DISTRICT OF CHAMBA.
June, 1848.
The general direction of my journey, while descending this valley, had been south-east, the elevation of the mountains on my left hand having been too great to permit me to turn to the north. On this march, however, about three miles from its termination, at a village called Dewar, I left the road to Chamba, which there crosses the stream and proceeds direct over low hills to the Ravi, while the valley (and my road) turned suddenly to the north-east. A little below my camp at Buju, the river resumed its former direction, and, uniting itself with a large stream descending from the northward, took a southerly course, to join the Ravi.
VALLEY NORTH OF CHAMBA.
June, 1848.
Along the valley, which descended from the north, ran the road from Chamba to Chatargarh on the Chenab, and on the 7th I proceeded in that direction. The two streams, at their junction, flowed through an extremely deep rocky ravine, so that I had several fatiguing ascents and descents before I succeeded in passing into the valley which I wished to ascend. I was, however, gratified, at the highest part of the road, where I turned for the first time fairly towards the north, by a superb view of the snowy range, towards which I was now travelling. On the 8th and 10th of June (having halted on the 9th) I continued to ascend the valley, encamping on the latter day at 8000 feet. During both days, many parts of the road were very rocky and difficult, with frequent steep ascents. At other times, when it was more level, very long detours were necessary, to pass deep lateral ravines. The valley was in general open, and the hill-sides only sparingly wooded, though at intervals along the stream there was a fine and dense forest of oaks, horse-chesnut, laurels, and Celtis. The ranges of mountains on both sides were tipped with snow, and from my camp of the 10th the snowy range in front appeared so close, that I could scarcely give credence to the assurances of my guides that I was still a good day's journey from its base.
Since I had left Jamu, the weather had been very uniform. The mornings were generally fine, with a cloudless sky and little or no wind; towards the afternoon, or if not then, certainly in the evening or during the night, clouds collected, and it rained heavily. This was of daily occurrence; sometimes the rain lasted for several hours, but before morning the sky was always serene. The atmosphere was hazy, as is usually the case in the Himalaya during the dry season, before the accession of the rains.
ALPINE VEGETATION.
June, 1848.
On the 11th, I continued to ascend the valley. At the commencement of the march, the hills were bare and open, and the vegetation was still entirely that of the middle zone. There was a good deal of cultivation, and the wheat was still green. After crossing several ravines, the road began to ascend rapidly through a wood of small trees of holly-leaved oak, interspersed with numerous small patches of cultivation. Among the corn, Adonis æstivalis, and a number of other common Kashmir weeds, were abundant, and apricot-trees were commonly planted. By degrees, other trees were mingled with the oaks, and the forest became very dense, with luxuriant undergrowth of Indigoferæ, Spiræa Lindleyana, and Philadelphus, and a vine was common, climbing up the trunks of the trees. Numerous open glades, covered with a luxuriant herbaceous vegetation of dock and other rank plants, were met with in the forest, which, though not so beautiful, a good deal resembled that of Mahasu, near Simla. On the opposite and shady side of the valley, the forest seemed to be chiefly composed of pines. As the elevation increased, silver fir and alpine oak began to appear, and soon became the only trees in the forest. The ravines were now all full of snow, the oaks were still in flower, and there was little or no vegetation under their shade, except in swampy places, where a bright yellow Caltha and a pink Dentaria were in full flower. I encamped at 10,600 feet, on an open grassy spot overlooking a deep ravine full of snow, which lay between me and the snowy range in front.
On emerging from the forest, which extended close to my camp, I found myself surrounded by a truly alpine vegetation. Rhododendron campanulatum, which is certainly, when en masse and in full flower, the pride of our northern Indian mountains in early spring, was in vast abundance and great beauty. The hills around were covered with birch; Rhododendron lepidotum, Gaultheria trichocarpa, Deutzia corymbosa, willows, and many other alpine shrubs, covered the rocks, and the moist grassy sward of the open spots was adorned with the brilliant flowers of Primula denticulata, Corydalis Govaniana, Gagea, Caltha, and other plants. The sky was brilliantly clear, the very heavy rain of the preceding day having, for the time, quite removed the usual haze, and the view from my tent was superb. The last village in the valley was many miles behind, and no cultivation was anywhere in sight. The opposite spurs, which rose, like that on which my tent was pitched, abruptly from the snowy ravine, were beautifully wooded, up to the limit of forest, while all above was covered with snow.
ASCENT TOWARDS SACH PASS.
June, 1848.
On the 12th of June, I crossed the snowy range into the valley of the Chenab. At starting, the road lay through forest, which covered the precipitous face of the rocky hill overhanging the deep ravine above which I had encamped. After crossing the ravine, which was full of snow, the road ascended a bare steep slope, which was swampy and covered with Caltha and Primulæ. Every other part of the face of the hill was occupied by a dense jungle of shrubs, almost impenetrable from the prostrate position which their branches had taken from the pressure of the winter's snow. Very stunted bushes of Quercus semecarpifolia constituted the greater part of this shrubby jungle. With it grew Rhododendron campanulatum, a cherry, and a birch, whose silvery trunks rose conspicuous above all the others. This dense covering of shrubs being confined to the lower part of the slope, the road soon rose above its level, and continued obliquely along the face of the bare grassy hill, rising very gently, and by degrees approaching the line of snow. I observed that the line of the highest level of trees varied much according to the exposure, being more elevated on the shady side than on slopes exposed to the sun. The snow level, as might have been expected, was extremely indefinite, varying with the degree of inclination of the surface, with the absence or presence of trees, and especially with the exposure. On the slope facing the south, it was about 12,000 feet, while on that opposite it descended among the trees several hundred feet lower. Close to the snow, among rocks and in swampy places, the alpine vegetation was extremely luxuriant and beautiful.