Dhak Bahiri -- A thrilling experience

So last Sunday all five of us drove off Pune via old Mumbai Pune highway towards Lonavla to Kamshet.To be on the safer side we carried along some foodstuff and plenty of drinking water. Infact you never know about the constraints of driving through a remote place so it’s always wise to be well equipped. It saves time as well. We drove on from Kamshet towards Jambuvilli a small village on the foothills of the surrounding ranges (another 20 kilometers approximately from Kamshet). There were no motor able roads further. So we parked our car there.

We took the path behind the village and walked on through the villager’s fields. We walked through the little bridge of stones over a stream. The landscape here was undulating with thick foliage all around. Then the trail through the forest was rocky, had high up slopes and subsequent descents. Soon we were walking through the meandering trail underneath a thick canopy of dense forests. This is a picturesque place with nature at its best and also as described in the adventure story books reminding me of my childhood days. Through some corners of the way we could see the Dhak Mountain which was our destination. It looked majestic.

We walked past the board that indicates the way to Dhak. There’s a small track on the right too and this goes to Bhimashankar. There was a steep climb ahead; treacherous because of the loose type of rocky soil that got away. Getting a proper foot grip was very difficult. We reached a flat space above. From here one had to trek though a steep descending crevice in between the Dhak on the right and another jutting rocky structure ‘Kalkarai’ on the left. The view of the mountainous surroundings was awe-inspiring. The distant saffron flags high above indicated our destination, the Bahiri cave. This was the base of the mountain where we were standing and the task ahead was difficult. My heart missed a beat. Frankly I was scared. I realized how precious life was to me.

Now one had to trek along a narrow pathway rather a narrow footway with the rocky mountain on its right and a deep gorge down 500 ft below on the left. So this demands a few things from the trekker. First of all loads of confidence and desire to reach the top. Any minor wrong footing on the track, which is the rocky surface of the mountain itself, might take one sweeping deep down upto 500 ft below and this might be one’s end. There are a few unfortunate instances when climbers had lost their lives in the past.
At some stretches of the mountain, the foot ground is inclined rather than flat. It is the power of your hand grip in the rocky surface that basically supports you. So you have to tread on carefully facing the rock and your back against the open deep gorge below. This is where the real challenge lies in. However there are some places with larger foot space also, in between the base and the top so that you can take rest for a while if you wish to. If the trekker gets panicky then it’s an impossible task. All you ought to be is extremely courageous and sporty.

Another problem was we were on bare foot. One of our friends and quite experienced at rock climbing had opined that we should climb on bare foot. This is true no doubt as this gives a better foot grip. But as the day progressed the rocky surface was heating up. The heat of the rocks and a few sharp edges and pebbles were a nuisance to tread on.

For me this was the first attempt. So the first person from our group was Milind as he had a good climbing experience then it was Kamlesh then me and then Hemant and Prashant. As Kamlesh was just ahead of me so he told me which was the place I could keep my hand or foot onto. Kamlesh was really helpful.

But you cannot expect to get any kind of support except for the verbal help as no body can afford to help others in such a tricky situation.

Just before reaching the cave there are some permanent ropes and branches tied on for the trekkers to take support of. But this is just fifteen feet before the final climb. It is practically impossible to reach the cave without holding onto these ropes and branches. The elevation here is infact more than 90 degrees. It seems as if the rocky surface is protruding outside. The entire climb from the base to the cave takes around 45 minutes. It is 45 minutes of sheer concentration. You cannot afford to loose that even for a second.

So finally I reached the Bahiri. It is a large space that can accommodate upto 200 people. There is a stony structure dedicated to the Lord Bairoba. Even animal sacrifice as a ritual is carried out here by some devotees. The view of the Sahyadri from the cave is awesome. It is magnificent. It is beyond description.

We relaxed on the rocky corners of the cave. We rejoiced over the foodstuff carried in our backpacks. After a while it was time to retreat.

Coming down the highly steeped slopes was another daring act especially with your back against the deep gorge down below. There were people who were climbing up and I at times had to keep myself hanging without any foot ground and swerving on to one side only by the support of the hand grip to let the traffic pass by. It was a really scary moment. After a formidable task finally we reached the base of the mountain. We all breathed a sigh of relief. I felt dead on my feet.

Slowly we tramped down the pathway through the dense foliage. Our lunch was delivered by the village man on the banks of a stream near the temple as ordered. The food cooked in firewood is truly delicious and especially the mild scent of the damp wood smoke makes it even more tempting. I ate the meal savoring every mouthful. After food all of us fell into a deep and peaceful slumber no matter how hard the stony surface underneath was.

Hemant, Kamlesh, Prashant and Milind are spirited guys. They are avid trekkers. They guided me a lot. Without their guidance I think it would have been difficult for me to climb the Dhak. Support and encouragement is necessary for arduous tasks.

The veterans of rock climbing may not describe the climb to be an extraordinary exercise. But to give an attempt without taking the aid of any rock climbing equipments like climbing harness, rope, karabiner etc is indeed a difficult and daring actIt demands courage and determination on the part of the climber no matter how experienced one is. No doubt with the aid of equipments the climb perhaps would have been much easier but I would miss something called ‘thrill’. It was pure thrill that I had never experienced in my life before. Once it was done I felt ecstatic. I am planning to go again.

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