The Danger Zone
It is only fair to present a balanced view of the Sahyadris in this website. If the message conveyed by other pages at this website is about using GPS technology and maps, taking great pictures and hiking responsibly, this section is about safety.
Trekking, by its very nature, involves a certain element of risk, particularly if it involves significant elevation gain. The following is a compilation of some serious accidents/incidents that have occurred in the Sahyadris from the trekking/tourism perspective. The information shown here is from a variety of sources, including personal experience, fellow hikers, local villagers, forest guards, newspaper reports and from Internet users like you. For all practical purposes, this is just the tip of the iceberg, as it can be inferred that numerous other similar incidents would have occurred.
As you can see in the list below, it is very important to respect the privacy of the individuals involved. For this reason, no names have been mentioned at all. Even dates have been deliberately omitted. It is the sincere hope that the information presented below, when taken with the other information in this website, will provide a realistic picture of the overall Sahyadri trekking experience. In particular, the message here is about hiking safely. Remember the first three priorities of trekking: safety first, safety second and safety always.
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Bhimashankar
A group of trekkers were robbed of their valuables and other belongings near Bhimashankar. No further information is available about this incident. It should be noted that getting robbed on a trek is an extremely rare event.
There are dangers at Seedi ghat near Bhimashankar. During the rainy season several trekkers have slipped and fallen off the aluminium ladder that has been fixed up there. A few months back the police had closed down that route due to the increasing number of accidents.
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Chanderi
This incident involved two climbers who were attempting Chanderi from the eastern side (as opposed to the usual route of climbing up the north ridge). On a small rock face less than half way up to the summit, one of these climbers had a fall and injured his head and hand causing extensive bleeding. Fortunately, he was not completely immobilized and could make it back with help from his hiking companion.
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Dhak Bahiri
The highly exposed climb to the cave temple has caused at least one fatal accident. Anyone planning a climb up this rock face needs to be especially careful.
In a bizarre incident, a group of trekkers encountered hostile villagers. The motivation seemed to be theft or worse. Form your own opinion on what happened by reading more details about this incident at the following link:
http://wakdtalk.blogspot.com/2006/10/dhak-bhairi-experience.html
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Harishchandragad
An individual fell off the edge of the Konkan Kada. It is not known for sure whether this was an accident or a suicide.
In an unsuccessful attempt to climb the Konkan Kada, a rock climber had a fatal fall. His body was wedged on a rocky ledge high up on the cliff face. The local police were unable to help due to the extreme hazard in recovering the body. Later, a team of rock climbers specifically went on a mission to recover the body, which they succeeded in bringing down.
There are many bee hives along the Pachnai route. Some trekkers had been attacked by bees. Another trekking party barely escaped by keeping a low profile and staying still when a swarm of bees approached and passed overhead. Local guides recommend maintaining silence while trekking certain portions of this route.
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Irshalgad
This climber was killed when he lost his footing while climbing the final section of the climb to the summit of Irshalgad. As anyone who has seen this peak can attest, the final stretch is extremely dangerous and exposed.
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Karnala
While rock climbing the pinnacle at the top of the fort, this climber fell to his death. It is said that he was attacked by bees as he was climbing. However, this has not been confirmed.
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Lalbatti Hill
This hill is located just south of Powai in Mumbai and is strictly not a part of the Sahyadri range. A group of young hikers got robbed by three individuals brandishing knives. Fortunately there were no injuries to anyone and the robbers were later caught by the Mumbai police. (Editors note: Getting robbed on a hike in the Sahyadris is extremely rare. This may have occurred due to the proximity of slums to the scene of the crime)
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Lingana
A member of a trekking party was killed by a fall while descending Lingana. A small memorial has been constructed near the Lingana cave.
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Mahabaleshwar
A tourist couple went below the Arthur Seat viewing platform to obtain a better view for photographs. It is not known what happened next, but both of them fell off the edge. The cliff at that point is a sheer drop of well over a thousand feet. Their absence was only noticed when their vehicle driver, having waited a considerable period of time, reported the matter to the local authorities. The bodies were later found in the ravine below and had to be cremated where they fell.
A young woman on a horse came too close to the cliff edge at Marjorie point. Both rider and horse plummeted to their deaths.
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Matheran
A group of people decided to spend the night at Louisa point. Due to alcohol consumption, most of the group ended up getting intoxicated. In the early morning, one of the members of this group lost sense of direction and ended up walking over the edge, resulting in a fall of over 500 feet.
A tourist from abroad rode his horse close to the edge at Louisa point in order to get the perfect picture. Unfortunately, the horse got into a panic when it got very close to the edge of the cliff, resulting in both the horse and rider falling off the edge.
Two school boys ended up falling over the cliff of Panaroma point. The events that led to their deaths are not known for certain. At Panaroma Point, a clear edge is not defined as the terrain has a gradual slope that increases in steepness prior to the sheer drop. It may be possible that one of these boys went to help the other boy but was unsuccessful.
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Navra Navri
A slip resulted in a long tumbling fall for a hiker down a steep slope of over a hundred feet. Although badly injured, the other members of the hiking group managed to extract the hiker. Several weeks of hospitalization was required for this hiker.
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Parsik Hill (Mumbra)
This rock climbing accident occurred when the lead climber slipped and fell. The climber whom he was roped to was not sufficiently experienced to handle this kind of an event. Instead of the fall being restrained, both climbers fell off the rock face. The lead climber impacted on rocks, sustaining a massive head injury causing death. The other climber was lucky enough to fall on vegetation that softened the fall. Although severely injured, this climber made a full recovery.
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Peb Fort
Approaching the summit, a hiking party was attacked by bees. Most escaped by fleeing downhill. However, one member of this group was stung very badly. Luckily for this person, this incident did not prove to be fatal.
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Ratangad
There were two fatalities reported at different periods of time in exactly the same spot - the ladder along the Ratangad trail. Both these were attributed to the slippery nature of the trail during the monsoon season.
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Raigad
At the steep precipice known as Takmok Tok, an individual committed suicide by jumping off the edge.
In the same location mentioned above, a college student fell off the edge after climbing beyond the protective railing. It should be noted that at Takmok Tok, there is a break in the railing allowing for a short but dangerous traverse to a ledge further down.
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