国立情報学研究所 - ディジタル・シルクロード・プロジェクト
『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

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320 THE IIIMALAYAN WATER-PARTING OF KORE-LA BETWEEN THE TSANGPO AND THE GANGES.

aching the water-parting has one the feeling of a pass. The height is 4,661m. (15,288 feet) making a rise of only 96m. from the Tsangpo. On the plain south of Tradum the Tsangpo may therefore indeed be said to stream on a level plateau, from the edge of which the slope goes very steep down to the upper valleys of Nepal. The view to the south is surprising over a wild and deep-cut landscape with its innumerable tributaries from all sides gathering to a principal valley. The rock is conglomerate.'

The road down follows the steep slopes of a ridge of sandy schist; to our right is a very deep valley Dam, which is soon lost out of sight as we enter another valley, east of and parallel with the Dam, and called Kungchuk-kong; lower down, where the slope gets less deep, it joins the Dam and an eastern tributary, Pama. Darn is the largest of the three and the single one carrying a brook. The rock is lime concretion; the gravel is granite.

The joint valley turns to the S.E. and receives the large western tributary Yamchuk-pu; on its left terrace is the village of Yamchuk, where the first houses and trees are to be seen. In the background of this valley, westwards, there is a confusion of mountains and valleys; the higher regions, however, are hidden by clouds. A part of the main valley is called Nechung, with a solitary house; on the left side terrace is the great monastery of Guru-sambuk; there are fields and irrigation canals and good pasture grounds; the valley may be some 5oom. broad. Lower down several other villages follow, as Sekang and Nerbuk. Gurkang-pu is a tributary from the N.E.; in the steep, sometimes perpendicular hill sides are grottoes, obviously used as dwellings; on the top of the hills are ruins of walls and towers_ The district was said to be called Tso-char or Tso-nupa and Tso-sharpa, the western and eastern Tso. Then follow Pinkar and Kamba-karpo, and the valley becomes narrower.

On the left side terrace of the valley is the cottage of Nama-shu in its grove, at 3,8o6m. (12,484 feet), or 855m. below the Kore-la. A little lower down is a village, Nyanyo with gardens to the left or eastern side; the road follows the right side, either in the bottom of the valley or on the slopes. The brook is one of the feeders of the Kali-gandak. The natives called it simply Tsangpo and Tso-sharki-tsangpo. The residency of the nearest chief to the south was called Mentang, one day hence; it is obviously the same as the Loh Mantang of the map: India and adjacent Countries, for 1908; and it is some two days' journey above Muktinath.

From Camp 182 I returned north to the Tsangpo. From Kore-la our old road was left to the right and we travelled to the N.N.W., now with the spongy plain to the east. The ridges and hills north of the water-parting are low and irregular. Several tents were pitched at Choare and Kung-muge, Camp 183, at 4,603m. (15,098 feet).

The next stage to the north crosses excellent ground, with scarce gneiss gravel; to the east are the swampy grazing grounds with tents, flocks and kyangs, to the

I The Pundit of 1873 calls the pass Photu-la and gives it a height of 15,080 feet. Compare Pl. XXIV.