| Place. | Miles. | Description. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inter-mediate. | Total. | ||
| Gallabat | — | — | Leaving Gallabat,path crosses Khor Abnakheir; ground rises from khor rough andstony; about 300 yards from it, a track leads in a more southerlydirection to Kwara; track, running a little S. of E., passes roundS. end of Tarara Mariam Waha (200 feet); skirting S. of this hilland its continuations, path is rough, cut up by small khors runningS. from them; at mile 3, low hills begin on S. of track andcontinue for a mile, track rough, winding, and cut up by smallkhors running N. From here country becomes more open, cotton soil,and low trees untila small khor fringed with big trees is reached, and a few hundredyards on, Khor Chincha, a rocky khor, water plentiful. Trackmeanders on through rocky ground, rough going, for a mile, whencotton soil and more or less open country is reached; another 1½miles, and a rocky khor is reached. |
| Tarara Mariam Waha | 2 | 2 | |
| 2 | 4 | ||
| Khor Chincha | 1 | 5 | |
| Khor Sababa | 2½ | 7½ | (Khor Sababa.) A fewhundred yards on is the halting-place Wahsha, steep cliff on N. ofkhor making waterfall when water sufficient, still rough going,cotton soil and rocky alternately; ¾ mile on, cross Khor Abd ElRizak Gowari (12 yards wide), cotton soil thickly wooded at mile10. A small khor is crossed and ¼ mile on Khor Goghan; at mile 10½,Khor Koki, or Shatta, is crossed; this is a very winding, deepkhor, banks 10 feet, bed shingly, 15 yards wide, water veryplentiful, good shade. Track crosses this khor twice more beforeleaving it, when country becomes fairly open, with small trees, andafter 2 miles reaches and passes to S. of a small hill (120 feet),Tarara Jingandibba (or J. Wad Manna). Path now continually crossessmall khors running N.; at mile 16 Khor Ardeiba is passed, and 2miles on Khor Wandoferi is crossed (7 yards wide, banks 6 feethigh, not much water, good shade); ¾ mile good going, and trackbegins to descend, and ½ mile on reaches Khor Aftit (12 yards wide,banks 10 feet high, good water and shade). ½ mile on crosses smallkhor, country much cut up. 1½ miles on Khor Shahadi (16 yards wide,deep pools, general direction N.) is crossed; ¾ mile on path skirtsedge of cliff 50 feet high, at bottom of which is Khor Shahadi; atmile 23¾ track descends rapidly, and ¼ mile on crosses small khor;½ mile further on small khor of flowing water, and at mile 25¼ KhorGandoa (50 yards wide in deep pools). From this point road toDagussa leads off up left bank of Gandoa. Crossing Gandoa, trackruns almost parallel with it, low hills 1,000 yards off to N. andalso on other side of Gandoa; at mile 27 track crosses Ofing GandoaW. (small, with water), and at mile 27½ passes close S. of a hill(200 feet). Bamboos now first observed in abundance; ¼ mile on pathcrosses Jirar W. (15 yards wide, pools of water). At mile 28 pathpasses close N. of a low hill running down towards the Gandoa, andat mile 30½ close S. of another hill, low hills still to N.; 2¼miles on reach Agam W., flowing water (named from the lilac-likeflowering bush growing there). At mile 33¼ cross small khor, andanother khor 2 miles from Agam W., low hills now only 250 yards offto N.; ½ mile on pass close to S. of another hill. At mile 36 trackcrosses a small stony khor with a thick fringe of bamboos, and ¾mile on close round the S. of a bluff; ¾ mile small khor, and atmile 38 reaches Abai W., a running stream coming from among somehills about 600 feet high and 1,500 yards off N. of road. Track nowleads up the valley of a small khor with low hills on both sidesquite close, dense jungle of bamboo, high grass, etc., but after 1¼miles begins to ascend a spur rapidly, and in course of the nexthalf mile rises about 200 feet, then across a flat withamphitheatre of precipitous flat-topped hills (600 feet) to N.,about 2,000 yards off, to southern end of Tarara Kamachela (700 to800 feet). Track passes round S. of Kamachela, and close under it,running at right angles to its former direction; still under hillcrosses khor of water, and a mile on reaches site of Wahni Suk (nobuildings). From the Suk there is very steep path leading up to thevillage of Wahni (uninhabited when seen); this is situated on thetop of Kamachela, a plateau sloping away to the N. There is alittle cultivation below (dura and cotton), but grain can only bebought in very limited quantities. From Wahni Suk track resumes itsold course; after 1 mile a khor (10 yards wide) full of water iscrossed, and ½ mile on track passes through two or three low hills.½ mile on a small khor of water is crossed. Here the “Candelabracactus” makes its first appearance. Path now descends rapidly, andreaches khor in bottom of valley about 250 feet below Wahni Suk.Since crossing the Gandoa, khors have all been running more or lessW., but from here, after ascending out of valley, another water system isencountered, the water running N. Path ascends and crosses spurs,running N. from a square precipitous hill, Tarara Angedibba. |
| Khor Koki | 3 | 10½ | |
| Tarara Jingandibba | 2 | 12½ | |
| Khor Wandoferi | 5½ | 18 | |
| Khor Aftit | 1¼ | 19¼ | |
| Khor Shahadi | 2 | 21¼ | |
| Khor Gandoa | 4 | 25¼ | |
| 2¼ | 27½ | ||
| ½ | 28 | ||
| 2½ | 30½ | ||
| Agam W. | 2¼ | 32¾ | |
| 3¼ | 36 | ||
| Abai W. | 2 | 38 | |
| Tarara Kamachela | 3 | 41 | |
| Wahni Suk | 3½ | 44½ | |
| 1 | 45½ | ||
| 1 | 46½ | ||
| 1 | 47½ | ||
| 1 | 48½ | ||
| 1¼ | 49¾ | At mile 49¾ saddle N.of Tarara Angedibba is passed over, and path at once descendsrapidly into the jungley valley of the Baloha W., some small khorsare crossed, and 2 miles from saddle there is a small hill on leftof path; ¾ mile on track crosses Baloha W., a babbling stream 12yards wide, two or three times, and at mile 53¼ begins to ascendrapidly, and in ¼ mile reaches saddle under Tarara Baloha. Strikingalong the hill for ¾ mile track crosses a spur, and descends intothe valley of Sunkwa W., flowing water, reaching latter afteranother 1¼ miles. Path now ascends rapidly out of khor, and after 1mile passes close N. of a hill (some 250 feet high); two or threesmall khors are crossed running N., and 2¼ miles from the Sunkwapath reaches a saddle, hills visible N. and S.; path now ascendsand runs along the N. side of a range of hills for 4 miles, whentrack skirts to N. of a knobby hill on top of the range; there is alittle water in a khor running down the hill northwards here, butnot enough for baggage animals; track now changes to S. side ofrange and skirts along, winding in and out between gullies andspurs until a small pool of water is reached in Savinki W. | |
| 2 | 51¾ | ||
| 1¾ | 53½ | ||
| Sunkwa W. | 2 | 55½ | |
| Savinki W. | 3¾ | 66½ | |
| Gint W. | 2 | 68½ | From here track runsa few hundred yards almost due south, then changes to south-east,ground more level as nearer base of hills; now reaches Gint W.,close under Tarara Wahamba, a jagged basaltic remnant. Track nowwinds for about a mile, turning continually at right angles, asground is very rough and cut up by khors. Path finally crosses tosouth of Gint W., a running stream, and ascends a spur of Wali Devarange, rounding spurs and crossing khors; at mile 72¼ track, whichis close down to khor, rises sharply up a spur for 300 yards, andskirts along higher up. At mile 75¾ path again rises rapidly up aspur, and after a pretty hard climb of some 1,600 feet passes up acleft and reaches top of escarpment at head of valley of Gint W.Country is now open and rolling, track ascends gradually for 2½miles, when it crosses the watershed. Here a view of Lake Tsana isobtained. Path now descends, easy gradients, into the Goang valley,and reaches Chelga at mile 84¾. |
| 3¾ | 72¼ | ||
| 3½ | 75¾ | ||
| Top of Escarpment | — | — | |
| 2½ | 81¼ | ||
| Chelga | 3½ | 84¾ | |
127.—LAKE TSANA (GOJA) to GANDOA.
By Captain A. C. Parker, Royal Sussex Regiment, March, 1904.
General.Goja to Gallabat fair path, better than Chelga to Gallabat Road, but after descent of Escarp there are several bad places.
Water.Is plentiful, nowhere more than 10 miles interval without it.
Supplies.Obtainable nil.
Inhabitants.Abyssinian villages from Lake Tsana up to watershed. A monastry at Mabra Solasi near Bamba. Stray hunting parties in the country adjoining the frontier.
Transport.Mule, donkey, and pony pack-transport only suitable.
Passes, game, escort.See [route Gallabat—Chelga.]
N.B.—W = Wauz = Khor = dry watercourse. T = Tarara = Jebel = mountain.