Though the river of Banahal is a tributary of the Chenab, yet the district has always been considered as a dependency of Kashmir, from which it is only a short day's journey distant, while for several days in descending towards the Chenab, the country is almost uninhabited. Halting one day at Banahal to change my porters, I made three marches to Nasmon, on the right bank of the Chenab, following the course of the Banahal river during the first and part of the second march, but afterwards leaving it, on account of its increasing ruggedness, to cross the range on the left hand by a pass about 8000 feet above the sea, which overhangs the valley of the Chenab. The bounding spurs which hem in the Banahal valley descend almost perpendicularly upon the Chenab, and dip at last very abruptly to that river. At first, large masses of snow were visible at the sources of all the lateral valleys, but lower down the elevation was not sufficient, and the hills were bare. After leaving the last village of Banahal, the bottom of the valley was for some time level and covered with fine forest, consisting chiefly of magnificent trees of _Celtis_, elm, and alder; the others were two species of Acer, _Fraxinus_, _Morus_, _Populus ciliata_, and a willow. _Fothergilla_ now grew to a small tree, and _Marlea_ made its appearance, the first indication of an approach to a hot climate. Soon, the banks of the river became rocky, and left no passage, so that the road ascended on the right bank, and lay at a considerable elevation on the hill-sides, looking down upon a richly wooded and often rocky glen. The hills were steep and generally bare, but the ravines were often well wooded. _Pinus excelsa_ occurred occasionally; _Quercus floribunda_ was common, and _Q. lanata_ made its appearance.
Before leaving the Banahal river, I had got down to about 4000 feet, meeting latterly with some familiar plants of the warmer zone: _Pinus longifolia_ formed dry woods, _Cedrela Toona_, a fig, _Albizzia mollis_, and last of all, _Dalbergia Sissoo_. Still, most of the plants of the upper part of the valley accompanied me throughout; even the hoary oak had not disappeared, and the general appearance of the vegetation was very different from what it would have been at the same elevation further east, the plants of a hot climate being chiefly such as delight in a dry heat, and are capable of enduring a considerable amount of winter cold, provided the summer temperature be sufficiently elevated. It was evident that the temperature was considerably lower than it would have been at the same height in the Sutlej valley, and I drew the same inference with regard to the humidity, from the appearance of a number of dry-climate plants; for instance, a yellow spinous _Astragalus_, a _Dianthus_, and _Eremurus_, an Asphodeleous genus common in Kunawar, and other dry valleys of the Himalaya.