From the summit of the pass, the road descended abruptly into a deep ravine, which originated in a snowy mountain to the south. At the bottom of this ravine, between rocky precipitous banks, ran a considerable torrent, which was crossed by a very frail wooden bridge. Immediately after crossing, the road began to ascend rapidly, rising to an elevation only a few hundred feet lower than the pass from which we had descended, after which, half a mile of nearly level road brought us to our camp at Changar, a small village on a stony hill, of which only one house seemed habitable. A few fields of barley, not yet ripe, separated our tents from the village; these were irrigated by a small streamlet, whose source was a spring on the rocky hill-side a few hundred yards off, shaded by a few rose-bushes and a small clump of juniper-trees.
We remained one day stationary at Changar, to complete some arrangements which were required previous to our leaving the district of Hangarang; and on the 29th we proceeded to ascend the valley of the Zungsam river, intending, if no obstacles were offered, to follow its course and the regular road to Hanle; but in case of obstruction, which there was every reason to apprehend, to adopt the plan which had been already followed both by Gerard and Jacquemont, of crossing the river, encamping on its north bank, and proceeding in a westerly direction along the course of the Piti river to the Parang pass, in which direction we could effect a passage to Hanle without the necessity of entering on the territories under Chinese control.
[Sidenote: BLACK CURRANT. _August, 1847._]
Our road, for about three miles, was undulating, with rather a tendency to descend, but without any abrupt change of level. It lay along the gently sloping side of the ridge, and crossed a good many little ravines. To the right was the crest of the ridge; to the left, the valley of the Zungsam river, which was nearly 2000 feet below, the slope being very precipitous. In many of the ravines, where there was a stream of water, there was a dense jungle of shrubs, which contrasted strongly with the barrenness of the hills. A willow, rose, _Lonicera_, a shrubby _Astragalus_, an _Artemisia_, a _Potentilla_ of large size, and a black currant, closely resembling that of our gardens, were the principal shrubs; and the herbaceous vegetation was the same as in similar places since entering the Tibetan region. The currant, which occurred here for the first time, was quite a new species: its ripe fruit was quite black, and had the size and flavour of the common black currant, with, however, a considerable degree of acidity.