National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

crossed the range is Pundit Krishna, when he traversed the Khalamba-la; but Mr.
Littledale reached the Goring-la (19 587), which is more to the east. He speaks
of the magnificent range of the Ninchen-Tangla, as a succession of snow-clad peaks
and glaciers, partially hidden in clouds and vapour, which added to their size and
grandeur, while above all towered, with cliffs of appalling steepness, the great peak
of Charimaru, 24 153 feet high . . . This I believe to be the whole of the know-
ledge we now possess of this most interesting range of mountains. Commencing at the
knot of Kailas, it forms the northern boundary of the Tsanpu valley to about the
90th meridian, and then turns north-east, so as to become the eastern boundary of
the Chang, while on its eastern slopes are the headwaters of the three great rivers
of Salwin, Mekong, and Yang-tsze.»

»The position of this northern Himalayan chain from Kailas to the Goring-la
of Littledale, a distance of 600 miles, requires to be explored. It has once been
crossed by the Khalamba pass, and a second pass was reached, but not crossed by
Mr. Littledale. The Pundit Nain Sing traced the line of its peaks for 180 miles
from a great distance, and Mr. Littledale gazed with admiration on the beautiful
outline of a snowy ridge which shot up into the sky to a height of 24 153 feet, to
the east of the Goring-la — the peak of Charimaru. This is the sum of our know-
ledge respecting this range of lofty mountains, which is alike the northern range of
the Himalayan system and the southern buttressing range of the great Chang or
Tibetan plateau, as the Kuen-lun is the northern buttressing range. A more accurate
knowledge of its configuration is a great geographical desideratum. Its peaks along
the hundreds of miles of its extent should be measured, its passes should be ex-
plored, the nature and extent of its glaciers ascertained, as well as its geological
formation, and its relation to the great interior plateau. Here, then, is a piece of
work which is well calculated to arouse the ambition of future explorers . . . Run-
ning in a north-easterly direction from the Charimaru Peak, the south-eastern scarp
of Tibet, with the meridional chains which branch from it, offers an equally important
field of work to the explorer.»

This mile-stone in the history of exploration in Transhimalaya is of great im-
portance. Markham regards the Kara-korum and Transhimalaya as one and the
same mountain fold a view which is to a certain extent correct. He again expresses
the great desirability of exploration of this unknown part of Tibet. It is characteristic
of the English standpoint that Hodgson is made responsible for the name Nien-
chen-tang-la, a name that is said, by Markham and others, to have been »given» by
Hodgson. We have seen above that Hodgson has nothing whatever to do with the
original appearance of this name, which was introduced by Klaproth from Chinese
sources. Markham regards the Transhimalaya as a »range» just as all his prede-
cessors, a mistake that must be forgiven as only a portion of the system was known.
He says that Pundit Krishna was the only traveller who had crossed this range,
which is also a mistake, for Nain Sing and Littledale had also crossed it in its east-