CHAMERE GUFA, Dangdeukhuri
28.187500,82.366700
Description
A south-facing cave entrance (about 1 m wide and 2.5 m high) in the back of a daylight-lit, southeast-facing rock shelter (some 12 m or 15 m wide, 8 mor 10 m high) gives access to little more than a cave chamber with bat guano on a level floor and a few dirty secondary calcite deposits (rather masses than stalagmite or stalactite speleothems) on the exposed surfaces of the limestone. ETYMOLOGY: So far, I saw the name of the Chamere Gufa or Bats' Cave near Mulkot in the Dangdeukhuri district not only spelled, edited or printed as »Chameri Cave, Dang« (LAMICHHANE & GHIMIRE 2010) but also as »caves of Mulkot and Chillikot« (SHARMA, D R 1988). SITUATION: About a kilometre on foot from the village of Mulkot on the generally south-facing slope of the Mahabharat Range and overlooking the Dang Dun (Dang Valley, ca. 600 to 700 m asl) and, still further south, the Churia Range (ca. 1000 to 1200 m asl). SITUATION 2012: »In Halwar VDC [note 1], 5 Mulkot [note 2], on the boundary of the Dang and Salyan districts. The area is dominated by Magar community with some other minor communities. The major vegetation of the surrounding area of cave was Aesandra butyracea, Psididium guajava, Dendrocalamus strictus, Bombax cieba, Shorea robusta, Musa spp., Cirtus aurantifolia, Phyllanthus emblica. The area is dominated by Aesandra butyracea forest« (LAMICHHANE & GHIMIRE 2010: 27). SITUATION 1988: SHARMA, D R (1988: 9) located his »The cave of Mulkot« not only »on the Mahabharat slope« but also at an unspecified distance of »11 km [rather along a winding route than in a direct line] north of Praseni [sic!] at Ghorahi - Tulsipur road« (note 3). APPROACH: From the village of Parseni (note 4), which lies an estimated 4 or 5 km along the road ESE from Tulsipur (note 5) and on the orographically right (locally eastern) bank of the Guhari Khola, a fair weather road runs up the valley and passes a couple of bifurcations to finally reach at the village of Rani Ghat (also: Rani Khola). From here several possible footpaths ascend via the hamlets of Banari and Tarule to Mulkot (1280 m asl, barometric). Jungle covered tracks proceed for about 1 km to the flowstone covered cave entrance to the Chamere Gufa (Bat Cave).A climb up a steep tufa scarp leads to an overgrown cliff face, which is almost completely covered by daylight-lit calcite formations. Several small holes (of dissolutional origin) beckon the curious traveller in search of dark areas, but there seems to be only one enterable cave entrance in the locally outcropping Cambro-Ordovizian limestone. POSITION: LAMICHHANE & GHIMIRE (2010: 27) associated the entrance to their »Chameri Cave, Dang« with an obviously erronous GPS position (N 28°24'06.46”: E 082°34'07.28”: 1299 m asl, unidentified geodetic datum, unspecified precision error) which indicates a spot (note 6) that lies 40 km in a direct line northeast from Tulsipur (N28°08'00”: E082°17'50”: 663 m asl WGS84) almost in the topographical centre of the Rolpa district. CAVE DESCRIPTION 1994: The cave entrance (about 1 m wide and 2.5 m high) in the back of a daylight-lit, southeast-facing rock shelter (some 12 m or 15 m wide, 8 mor 10 m high) gives access to a relatively small first cave chamber (WNW-ESE 6 m broad, 4 m high, NNE-SSW 10 m long) from where a scramble down north-west descends 4 m to the level floor of the second, relatively large cave chamber (WNW-ESE 12 m wide, NNE-SSW 20 m long and an estimated 10 m high) with the impenetrable relic of a subterranean estuary in the north-western corner. This inlet appears to have been abandoned by flowing water but the sediments accumulated on the level cave floor seem to indicate an occasional pool of shallow and stagnant water. There are a few dirty secondary calcite deposits (rather masses than stalagmite or stalactite speleothems) inside the cave but the main feature is bat guano, which was (26th May 1994) criss-crossed with drying cracks and sprinkled with apparently white, salty encrustations of which the taste, however, is not known to me. CAVE DESCRIPTION 1988: »The cave of Mulkot 11 km north of Praseni [sic!] … is a very big one. … Though it has a narrow gate, it is 60 feet [18.3 m] high with vast expansion in its interior« (SHARMA, D R 1988: 9). CAVE POTENTIAL: There are no obvious ways on, except a quite inaccessible hole (perhaps a metre in diameter) high up in the ceiling, which allows human visitors only if they master levitation or are prepared to apply technical climbing aids in spite of no obvious prospects. ARCHAEOLOGY: A generous measure of absurd thinking allows to interpret the obvious absence of »any artefact or sign of human settlement« in the one or, perhaps, two »caves of Mulkot and Chillikot« as if it would indicate that it (or they) »must be an important particularly for the stone age man« (SHARMA, D R 1988: 9). CAVE CLIMATE: Measurments in the air on 5th November 2010 yielded values ranging not only from 17.2°C to 17.6°C (temperature) but also from 86% to 99% (humidity) »inside the mouth of Cave during the study period« (LAMICHHANE & GHIMIRE 2010: 27) during the three hours between 4:15 and 7:30 am. CAVE LIFE: Present inside the cave on 26th May 1994 were not only a few Isopoda (wood-lice), Orthoptera (cockroaches), conf. Pseudoscorpionidae sp., and what looked like Lepidoptera (moths) but also a four feet long and much scared snake, a lonely "rat" (or so), and an estimated few hundred bats (Chiroptera: conf. Rhinolophus) in addition to trogloxene humans (four schoolkids, an archaeologist, and two speleologists). On 5th November 2010, one »single individual of Hipposideros fulvus [Gray 1838] was mist-netted at 5:15 am but an other big species escaped by a large hole in our net when we were busy in roost survey inside the cave. About 300-400 individuals were localized roosting in the ceiling 30-40 feet [an estimated 9.15 m to 12.2 m] above. Thus we could not focus on roosting sites. About 50-60 individuals of bats were observed flying and encircling the area« (LAMICHHANE & GHIMIRE 2010: 27).
NOTE 1: Halwar, near (±250 m) N28°08'31”: E082°21'00” (unspecified geodetic datum possibly WGS84, Central Service Map sheet 56 Dang Deukhuri District, edition 1989). NOTE 2: Mulkot, from the Ghorkhali "mul" (root, origin, source) and "kot" (fastness, fortress) is neither shown on the Central Service Map sheet 56 Dang Deukhuri District (edition 1989) nor on the AMS sheet NH44-15 Nepalganj (U502 series, 1958 edition) but on 26th May 1994 I had measured there an elevation of 1280 m barometrically (Thommen 6000). NOTE 3: »Praseni [sic!] at Ghorahi - Tulsipur road« (SHARMA, D R 1988: 9) in the sense of a route from Tulsipur via Parseni upstream along the »Ghorahi« Khola (Horse Valley) or »Guhari Khola« (Sukra Sagar Shresta, 26th May 1994 personal communication), the Cave's Valley. NOTE 4: Parseni (±250 m) N28°07'21”: E082°19'27” (unspecified geodetic datum possibly WGS84, Central Service Map sheet 56 Dang Deukhuri District, edition 1989). NOTE 5: Tulsipur (Tulasipur) is indicated as »Tulsipur (Doghare)« near (±2500 m) N28°08'00”: E082°17'50”: 663 m asl (unspecified geodetic datum possibly WGS84, Central Service Map sheet 56 Dang Deukhuri District, edition 1989) or 712.6 m asl ( 2338 feet, AMS sheet NH44-15 Nepalganj, U502 series, 1958 edition). NOTE 6: Even if we assume that the published N 28°24'06.46”: E 082°34'07.28” (DD°MM'SS.SS” format) is but a mis-interpreted N 28.240646°: E 082.340728° (DD.DDDDDD° format), then the modified position N 28°14'26.3”: E 082°20'26.6” still indicates a spot which lies too far north, viz. 12.7 approximately NNE (12.0 km north, 4.2 km east) from Tulsipur and already inside Salyan district or about 3 km in a direct line beyond the border of the Dang Deukhuri district.
History
EXPLORATION HISTORY: 1988: Dilli Raj Sharma from the Archaeological Department (Kathmandu) had physically come across »the cave of Mulkot 11 km north of Praseni [sic!]« and even »had explored it himself but … could not find any artefact or sign of human settlement … So, it must be an important particularly for the stone age man« (SHARMA, D R 1988: 9). 1994.05.26: Guided by a knowledgeable team of four enthusiastic school boys from the village Mulkot to the entrance of the cave, it were Sukra Sagar Shresta from the Archaeological Department (Kathmandu), H. D. Gebauer (book, tape) and Uwe Scherzer (compass, clinometer, tape) who visited and entered, mapped, explored and investigated the archaeological potential of the site superficially. 1995 - 2009: Somebody had cared to see the cave entrance proper partly closed with a plastered wall, leaving a man-sized door and three square, bat-sized windows open (LAMICHHANE & GHIMIRE 2010: 27 fig. 1). 2010.10.31 - 2010.11.05: Narayan Lamichhane (CDES-Small Mammals Conservation Club, Central Department of Environmental Science, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur) and Rameshwor Ghimire (Small Mammals Conservation and Research Foundation, New Baneshwor, Kathmandu) conducted from 31 October to 5 November 2010 not only a certain "Bats Study in Salyan and Dang districts: Status, Distribution, and Conservation Initiative” (BSSDDSDCI) but also recorded six species of bats. On this occasion, they mist-netted »at 5:15 am« in the entrance to the »Chameri cave of Dang district« a specimen of Hipposideros fulvus Gray 1838, took morphometric measurements and photographs: »This is the second record of H. fulvus in Nepal since Scully, 1887« (LAMICHHANE & GHIMIRE 2010: 27).
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.7 | HARE KRISHNA PAHAR GUFA | ||
| 11.7 | CHILLIKOT (Cave of) | ||
| 40.9 | PANDU KHANI | ||
| 44.3 | GURJA KHANI | ||
| 62.4 | OKHARBOT | ||
| 78.9 | KANCHI KO KHOPI | ||
| 81.2 | PHUGRON PHUG | ||
| 86.8 | CHANDRAKOT COPPERMINE | ||
| 99.0 | SHORAH KHANI |