On the upper part of the ascent the birch gradually became more and more stunted; it was here almost the only tree, with the exception of a few specimens of _Picea Webbiana_, at the limit of forest a little below the summit. Here the hills were bare and rocky; but the forest did not cease on account of elevation, because on the opposite hill, which had a northern exposure, a shady wood, chiefly consisting of pines, rose to a level considerably higher than that of the pass, which was a depression in the ridge, considerably overtopped by the hills on both sides. The crest of the pass was undulating, and covered with green-sward, among which a few spring plants were in flower; these were a _Corydalis_, an _Anemone_, and _Primula denticulata_. A large patch of snow occupied the northern slope, just below the top.
The view from the summit would have been magnificent had the day been more favourable; but a thick haze rested over the more distant parts of the valley of Kashmir, as well as over the southern mountains in the direction of the plains of India. The southern slope of the range on which I stood was bare, scarcely even a bush being visible; and the Banahal valley, nearly four thousand feet below, appeared as a perfectly level plain, covered with rice-fields and scattered villages, marked by groves of trees. On the descent I followed a very steep rocky ridge. About half-way down, the amygdaloid was replaced by metamorphic slate, and for the remainder of the descent the rocks were alternations of slate, very hard conglomerate, and quartz rock. The dip of these strata was very variable, and on the face of several spurs, at a little distance, sections were exposed, exhibiting enormous flexures. I saw no limestone on the southern face of the pass, except in the valley of Banahal, where there was a good deal of a horizontally stratified limestone, very different in appearance from that on the other side, which, as it was confined to the bottom of the valley, and was there very local, appeared to be of much more recent origin.
After joining the Banahal river, the descent became more gradual. At first, the valley was almost level and quite covered with rice-fields, all under water. The villagers were busy ploughing, both bullocks and men knee-deep in soft mud. Further on, the valley contracted, and cultivation only occurred at intervals. In the narrower parts, the stream was fringed with trees, but the hill-sides were still quite bare. Round the villages there were very fine trees, chiefly walnut, horse-chesnut, and elms, with the ordinary fruit-trees; but the plane and black poplar do not occur, nor are any vines cultivated in the valley. The winter is said to be quite as severe as in Kashmir; and the elevation, so far as I could determine it by the boiling-point of water, is a little greater, the lower villages (in one of which I encamped) being about 5500 feet, while the highest fields are about 6000 feet. In the woods, _Fothergilla_, cherry, sycamore, and horse-chesnut were common, just as in Kashmir. The season was much further advanced than on the north side of the pass, all these trees being fully in leaf, and the horse-chesnut in flower. The greater part of the vegetation was identical with that of Kashmir, but I saw many more species, probably only from the more advanced state of the season. The _Zizyphus_ and rose (_R. Webbiana_) of Kashmir were still common, and the white poplar was wild along the banks of the stream. I did not, however, see _Daphne_ or _Myricaria_. In shady lateral ravines an oak was frequent, the more interesting as I had seen none in Kashmir; it was _Q. floribunda_, a species of the middle zone of the outer Himalaya, which usually occurs at higher levels than _Q. incana_, and lower than _Q. semecarpifolia_.