CHAPTEE XVI
THE MARKET OF GYANEMA, THE SUTLEJ VALLEY
AND THE KINGDOM OF THE AMAZONS
T r a v e l l in g from Tirthapuri towards Gyanema one
rises twice to a height of some 16,500 ft., viz., first
over the Chitumb Pass and next over an outlying
spur of Chhujathol. There are only two spots where
camping is possible, because of the water-supply:
one is on the banks of a small stream and the other is
by a puddle. There is absolutely no other water anywhere
else, and yet in one map, which I will not specify,
the country is cheerfully represented as full of rivers.
I t fell to our lot, of course, to pitch by the puddle,
and we should all have fallen ill to a certainty had not
a sentry continually watched the trickle of water and
regulated the filling of vessels and the watering of all
animals. The final approach to Gyanema is over a
perfectly level plain, and one sees the fort named
after that place from a great distance, as it is situated
in a commanding position. All the buildings are now
in ruins, but there is enough to show that in the
past the place must have been quite formidable.
This plain is a plateau of roughly the same elevation
as the one further north, in which are the Holy Lakes,
and which stretches to Gartok and the west. The
Gyanema plateau runs westward past the market of
Shibchilam and along the Sutlej valley, commencing
at a height of about 15,000 ft. and gradually sloping