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I left Yoksun on an expedition to Kinchinjunga on the 7th of January.
The view of Yoksun from this height was very singular: it had the appearance of an enormous deposit banked up against a spur to the south, and mountains to the east, and apparently levelled by the action of water: this deposit seemed as though, having once completely filled the valley of the Ratong, that river had cut a gorge 2000 feet deep between it and the opposite mountain.
I wondered what could have induced the frequenting of such a route to Nepal, when there were so many better ones over Singalelah, till I found from my guide that he had habitually smuggled salt over this pass to avoid the oppressive duty levelled by the Dewan on all imports from Tibet by the eastern passes: he further told me that it took five days to reach Yalloong in Nepal front Yoksun, on the third of which the Kanglanamo pass is crossed, which is open from April to November, but is always heavily snowed.
Leave Yoksun for Kinchinjunga Ascend Ratong valley Salt-smuggling over Ratong Landslips Plants Buckeem Blocks of gneiss Mon Lepcha View Weather View from Gubroo Kinchinjunga, tops of Pundim cliff Nursing Vegetation of Himalaya Coup d'oeil of Jongri Route to Yalloong Arduous route of salt-traders from Tibet Kinchin, ascent of Lichens Surfaces sculptured by snow and ice Weather at Jongri Snow Shades for eyes.
It is evident that the most direct way must be that nearest the mountain-top, and therefore that which reaches the highest accessible elevation on its shoulders, and which, at the same time, dips into the shallowest valleys between those shoulders. The actual distance in a straight line is about fifty miles, from Yoksun to the mart at or near Tashirukpa.
The village and ruined convents of Yoksun lay near the route, and the temples of Doobdi, Catsuperri and Molli, on the Ratong river. On the way I passed groves of the paper-yielding Edgeworthia Gardneri: it bears round heads of fragrant, beautiful, yellow flowers, and would be a valuable acquisition to an English conservatory.
Former capital of Sikkim History of Sikkim Nightingales Campbell departs Tchonpong Edgeworthia Cross Rungbee and Ratong Hoar-frost on plantains Yoksun Walnuts View Funereal cypresses Doobdi Gigantic cypresses Temples Snow-fall Sikkim, etc. Toys.
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