hich is about 2 miles in length.

The Almora hill was almost completely denuded of trees by the Gurkhas,
but the ridge has since become well wooded. Deodar, pine, _tun_,
horse-chestnut, and alder trees are plentiful, and throughout the
cantonment grows a spiraea hedge.

The avifauna of Almora is very interesting, consisting as it does
of a strange mixture of hills and plains birds. Among the latter the
most prominent are the grey-necked crow, the koel, the myna, the
king-crow and the magpie-robin. In the spring paradise flycatchers
are very abundant.

From Almora the road to the snowy range runs over an almost treeless
rocky mountain called Kalimat, which rises to a height of 6500 feet.
From Kalimat the road descends to Takula--16 miles from Almora. Then
there is a further descent of 11 miles to Bageswar--a small town
situated on the Sarju river. The inhabitants of Bageswar lead a sleepy
existence for 360 days in the year, awakening for a short time in
January, when a big fair is held, to which flock men of Dhanpur,
Thibetans, Bhotias, Nepalese, Garwalis, and Kumaunis. These bring
wool, borax, and skins, which they exchange for the produce of the
plains.

From Bageswar the Pindari road is almost level for 22 miles, and runs
alongside the Sarju. At first the valley is wide and well cultivated.
Here and there are studded villages, of which the houses are roofed
with thatching composed of pine needles.

At a place about 16 miles above Bageswar the valley of the Sarju
suddenly contracts into a gorge with precipitous cliffs.

The scenery here is superb. The path passes through a shady glade
in the midst of which rushes the roaring, foaming river. The trunks
and larger branches of the trees are covered with ferns and hanging
moss. The landscape might well be the original for a phase of a
transformation scene at a pantomime. In the midst of this glade the
stream is crossed by a wooden bridge.

At a spot 2 miles above this the path, leaving the Sarju, takes a
sharp turn to the left, and begins a steep ascent of 5 miles up the
Dhakuri mountain. The base of this hill is well wooded. Higher up
the trees are less numerous. On the ridge the rhododendron and oak
forest alternates with large patches of grassland, on which wild
raspberries and brightly-coloured alpine flowers grow.

From the summit of the Dhakuri mountain a magnificent panorama
delights the eye. To the north is a deep valley, above which the
snow-clad mounta