Leaving Ramnagar on the morning of the 27th, I continued to ascend the valley of the Tawi for about three miles, the road running along the sides of the hills among rich cultivation at a considerable height above the stream. It then descended somewhat abruptly to the river, and soon crossed to the right bank, from which a steep ascent commenced at once, and continued, with one or two interruptions of level cultivated ground, to the end of the day's journey. The ascent had throughout a southern exposure, and was in consequence generally bare of trees, and dry and grassy. Much cultivated land was met with, wherever the ground was sufficiently level to admit of it. I encamped at a small village, or rather cluster of farmhouses, called Garta, at a height of about 5800 feet. From the bare grassy nature of the ascent and its hot sunny exposure, the number of species of plants which occurred was very limited, and the change of vegetation much less marked than in better-wooded regions of these mountains. A few oaks (Q. lanata) made their appearance about half-way up, or perhaps at 4500 feet.
During this day's journey, I believe that I passed the point of contact of the tertiary sandstone with the more ancient rock, for on the ascent after crossing the river, the strata were very highly inclined, and often bent into large curves. The rock was also more indurated, and different in colour and appearance from that of the outer hills. I did not, however, observe the place where the change took place.
PATA.
May, 1848.
Next day, the ascent continued equally steep and bare as the day before, and there was still much cultivation, wherever the surface was sufficiently level for the purpose, or could be made so by means of terracing. During the preceding day's march, the fields of wheat and barley had been for some time cut, but here, though generally ripe, they were still standing. On attaining an elevation of about 7000 feet, the steep spur which I had been ascending joined the main ridge, and the road, turning to the east, entered a thick forest of small oak-trees (Q. lanata) through which it continued, alternately descending and ascending a little, as it entered the recesses or advanced along the projecting ridges. The greatest height attained may have been about 8000 feet, and the summit of the range, which was frequently visible, did not seem to be above 1000 feet higher. After about three miles of forest, the hills again became bare, and continued so till the end of the march, which terminated by an abrupt descent of 600 or 700 feet to a ravine, and an equally steep ascent to the village of Pata, which was elevated about 7500 feet. Throughout the day, the vegetation, both in the forest and on the open tracts, was identical with that of the Simla hills. The forest consisted of oak, Rhododendron, and Andromeda. Pines were visible at the very top of the ridge, but did not cross to the southern exposure: they appeared to be Picea Webbiana (Pindrow). The village at which I encamped was of considerable size, with extensive wheat cultivation, very luxuriant and in full ear, but still quite green. Many trees of the glabrous holly-leaved oak were scattered among the fields, which, from the lateral branches having been lopped off by the villagers, rose to a great height with an erect poplar-like trunk, bearing only a small tuft of branches at the top, in a manner very foreign to the usual habit of the tree.
On the 29th of May I crossed the range along which I had travelled the previous day, and descended into a valley watered by a tributary of the Chenab, running towards the north-west. The ascent, which was bare and grassy, amounted only to about 1000 feet in perpendicular height. Close to the top, a few trees of Picea made their appearance, while I was still on the south face of the ridge, and on gaining the crest of the pass, I found that the northern slope was occupied by a fine forest of the same tree. As the range was not sufficiently elevated to produce any really alpine plants, the vegetation presented little worthy of note. Viburnum nervosum was the commonest shrub, and an Anemone, a Ranunculus, the common Gypsophila and Trifolium repens were the herbs which predominated at the top.
VALLEY OF DADU.
May, 1848.
The road descended rapidly through fine forest. The sombre silver fir was, after a short descent, mixed with plenty of horse-chesnut and sycamore, and of the glabrous-leaved oak. Lower down, deodar and Abies Smithiana also appeared, and on arriving in the valley, the forest gave place to cultivated fields, with only a few oak-trees scattered among them. The road now ascended the valley, which was tolerably open and well cultivated. The stream ran through a deep ravine, with steep, well-wooded, often rocky banks, far below the level of the cultivation. I encamped at an elevation of about 6800 feet, at a village called Dadu, or Doda, situated on the edge of a small open plain, covered with luxuriant crops of wheat.
Near the village, and along the edges of the cultivation, were numerous apricot-trees of large size; and a willow, apparently the same which occurs in Kashmir (S. alba) was commonly planted. The general appearance of the place was very much that of the villages in lower Kunawar; and I was much interested to find that although the greater part of the vegetation was the same as is common in the outer ranges of the mountains, a few plants indicative of a drier climate were to be seen. I was particularly surprised to find that Quercus lanata, Rhododendron arboreum, and Andromeda ovalifolia, three trees which are everywhere most abundant in the outer ranges of the Himalaya in the temperate zone, had entirely disappeared. The Kashmir Fothergilla was not uncommon, and I noted at least four or five herbaceous plants, which I had first met with in that valley or in Kunawar.
On the northern face of this range, between Pata and Dadu, the sandstone, which had continued since I left the valley of the Tawi, was replaced by a succession of metamorphic slates, sometimes very micaceous. In the valley of Dadu, boulders of gneiss, with crystals of felspar from one to three inches in length, were common, but the rock did not occur in situ.
The range of mountains bounding the valley on the south, did not appear to rise anywhere to a greater height than between 9000 and 10,000 feet, and where I crossed it, was not, I should think, higher than 8500. Immediately to the east of this low pass, however, it began to rise rapidly, and at the head of the valley lay a high snowy mountain, evidently a projecting peak of a long range descending from the north-east, and forming the boundary between the basins of the Chenab and the Ravi. This range, which in most places must be upwards of 11,000 feet, and which in some probably rises to 14,000, must, I think, to some extent check the progress of the masses of clouds during the monsoon, and therefore tend to diminish the quantity of rain, particularly as the rain-clouds come from the eastward, on which account the lower altitude of the ridge to the south-west is of less importance.