During the next ten days the country was thoroughly explored, and every village of any importance was visited. On the 9th, Manatu was reached without opposition, and from here three columns were despatched into the Wattizai Valley, the inhabitants of which had been largely implicated in the offences on the Thal-Kurram road, and there, in spite of some opposition, the villages of Kandali and Katokomela were burnt to the ground; at the same time some other villages in this valley were attacked from Kurram by a party of Turi levies and were also destroyed. The Wattizai Valley is about six miles long, well cultivated and watered. On the 12th the column marched five miles to Chinarak, distant about eight miles from the stronghold of Zawo, the objective of the expedition. Chinarak is situated on a fairly open and level plateau, surrounded by terraced fields, through which ran numerous water channels, and was almost at the foot of the defile leading to Zawo. At Chinarak the three main routes into the Zaimukht country converge, viz. from Balish Khel, from Torawari, and from Thal by the Sangroba defile, and it may therefore be looked upon as the most important strategical point of the whole valley.
On the 13th, the force, less a small party remaining to guard the camp at Chinarak, moved out to attack Zawo; to this fastness there are three approaches—one by a difficult ravine about seven miles long and ten feet wide, one to the left over a steep spur on the west of the ravine, one to the right over high hills west of the valley of Surmai. The plan adopted was to hold the commanding ground on the right, while the main advance was made by the ravine. There was a certain amount of opposition—the enemy at one place fighting hand-to-hand with the 29th—the advance was much delayed by the ground, and the bed of the defile was found to be excessively difficult; so that when by 4 p.m. the Brigadier-General found himself in possession of the village of Bagh, three and a half miles from Chinarak and four and a half from Zawo, he decided to postpone any further advance till the following day and bivouac at Bagh for the night. Early on the 14th, while Colonel Gordon, with three companies of the 85th, three companies of his own regiment, and two guns, occupied the high ground to the north, flanking the approach to Zawo from Bagh, the main force under General Tytler advanced up the gorge, over increasing difficulties for about a mile, and gained, under a heavy fire, the summit of the pass overlooking the village, or cluster of eight or ten villages, of Zawo, situated amongst terraced fields in a horse-shoe shaped valley. The villages were destroyed, and the force returned that night to Bagh, and thence on the 15th to Chinarak, the retirement having been entirely unmolested.