DOBHAKOL, Chignap

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

A relic main passage (abandoned by flowing water), is underlain by smallish lower level passages in what looks like calcareous sandstone. ETYMOLOGY (Rogers 2001.03.21 personal communication): Debated names with villagers and at first everthing was 'Dobhakol' (bat cave). We suggested the stream and they were happy with it. SITUATION 1 (Tyler 2001.10.11 Mss): Reached by the same route as –>Chitokpa Rongkol (note 1), except for the last few metres: Half an hour's trek over a stream and uphill north-east from Khulbolmagri village (Colin Rogers: Kurburmogri) which lies 5 km from Chokpot on the road to Asagiri (i.e. Asakgre). SITUATION 2 (Rogers 2001.03.21, personal communication): West (note 2) of –>Chitopa Rongkol. CAVE DESCRIPTION 1 (Tyler 2001.10.11 Mss): The 5 m wide, 2.5 m high and 45 m long entrance passage, which, according to the cave survey, tends west-south-west, slopes down to a trench and stal bosses (speleothems), turns south-south-east and leads to a free climbable  m descent in a narrow chimney with a convenient chokstone halfway down: Left are two parallel passages the nearest is a 9 m crawl the other is a traverse over a trench then a 15 m sandy crawl, to the right is a narrow passage 15 m long which splits near the end. CAVE DESCRIPTION 2 (Rogers 2001.03.21 personal communication): A 5 m wide cave entrance to walking sized passage (9 m to the south, 7 m to the south-west, short 45° drop to the south-west) to a T-junction: 3 m to the north-west (too narrow?) and 6 m to the south-east which possibly continues. PROSPECTS (Tyler 2001.10.11 Mss): Only extendable by digging any passages will be small. CAVE LIFE: Bats (Chiroptera indet). m descent in a narrow chimney with a convenient chokstone halfway down: Left are two parallel passages the nearest is a 9 m crawl the other is a traverse over a trench then a 15 m sandy crawl, to the right is a narrow passage 15 m long which splits near the end. CAVE DESCRIPTION 2 (Rogers 2001.03.21 personal communication): A 5 m wide cave entrance to walking sized passage (9 m to the south, 7 m to the south-west, short 45° drop to the south-west) to a T-junction: 3 m to the north-west (too narrow?) and 6 m to the south-east which possibly continues. PROSPECTS (Tyler 2001.10.11 Mss): Only extendable by digging any passages will be small. CAVE LIFE: Bats (Chiroptera indet).