A NOTE ON THE NEPAL HIMALAYA

Lieut.-Colonel KENNETH MASON

THE Great Himalaya in Nepal is drained by three large rivers, the Karnali, the Gandak, and the Kosi, and their tributaries. It is convenient geographically to divide the range into three sections, with relation to these river-basins: from Api (23,400 feet) on the west to Dhaulagiri (26,810 feet) inclusive, near the Kali Gandaki gorge, on the east; from Dhaulagiri, exclusive, to the Ganesh Himal, inclusive, or the Trisuli Gandaki gorge; and from the Trisuli Gandaki gorge to Kangchenjunga, exclusive. These three sections may conveniently be named the Karnali section, the Gandak section, and the Kosi section. In each of them the range has been pierced by the head-waters of the three rivers, so that the crest-zone has been carved into great massifs which have been left standing more or less as isolated blocks, south of the Indo-Tibetan watershed (see Longitudinal Section of the Himalaya, p. 82).

The Great Himalaya enters Nepal on the north-west, immediately south of Khojarnath, and rises at once to the remarkable group of Api and Nampa. It passes out of Nepal beyond the Tamar tributary of the Kosi by the still more remarkable massif of Kangchenjunga, on the borders of Sikkim. North of the main axis is a subsidiary zone of high summits, in places seemingly in contact with the Great Himalayan crest-zone, in other places apparently distinct. Generally the Great Himalayan crest-zone is the higher; occasionally the northern zone carries higher summits than the southern. Many of the great rivers of Nepal cut into the Great Himalayan crest-zone, and some cut through it; a few only—the main courses of the Kali Gandaki, the Buri Gandaki (or Buriganga), the Trisuli Gandaki, the Sun Kosi (Po Ghu), and the Arun (Phung Ghu and Yaru Ghu)—drain areas behind both crest-zones. The northern zone of summits is considered by some to be a continuation of the Ladakh range; the continuity has never been proved either geographically or geologically.²⁰ Some of it lies in Tibet and some in Nepal; very little has been examined at close quarters, and the following notes are derived from a study of the new maps of the Survey of India, together with the old accounts of Indian explorers. In the whole great system of the Nepal Himalaya, including both crest-zones, there are—excluding the Kangchenjunga group, which more properly belongs to Sikkim—three known summits over 27,000 feet, seven over 26,000, and fourteen over 25,000 feet. Excellent as these maps are, therefore, for the greater part of Nepal, the immediate neighbourhood of the great crest-zones is undoubtedly generalized.

In the Western, or Karnali, section the Seti river has cut back into the Great Himalayan zone between the Api-Nampa group and that of Saipal (Maps 62 F, G), but not through it, and has not captured the drainage north of it. The trough between the Great Himalayan and northern crest-zones here is drained by the Humla Karnali, which is separated in this part of its course from the Manasarowar lake-basin by Gurla Mandhata (25,355 feet) of the northern crest- zone (62 F). The Humla Karnali, the Mugu Karnali, and the Langu, draining this trough between the two crest-zones from longitude 8i° to 83° 30', after collecting numerous tributaries (Maps 62 F, G, J, K, O), pass diagonally through the Great Himalayan axis by separate channels and unite near Galwa in the Jumla district (62 G), only 5,000 feet above sea-level. The Karnali channels through the Great Himalaya are unique; no other Himalayan rivers carve such wide courses through the great range, and no others, as far as we know, have destroyed so large a section of the range.¹

East of the Karnali, the Bheri and the Thuli Bheri (Barbung Khola) cut into, but do not completely pierce the crest-zone of the Great Himalaya (62 P). The waters of the Seti, the Karnali, the Bheri, and their tributaries, unite before passing the outer Himalaya and enter the United Provinces of India as the Gogra.

 

The central, or Gandak section of the Nepal Himalaya is drained by the Gandak tributaries, of which the chief are the Bari Gad, the Kali (or Krishna) Gandaki, the Seti Gandaki, the Marsyandi, the Buri Gandaki (or Buriganga), and the Trisuli Gandaki. In it are situated the two great mountain groups of Annapurna and Himal- chuli, the former separated from the Dhaulagiri group by the deep gorge of the Kali Gandaki, south of sacred Muktinath. The Great Himalayan and northern crest-zones seem to be in contact here, the Kali Gandaki cutting a deep trench through both of them in the Mustang salient of Nepal (62 O), and rising within twenty miles of the Tsangpo of Tibet, not far from Tradom. The Marsyandi river separates the Annapurna and Himalchuli groups (71 D), drains a narrow trough, 14,000 feet deep, behind the former, and has scored the southern face of the northern range with deep glacial ravines. East of the Marsyandi the two ranges are again in contact, from Himlung Himal on the northern zone to Himalchuli on the southern. Several summits rise above 24,000 feet in the region of contact, Manaslu 26,658 feet, Himalchuli 25,801 feet, an unnamed one of 25,705, and others.

East of Himalchuli is the Buri Gandaki (Buriganga), which has cut through both zones, and east of all, in fact a convenient boundary to this section, is the Trisuli Gandaki,²¹ which drains a very large area behind the northern zone and rises within fifteen miles of the Tsangpo (71 H). Between the Buri Gandaki and the Trisuli Gandaki is the group of Ganesh Himal. All these great rivers are brought together at Gau Ghat (72 A) within the Himalayan region and form the Narayani, or Great Gandak, which enters India at the boundary between the United Provinces and Bihar.

The Eastern, or Kosi, section of the Nepal Himalaya is drained by the seven principal affluents of the Kosi: the Indrawati, the Sun Kosi, the Tamba Kosi, the Likhu Kosi, the Dudh Kosi, the Arun, and the Tamar. These drain the Great Himalaya from Gosainthan to Kang- chenjunga.²² The Indrawati does not pierce the Great Himalaya (71 H); the Sun Kosi pierces it and, as the Po Ghu, drains a considerable area in Tibet (71 L). The Tamba Kosi (71 I) traverses the southern zone, but the Tibetan branches, the Kang Ghu and the Rongshar Ghu, are small. The Likhu Kosi (or Likhu Khola, 72 I) only drains the southern slopes of the Great Himalaya, as do the head tributaries of the Dudh Kosi, which collect the drainage of the great glaciers of the Mahalungur Himal and the district south of Mount Everest (72 I).

The Arun (72 M) cuts a^gorge east of Makalu (27,790 feet) and its Tibetan tributaries, the Phung Ghu (71 H, L, P) on the west, and the Yaru Ghu (71 P, 77 D) on the east, drain an enormous area behind the northern zone. In one place the waters of the Phung Chu are within ten miles of the Tsangpo, and the Tibetan basin of the Arun river extends from longitude 85° 45' to longitude 89° and possibly beyond.

The Tamar Kosi appears to have cut through the southern but not the northern zone, though it is difficult to place the southern zone here with any certainty. The immense rainfall that is brought to Eastern Nepal by the Bay of Bengal branch of the south-west monsoon has largely destroyed the crest-zone here, and we begin to observe the physiographical change in the features that is so marked in Sikkim. Kangchenjunga therefore appears even more isolated than the Great Himalayan massifs farther west, and nearer to the plains of India, owing to the destruction of the outer Siwalik range. Like the waters of the Karnali and the Gandak, the seven rivers of the Kosi and their tributaries unite within the Himalaya to form one great river, the Sapt Kosi, before passing the outer range to enter the province of Bihar. Farther east, in Sikkim and Western Bhutan, the rivers rush impetuously to the plains in their separate channels, unimpeded by outer ranges.

 

Until recently our knowledge of the Nepal Himalaya was very limited. Observers had fixed the positions and heights of the highest summits; and Indian explorers had made journeys of considerable interest but under great difficulty, along the gorges of the range. Residents and visitors to Khatmandu had questioned the Nepalese and written accounts of the mountains and their general structure. The Mount Everest Expeditions and the Flight Expedition have taught us much of a small portion of the range; and the survey, carried out from 1924 to 1927, has given us good maps of the greater part of Nepal, and enabled us to make a provisional grouping of the mountains systematically.

The illustrations selected from Captain Morris's collection show distant views of a part of the Nepal Himalaya, photographed, it is believed, for the first time. Though not identifiable for certain, it appears that the first shows the western extension of the Dhaulagiri Himal, immediately north of the Baglung district, and shown on the Survey of India map, 62 P, as containing the peaks of Putha Hiun- chuli (23,750 feet), Churen Himal (24,158 feet) and others not named.¹ This part of the range, in the Karnali section, is continuous. The known summits on it, which for convenience may be provisionally called 'the Dhaulagiri Group', are shown on p. 85.

According to Captain Morris's information, Dhaulagiri itself at the eastern end of the group is shown in the second illustration, together with Annapurna and Macha Puchar. According to the Survey of India map these two last lie to the east of the Kali Gandaki gorge. Both are situated on the Annapurna Himal, which is the western part of the Gandak section of the range, and lies between the Kali Gandaki and the Marsyandi (or Madi Gandaki) rivers. What I have provisionally called Annapurna I in the list below (26,504 feet; xxxix of the old Survey of India records) is on the east of the Kali Gandaki what Dhaulagiri is on the west. About thirteen miles east of the river, which is here flowing at below 9,000 feet, Annapurna I rises almost sheer to over 26,000 feet; about ten miles to the west of the river Dhaulagiri does the same. The eastern extension of the Annapurna Himal is sometimes known in Nepal as the Lamjung Himal. On Map 62 P 'Machhapuchhare', 22,958 feet, is shown on a ridge projecting southwards from the centre of the Annapurna Himal. The Macha Puchar of Captain Morris appears to the west of his ‘Annapurna'. On the map it is west of Annapurna II, but east of Annapurna I. There is thus some difficulty in identifying on the map the actual summits photographed, especially as the photograph does not show another summit above 26,000 feet between 'Machar Puchar' and Dhaulagiri. The known summits of what may be called the Annapurna Group are shown on p. 86.

Dhaulagiri Group

 

On the map facing p. 86, which I have drawn to scale from the1924-7 surveys of Nepal, and layered to show altitudes at 5,000 fee interval, the extraordinary break in the double crest-zone made by the Kali Gandaki is well seen. The approach of the two crest-zones in the neighbourhood of Dhaulagiri (14),²³ and the trough between the two, north-west of Dhaulagiri, drained by the Langu Karnali (2), is also well shown. It is also interesting to notice the deep trenches of the Marsyandi (8) and the Buri Gandaki (9) and the contact of the two crest-zones north of Himalchuli (18). The northernmost feeders of the Kali Gandaki, Buri Gandaki and Marsyandi have not been explored or mapped, nor the southern feeders of the Matsang Tsangpo (12), and it is not possible to trace these latter tributaries across the high plateau-land north of the axis.

 

 

Annapurna Group

 

 

The gorge of the Kali Gandaki through the great Himalaya is of interest to the human as well as the physical geographer. High up under the cliffs of the Great Himalaya lies the sacred shrine of Muktinath, about six miles east of Kagbeni on the Kali Gandaki, and about 2,330 feet higher. Thousands of pilgrims visit the shrine every year, Muktinath ranking with Gosainthan, Pashpati, and Ridi as one of the four great places of Hindu sanctity and sin-remission in Nepal. The main pilgrimage takes place in August.

No European, as far as our records go, has ever passed along the valley of the Kali Gandaki, unless the Jesuit fathers, Stephen Cacella and John Cabral,²⁴ did so on their way to or from Tibet, in 1629-31. For this reason it is of particular interest to follow the route report of the explorer Hari Ram made in 1873 on the new maps. Hari Ram came from the west, crossing to the Bheri valley south-east of Jumla (62 K). He followed up the Thuli Bheri or Barbung Khola, crossed the Diji Pass (or Batali Patau) (height 16,879) ^a little to the northeast of the Mukut Himal (62 P), and reached Kagbeni on the 7th September 1873. He gives the height of this place as 8,953 feet. His report continues:¹

From Kagbeni I made a trip to Muktinath, about 11,284 feet above the sea, for a day, to see the temple and the country about it. About a hundred feet to east of the temple is a spring with a sulphurous smell which enters a cistern from which the water runs out from 108 spouts, under each of which every devotee passes. The water collecting in a trough below passes out in two streams which flowing to north and south of the temple meet to the west, thus encircling the temple with water. About 600 or 700 feet from the temple, to the south, is a small mound with a little still water at its base, having a sulphurous smell. From a crevice in this mound at the water's edge, rises a flame about a span above the surface. The people of the place told me that the water sometimes increases in quantity sufficiently to flow into the crevice, the flames then disappear for a while and there is a gurgling noise, a report, and the flames burst up and show again. This spot is called Chume Giarsa by the Bhots. To the north-west of the temple, about 350 yards, is a Gom-fia with about 30 or 40 resident Lamas. To the east and southeast of Muktinath, about 2 miles, are lofty snowy mountains extending in a north-east and south-west direction, where rises the stream which flows by Muktinath to the north, taking in the temple water and joining the Kali Gandak river at Kagbeni.

On the 9th, I returned to Kagbeni, and on the 10th started with my party, following up the river Kali Gandak. About 6 miles from Kagbeni I crossed a small stream coming from Damudarkund, along which the Loh Mantang boundary runs to the east, and from the junction with the Kali Gandak follows up the latter in a northerly direction. I here left the river which above this flows through a very confined valley. To the west about 2 miles is a snowy range. There are forests of cedar below the snows: no other trees are to be found. On the 11th I went to Khambasumbha village. The road, which keeps to the hill-side, is broad, and there is a great deal of traffic on it.

On the 12th I went to Changrang village [on Map 62 O, Charang], crossing the Chungi pass, about 11,000 feet above the sea, on a spur from the snows. Changrang consists of 30 houses and a fort, the winter residence of the Loh Mantang Raja. A road, chiefly used by pilgrims, from Muktinath by Damudarkund, crosses the Kali Gandak by a ford about 2 miles east of this and joins the other from Kagbeni to Loh Mantang here. It can be ridden over on horseback; the ground over which it passes is not rugged nor high, but there is a scarcity of water and no habitations are met with.

 

On the 13th, after a march of 7 ½ miles, I reached Loh Mantang [map, Mustang or Lho Mantang]. Loh Mantang is situated in the centre of a plain, about 11,905 feet above sea-level, between two small streams which meet a little before entering the Kali Gandak, distant about 2 miles; the plain is irrigated by channels. Loh Mantang is enclosed by a wall of white earth and small stones, about 6 feet thick and 14 feet high, forming a square with a side of ½ mile in length, and having an entrance by means of a gate to the east. In the centre is the Raja's palace consisting of 4 stories, about 40 feet in height, and the only building to be seen from the outside. In the NE. corner of the enclosure is a gom-pa containing copper gilt figures and 250 Lamas. There are about 60 other houses, two-storied, and about 14 feet in height, forming streets and lanes. Drinking water is brought in by means of a canal, and this overflowing makes the interior slushy; and since there is always an accumulation of filth the smell is very offensive. Since no census is taken I cannot say how many people there are in the place, but they appeared to be numerous.

Besides the permanent residents there are always numbers of traders from Tibet, and Nepal, who either exchange their goods here or take them to dispose of at Lhasa or Nepal. The trade in salt and grain does not extend very far north. Trade is chiefly carried on by Thaklis, a class of traders of mixed origin, who have the privilege of going to Lhasa and they even go to Calcutta for the purchase of goods. The Raja, who is a Bhot, collects a revenue from all sources of about 10,000 or 12,000 rupees a year, out of which he pays about 2,000 or 3,000 yearly to Nepal from the land revenue, and 10 per cent, of the taxes levied on goods brought from across the northern frontier, to the Lhasa Government.

The indications of sulphur springs and thermal activity along the axis of the Great Himalaya is interesting at the present time in view of the small lake, 560 feet by 440 feet, at an altitude of 18,090 feet above sea-level, shown on the Vertical' photographs taken on the Mount Everest Flight.¹

From Mustang Hari Ram crossed the Photu La, a pass which he definitely states is on the boundary between Tibet and Nepal. The modern map seems to be of doubtful accuracy at this point and certainly does not agree, as it has done up to this point, with the scanty details given by Hari Ram. Except for this traveller's very brief description we have no account of the country between Mustang and Tradom, while the whole country on either side of the Mustang salient is unexplored. It seems, however, certain that tributaries of the Kali Gandaki drain a considerable portion of the Tibetan side of the Great Himalaya, owing to the fact that the thrice-sacred 'saligram' is found in abundance all down the Kali Gandaki river in Mustang. The 'shaligram' is the ammonite fossil of the Jurassic Tethys.¹

 

Postscript

A rough draft of my note on the Nepal Himalaya was sent to Captain Morris for his comments. The following interesting note on the question of Macha Puchar is his reply:

‘The Editor's note in amplification of my paper describes very clearly the general structure of the Nepal Himalaya. There is little for me to add except to echo Professor Mason's warning as to the exactness of the new Nepal maps. I can definitely state from my personal knowledge of such parts of the country as I have been allowed to visit from time to time that, quite apart from the elevated portions of the Great Himalaya, the topography of some of the lower parts of the country is shown inaccurately. I understand that a great deal of the survey was carried out by means of the plane- table, so that extreme accuracy of topographical detail can hardly be expected; but, as the result of eighteen months' constant use of these sheets in the checking of routes throughout the country, though not, of course, on the ground, I find the greatest inaccuracy in the spelling of place-names.²

'The Editor points out that the peak stated by me to be Macha Puchar does not correspond with its position on the map relative to Annapurna I. I can only add that I checked its position on the ground, not with one man, but with several; and that I have again shown the photograph to a number of my men who all state that this peak is quite definitely Macha Puchar. Machar Puchar is probably the peak best known by name to the inhabitants of Central Nepal, on account of its very distinctive double summit, which is clearly visible in my photograph. The name of the mountain is frequently mentioned in songs and stories, and the following Nepalese custom is of interest in this connexion.

'Amongst all the tribes of Nepal a man must take particular care never to touch the wives of his younger brothers (buwari), nor even their clothes in passing. Should he inadvertently do so a simple purificatory ceremony must be performed. It is the idea underlying this custom that has given the names Jethaju (husband's eldest brother) and Buwari (younger brother's wife) to the two isolated peaks of Macha Puchar. For as a jethaju should avoid his buwari, so are the twin peaks of the mountain eternally separated.²⁵

'Finally, it should be noted that in Nepali Macha denotes "a fish", and puchar "a tail": hence Macha Puchar comes to have the meaning of "The Fish-tailed". In the Nepali script the two names are invariably written separately and the transliteration Macha Puchar is, I think, to be preferred to that of Machhapuchhare, which is that used on the present edition of the Survey map. The Royal Asiatic Society's system of transliteration, which has been used by Professor R. L. Turner in his Nepali Dictionary, and also by me in my new "Gurkha Handbook", is probably the most satisfactory means of transcribing Nepali words, as it is that now generally used by all who have dealings with Gurkhas and Nepal; but I must avoid starting a linguistic argument. I have, I fear, rather strayed from the point and it remains only for me to add that in my own mind I have not the slightest doubt that the peak I have so marked in the photograph really is Macha Puchar.'

In view of this decisive opinion held by Captain Morris, it is only possible to conclude that the name Machhapuchhare is incorrectly placed and incorrectly spelt on the Survey map; and it seems likely that Machar Puchar is in reality one of the great summits of the Annapurna Himal, possibly Annapurna I. The positions of these points on the Annapurna Himal and their heights are from accurate primary triangulation; but as yet we cannot be certain of their names.

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