yesterday and the granite summit of' which forms three long peaks, fringed with firs protruding from their northern side. In the sun the burnt grass is the colour of sandstone, against which the grey mountain ridge stands out effectively with its dark border of firs. The white and bluish-grey ribbon of the Kiito gol, covered with ice, disappears among the mountains in the north. I said goodbye to a group of lamas who had assembled to see me off, no longer scared by the craniometer. On the hill in front of his house I could see the tall figure of the Thumu mounting his horse in the midst of lamas and laymen, who bowed before him with outstretched hands. We rode westward over the little ridge, at the foot of which lay the monastery, dividing the Kiito and Hrar gol. A praying site stands at its summit with two huge heaps of poles and thin trees. Descending a steep slope, we reached the bottom of the narrow valley of the Hrar gol. Its course was SSW—NNE, almost S—N. To the south we saw some wooded hills and mountains and far to the S the gorge seems to be closed by a bright, snow-covered mountain, which the Thumu called »Hanshoru». A bridlepath leads along the gorge of the Hrar gol to Sining which is said to be 12 —15 days' march distant. There is said to be a large pass.
After riding for a few minutes down the river, we turned to the west along a narrow side-gorge leading up to a pass that was visible from its beginning. It is of no great height, but the ascent is steep. At the place where the road leads up to the Zartung pass, a track goes westward. It is said to lead to Khungeiza-Suchow in 4 days. We crossed several small passes and the road sometimes ran through unpopulated districts. It cannot be traversed in winter. The pass remains at the same height for about a mile, the road leading over grassy
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