Dhak Bahiri
Dhak Bahiri is one of the most adventurous, thrilling and risky trek in Maharashtra.It is not a fort such as. There is no fortification found. It is a temple of Lord Bahirinath. 'Dhak' means mighty and 'Bahiri' means Lord Bahirinath. The temple is in the natural cave. There are many caves exist in the same mount and water tanks too. Since it is adventurous it is risky too. In the year 2020 one trekker died by falling from climb. So I suggest you to carry climbing equipment or go with professional and experienced climbers. Climbing patch is hardly 20/30 feet at the end of the trek, near the cave but very risky with no safety. Remember you goes on trek to return home. So don't do silly and over confident moves on risky part. I visited on 02.02.2020 with my Trekking Paltan Group.
Trekking Paltan - from left Sandeep Chaudhari, Sainath Jagdale, Pavan Patil, Vilas Karpe, Lalit Bagal, Amol Gore, Suresh Isave (me) and
How to Reach: Trek start point i.e. Kondeshwar temple is about 70 km 2 hours journey from Pune. Highway is up to Kamshet then single road with good condistion up to Jambhavali village. The road from Jambhavali Village to Kondeshwar mandir is not good for cars especially in the monsoon.
Pune-Talegaon-Vadgaon Maval-Kamshet-enter in Kamshet town, ask road to Jambhavali village- 19 km (40 Mins)- beautiful road along with Uksan dam on right side-Jambhvali village- rough road to parking of Kondeshwar temple. There is nominal toll of the village, pay by cash and proceed.
Google map first shows Kondeshwar Temple Karjat. Search for Kondeshwar temple, Kamshet, Jambhavali to find proper direction.
Trek route video
Pune to Kondeshwar
Kaccha road from Jambhavali village to the temple.
Vehicle can be reached near to the temple.
Parking: Parking place very near to the Kondeshwar temple for about 20 cars and bikes.
Parking near temple
Dhak Bahiri from Kodeshwar
Food and Stay: Guide, Food and Stay available in Jambhavali village. Baban Kadam - 9765708648
There is snacks and water available near Kondeshwar Temple on weekends and special religious festivals.
About the Trek : From parking to parking 7 hours are sufficient. I have made three phase of the trek of 2 hours for better understanding i.e.plain walk on the edge of the valley- walk through dense forest-rock patch climb ans shown in the map below:
Trek route
Phase 1: It starts from Kondeshwar Mandir. It takes about 40 mins. Go back side of the temple and take right turn from water stream. After 15 mins you will reach on the edge from where you can see the valley on the left side. You can see the Dhak Bahiri too. Moderate hike is there. Walk through the edge. Then you will enter in the forest. See the photos which are arranged in sequence:
Video of Trek Start Point near Kondeshwar Temple.
Video of Dhak Bahiri View
Phase 2: Second phase is of about 30/40 min. From open space you enter in the jungle. Initially there is a descending which takes you in to the valley. From open spaces you can see Dhak Bahiri and Kalakrai pinnacle. After getting down in the valley one route goes to some village right side. You take left side ascending route. It will take you at the Kalakrai pinnacle.
Dhak from the forest trail
Kalakrai pinnacle near Dhak
Make sure you on correct trail.
Phase 3 : Last phase very risky. Because of narrow passages it will take 30/40 mins to reach in the Bahiri caves otherwise it is just 15/20 min. required. Be careful and conscious. Look after hyper members in your group. There is very narrow passage between the Kalakrai and Dhak to get down. Iron chains are there to take support and get down. The passage is so narrow that one person can go at a time.
Narrow passage climb
After getting down you can see straight wall of Dhak Bahiri. You should be very careful on this phase. You actually walk on slop with little place to keep your foot. Walk steadily on this path. Give side to each other. a small mistake could be deadly mistake. There is deep valley 12 inches away. You can in the photos below.
This is very risky climb. There are ropes hanging there with Knots. There are two phases here. First is comparatively easy because there are stone cut steps and rock grip support. Even this angle is almost 80 degree. Then there is small place to wait the next phase clear because one person can climb at a time. We could not able to click photo of it because of risk factor. I would also like to recommend you to keep your camera and mobile inside and climb with full concentration. Photos are not valuable as your life. Tell someone to click who is standing in the cave at safe position. ( Click to See breathtaking video of climb)This is 90 degree climb. One tree stem with cut branches has been places there If the grip is lost the person will be the deep deadly valley with the climbers below. Best way to take help of professional climbers with equipment.
See Video of Last risky patch
Once you climbed the last patch, you will at the destination. It is a natural Caves. There is a temple of Lord Bahirinath. You take rest here and enjoy the views.
Video of view from Cave
Click to see Video View from cave
Water tank full of utensils
Return Journey and Cleanliness Campaign : As per our mission, we Trekking Paltan Pune group Collects plastics waste thrown by other visitors. We picked up stuff which is not environment friendly.
Left side Kondeshwar temple, right side deep valley
