking group was going down through rappelling. We took some group photos there and also captured scenic views from the cave. After 15 minutes or so we started climbing back down the exact same way we took up. It took almost another hour and 15 minutes for everyone to reach to the Chimney. The return group was divided into two parts. 

Beautiful wild flower

As soon as 15 people had arrived at the chimney resting spot, we started climbing up the chimney and backtrack our trail to the starting point in the village. The return back to the village was extremely fun because we were actually able to see the scenic beauty. On the way back, including the hill on which the cave was situated, we had to cover 4 hills. So the hike was climb up and down and up and down. On the way back we clicked a lot of valley views. We also found some ripe fruits (Natal Plum or Karonda in Hindi), which made our day. It was good refreshment for us. Once we knew that there were ripe fruits we actively searched for it on our way back. The whole hill was a Natal Plum jungle and we had fun eating fruits right from the trees. We also came across a white flower which smelled like Night Blooming Cestrum/ Raat Rani/ Night Blooming Jasmine. The flower was very pretty, blooming in haphazard spherical bunches. Its smell was so strong we could smell it from a distance. 

Jungle Trail

Since, we could not see surroundings during the night time, the way we took to reach the chimney was different from the way which we took back. We got lost once or twice but the TMI person had some special app that kept telling the right way towards the village. We had to take frequent short breaks because of the extreme heat. We were lucky to have tree shades every now and then. Finally we reached the bridge again and had a photo session there. 

Valley View

We also came across raw mangoes and had fun collecting them and obviously eating them. By now we were very tired and we knew the village was near. Finally around 1:30 pm we reached back to the village. The TMI had already organized for lunch in one of the village homes. We rested for some time, got out of our trekking shoes and put on floaters/ slippers. 

We freshened up and then rested for some time. We had some ice candies and then we were served lunch. The previously gathered mangoes added flavor to the meal. We waited for everyone to finish and we left by 4 in the bus. We were the last one to get down near Vikhroli and from there we took an auto to reach home. By 6:30 we were both home.

Mesmerising view from inside the cave

On the whole this trek has two firsts for us - night trek and group trek. And on both fronts it was a successful trek. Since it was decently numbered group so there were breaks in continuity but that is expected as in group trekking the entire group has to remain together. Some points to consider for this trek during this season:

• Carry 4 liter water per person. You will not need much while going up but you will definitely need it coming down.
• Carry a trekking pole, which you might need for the distance between the village and the chimney
• Carry dry snacks and fruit juices, as it will be a good source of energy
• Good quality trekking shoes and bag are must. Its highly dangerous from the chimney till the cave. Shoes with good grip is a must. Do not compromise on that
• Beware of monkeys. The entire area between the chimney and cave is surrounded by monkeys. Do not feed them anything or eat in front of them. They might snatch your bags and you might lose your balance and fall down
• Carry a bag for all the litter you might generate during the trek

Our thanks to the TMI group for a very well organized trip and a wonderful experience. I would definitely chose this group again for any other trek.

Till next treklog toodles...

Hill-Skippers

hill.skippers@gmail.com

P.S. Do not litter. Keep Nature Clean