314 Visit to the Niti Pass [Aprix, 



14,500 feet of elevation, and I was sufficiently wretched and cold ; the 

 wind on the open downs being terrific, and blowing from the southern 

 peaks. At this point juniper was still plentiful, but no other shrub, 

 and the grass was excellent, though coarse. On the 11th Oct. I started 

 very early for the pass, being carried in a dandi. The first part was all 

 smooth-going, but the rarity of the air became very distressing, after 

 entering the 15,000 feet line, and parting with the juniper. 



After leaving the source of the Dhauli, the ascent was very steep 

 through crumbling crags of blue limestone which now succeeded to the 

 round clay-slate hills ; but the top of the pass was round and open, the 

 limestone lying about in stones as far as the eye could reach, interspe-rsed 

 with arenaceous quartz rocks. There was not a cloud in the sky or on 

 the mountains far and near, and I obtained a full and undimmed view into 

 Thibet. The wind had not yet got up, but the cold was terrific, 14° in 

 the shade, and 30° in the sun at 8 a. m. The first object that caught my 

 eye was the one Kailds Peak standing up in the E. N, E. among a 

 row of not very peaky snowy heights, which terminated that end of 

 the picture like a white kanradt. Right in front stretched a dreary 

 plain, shrubless, treeless and houseless, terminated along its whole 

 northern side at a distance of about 20 miles from my position by a low 

 range of rounded brown hills, utterly without shrub or tree or jutting 

 rock, but very broken into ravines and perpendicular faces on this their 

 southern side. The E. N. E. peaks towards Manasarorara Lake of 

 which I spoke, stand up close behind this range, to all appearance, but 

 there are 20 or 30 miles of plain between them, I am told. The plain 

 is broken into ravines and river courses running down to the Satlej 

 which flowed (not visibly as to water) in a deep ravine not far from the 

 base of the round hills. I saw this ravine distinctly. Ddpa was not 

 visible even with a telescope, there being no smoke, and it lying among 

 the ravines. It has no bazar and is only a row of mud huts, Dumpii was 

 pointed out to me on the south slope of the hills to the northeast. The 

 Kailds peak did not appear to be higher than 5,000 feet (if so high) above 

 my position, but its distance I do not know. It appeared hardly higher 

 than the lower range appears from Sahdranpur. No snow was visible 

 except on the Kailds range and on the top of the highest portion of 

 the intermediate hillocks, just behind Ddpa. Travellers were passing 

 over the plain with loaded sheep going to and from the pass, but there 

 were no cattle visible at pasture. The whole country looked something 

 like that Ward of Lanarkshire (I forget whether north, east, south or 

 west) in which Tintoch peak is situated, and the distant hills looked like 



