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The two Catsuperri temples occupy a spur 445 feet above the lake, and 6,485 feet above the sea; they are poor, and only remarkable for a miserable weeping-willow tree planted near them, said to have been brought from Lhassa. The monks were very civil to me, and offered amongst other things a present of excellent honey.
These have various claims upon the devout: thus, Tassiding, Doobdi, Changachelling, and Pemiongchi, are celebrated for their antiquity, and the latter also for being the residence of the head Lama; Catsuperri for its lake; Raklang for its size, etc.
Ratong river below Mon Lepcha Ferns Vegetation of Yoksun, tropical Araliaceae, fodder for cattle Rice-paper plant Geology of Yoksun Lake Old temples Funereal cypresses Gigantic chait Altars Songboom Weather Catsuperri Velocity of Ratong Worship at Catsuperri lake Scenery Willow Lamas and ecclesiastical establishments of Sikkim Tengling Changachelling temples and monks Portrait of myself on walls Block of mica-schist Lingcham Kajee asks for spectacles Hee-hill Arrive at Little Rungeet At Dorjiling Its deserted and wintry appearance.
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.
South-west, the long spurs of Molli and Catsuperri, each crowned with convents or temples, descended from Singalelah; and parallel to them on the south; but much longer and more lofty, was the great mountain range north of the Kulbait, with the temples and convents of Pemiongchi, and Changachelling, towering in the air.
These structures are said to be common in Tibet, but I saw no other in Sikkim. On the 14th January I left Yoksun for the lake and temples of Catsuperri, the former of which is by much the largest in Sikkim.
Looking west from the summit, no fewer than ten monastic establishments with their temples, villages and cultivation, were at once visible, in the valley of the Great Rungeet, and in those of its tributaries; namely, Changachelling, Raklang, Dholi, Molli, Catsuperri, Dhoobdi, Sunnook, Powhungri, Pemiongchi and Tassiding, all of considerable size, and more or less remarkable in their sites, being perched on spurs or peaks at elevations varying from 3000 to 7000 feet, and commanding splendid prospects.
I constantly found swarms of children about the Lamaseries, who were invariably called nephews and nieces. Thence I marched to Changachelling, first descending to the Tengling river, which divides the Catsuperri from the Molli ridge, and which I crossed. Tree-ferns here advance further north than in any other part of Sikkim.
Ascending very steeply for several thousand feet, we reached a hollow on the Catsuperri spur, beyond which the lake lies buried in a deep forest. A Lama from the adjacent temple accompanied us, and I found my people affecting great solemnity as they approached its sacred bounds; they incessantly muttered "Om mani," etc., kotowed to trees and stones, and hung bits of rag on the bushes.
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