Visiting Mahavatar Babaji's Cave in Kukuchina, Dunagiri, India

This was my first visit to Mahavatar Babaji's cave in Kukuchina, Dunagiri, north of India, not so far away from Dwarahat. What a privilege to sit in meditation inside Babaji's cave. After reading all those stories in Paramahansa Yogananda's autobiography this pilgrimage was truly a dream come true.

If you are a Kriyaban (a kriya yoga practitioner) you should definitively visit Babaji's cave.  Perhaps you could also visit Yogananda's ashram in Dwarahat, and maybe you could also do your own meditation retreat in Kukuchina.

Who is Mahavatar Babaji

Mahavatar Babaji.
Photo courtesy of Self-Realization Fellowship  

Mahavatar Babaji is an ancient yogi from the Himalayas, who is said to have an eternal body.  His story has been made popular thanks to Yogananda's book "Autobiography of a Yogi".

Babaji is considered an avatar, a divine incarnation, who has revived the science of Kriya Yoga (an advanced pranayama technique that accelerates spiritual evolution) and spread it to the modern world through his disciple Lahiri Mahasaya.

You can read more about this great avatar in Babaji, the Yogi-Christ of Modern India.  This is one of the chapters included in Autobiography of a Yogi.

My journey from Rishikesh to Babaji's Cave in Kukuchina 

After fifteen days at the Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama Ashram in Rishikesh, I decided to make another trip and move a bit north.

I started the journey at 8.30 pm.  I took an auto Rickshaw from the ashram premises to the Rishikesh bus station (15 min).

From there I was able to catch a public bus to Haridwar (45 min) and in Haridwar I had to wait for a couple of hours to catch the sleepers night train at 00.15 to Kathgodam (7 hours).

I reached Kathgodam at 7 am. 

From Kathgodam I had to take a shared taxi to Ranikhet (4 hours) and from Ranikhet, another shared taxi to Dwarahat (3 hours) to finally reach the Yogoda Satsanga Sakha Ashram (YSS).

The YSS ashram is dedicated specifically to Paramahansa Yogananda disciples.  I was able to stay at the ashram for ten days and I used it as a base to visit Babaji's cave.

So it was about 14 hours ride to reach Dwarahat.  That was a long journey, but it got really difficult for me in the first shared taxi from Kathgodam to Ranikhet.

I don't know why but I got so sick as soon as I got in the taxi.  Perhaps because of the altitude, the smell in the jeep, the package of cookies that I had just eaten and the crazy curvy road.

Maybe also because these shared taxis are old jeeps that go packed with people. It is the most common transportation means in this area.

I felt dizzy and had a big headache.  Actually, I pretty much wanted to vomit during the whole four-hours ride!

The curvy road didn't help at all. I had to take a deep breath in every single curve, but at least I got to see the astonishing landscape which actually reminded me of the highlands in Ecuador.

I was not the only one sick.

One local lady in the sit in front of me started vomiting out from her window just an hour after we started the ride.  Luckily I noticed it and managed to close my window on time.

Half an hour later her son started vomiting as well, and another half an hour later another lady started to vomit through the other window.  What a journey, eh.

Small piece of advice.  Bring a small plastic bag and some motion sickness pills before you do this trip.  Lol.

Visiting Babaji's Cave

The next day, with a group of four other Kriya Yogis from India, we took another shared taxi from the YSS ashram and headed towards Kukuchina.

The people at the ashram arranged the taxi for us and they even gave us a basket with our lunch.

The ride to Kukuchina was about 50 minutes.  To be honest, I felt like killing the driver during the whole ride.  Not literally of course!  Lol

In India, people love to hit the horn all the time but this guy was extreme.  Sometimes the road was clearly empty and he would still hit the horn like crazy!

We got off the taxi at Kukuchina and started to walk towards the cave.  It's a really nice 50 minutes trek with incredible landscapes.

Just before the cave, there is a building, Babaji's shrine, built by Self Realization Fellowship.

The shrine was built right on the same place where, according to the story told by Yogananda in his autobiography, Mahavatar Babaji materialized a golden palace for Lahiri Mahasaya, one of his disciples, to fulfill his last but subconscious material desire.

It seems that every day there are pilgrims visiting the cave.  Kriya Yogis that follow different gurus, all connected in one way or another to Lahiri Mahasaya, make this journey.

During my visit, there was a large group of Kriya Yogis, disciples of Swami Hariharananda.

As soon as we reached the cave we all removed our shoes outside and found a good spot in the cave to sit down comfortably so we could start our individual meditation.

After a beautiful one hour meditation in the cave, we continued climbing up the hill to reach the top which is called Pandavkholi and to visit the Pandavkholi Dharamshala and Mandir. But on the way up we made a stop to enjoy the nice lunch prepared by the ashram for us.

How to reach Mahavatar Babaji's cave in Kukuchina

Starting from Rishikesh

This is the route that I followed from Rishikesh:

• From Rishikesh take a public bus from the main bus stop to Haridwar. (45 min)
• From Haridwar take the night train to Kathgodam which leaves every day at 00h15. There is only one train per day.
• From Kathgodam take a shared taxi to Ranikhet (4 hours) and from Ranikhet, another shared taxi to Dwarahat (3 hours). The share taxi from Kathgodam up to Dwarahat should be around 250 or 300 rupees.
• Once you reached the Dwarahat market you'll need to take another share taxi to Kukuchina (50 minutes) for about 25 rupees. This is the last stop by car.
• From there you will need to walk up the mountain to reach the cave, about 50 minutes. It is not a difficult walk up but you'll need to go slow according to your capacity since the altitude might affect you.

Starting from Delhi

According to the YSS Dwarahat Ashram website.

• From Delhi take a train to Kathgodam (train number 12040, 15035 or 15013)
• From Kathgodam take a shared taxi to Ranikhet
• From Ranikhet take a shared taxi to Dwarahat
• From Dwarahat take a shared taxi to Kukuchina
• From Kukuchina you need to walk up to Babaji's cave

You can find the location of the cave in Google Maps.

Babaji Cave
Dwarahat Range,
Uttarakhand 263656,
India
Google Maps Link

Where to stay to visit Babaji's cave?

If you are a Self Realization Fellowship member or a Yogoda Satanga Society member you should definitively stay at the Yogoda Satsanga Sakha Ashram.

The ashram is just 15 minutes walk from the Dwarahat market.  From the ashram to reach the cave, you just need to take a shared taxi.  It's about 50 minutes ride.

You can also stay in Dwarahat itself.

I heard from a group of Kriyabans from the Hariharananda tradition that they were staying in a hotel in Dwarahat for about 800 rupees per night. From there to reach the cave you need to take a shared taxi which will take about 50 minutes.

The best option is probably to stay at Joshi Guest House in Kukuchina.  From Joshi's guesthouse, you can simply walk to the cave whenever you want and as many times as you want.  It's a beautiful one hour hike.

The guesthouse is actually a very decent place.  There are several basic rooms but also two beautiful and comfortable cottages.

One more option is to stay on top of the hill, above Babaji's cave, at the Pandavkholi Dharamshala.  This is a simple shelter for pilgrims with very basic accommodation but with really friendly people and incredible surroundings.

Popular books about Babaji in Amazon.com

Journey to
Freedom

Babaji and
The 18 Siddha
Kriya Yoga Tradition

Babaji
The Lightning
Standing Still

The Voice of
Babaji

Useful travel tips

Before you pack your bags I suggest you visit my detailed packing list for India. This list includes every single item that you might need to travel around India and to stay at ashrams or yoga retreats.

If you would like to visit other ashrams in Rishikesh or around India make sure you visit my guide to ashrams in India.

This guide includes a list of all the ashrams that I have personally visited throughout my yoga journey. I'm sure you'll find it very helpful.

To avoid spending too much money on credit card transactions or ATM withdrawals I recommend you to check Transferwise.

I normally use it to pay for my accommodation or yoga courses, and also for withdrawing money.  You could probably pay for your stay at Joshi's guesthouse or at the YSS ashram.

My journey after visiting Babaji's cave

After visiting the cave I returned to the Yogoda Satsanga Sakha Ashram.  I stayed at the YSS ashram for ten days.  I really enjoyed my stay.

After these ten days, I decided to move closer to Babaji's cave.

First, I stayed for three nights at the Pandavkholi dharamsala and then I did my own meditation retreat down in Kukuchina, at Joshi Guest House.

I stayed for twenty days at Joshi's guesthouse!

2016 Update: By the way, don't forget to visit Following the Steps of Paramhansa Yogananda in Kolkata.

This is a pilgrimage that I did in 2016 to visit all the places Guruji mentions in his autobiography, like the Kali Temple at Dakshinshwar, Serampore, Guruji's house in 4 Garpar Road and more.

2020 Update:  You can also visit my blog I Visited Lahiri Mahasaya and Babaji's Cave Temple in Varanasi.  The title is self-explanatory, isn't it? Varanasi plays a crucial role in Paramahansa Yogananda's life.  I'm sure you'll enjoy reading about this new adventure.

I hope you've enjoyed reading about my yoga journey and that you've found this information helpful.  Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.  Thank you!