Gazetteer Of The Rawalpindi District 1893-94

· 1895 · Public domain (published pre-1930) · archive.org ↗

1Rawalpindi District* ] v

2CHAP. L— GEKEEAL DEBCBIPTION. 5

3Taking* the mountain ranges in detail first come the Chapter 1,1

4Murree and Ivahiifca mountains, forming a portion of the *

5outlying EimalajaSj, and extending down as far as Bagham, ^3-eJieral Bescrip-

6soutliwards along the banks of the Jhelum river and out west- ,,

7ward in the Margalla spur which only stops a few miles short ranges.

8of the Kherinuar and of the Kdla Ghitta hills. These hills

9and tliose of Hazara are part of the outer Himalayan system,

10gradually falling in height from the snow peaks of Kashmir

11in the norths clown to the hillocks of Bagham in the south.

12As far as they belong to the Rawalpindi district they Murree and

13consist principally of five main spurs, more or less parallel

14to each other, running in general very sharply down from

15their highest points eastwards to the Jhelum river, and more

16gradually westwards towards the Rawalpindi tahsil. In addi-

17tion to these five main spurs, with innumerable offshoots

18and branches, a lateral spur runs down from near Narrar

19southwards along the bank of the Jhelum through the Ivahuta

20tahsil and Gujar Khan tahsil until it loses itself in low

21liillocks south of Bagham.

22The five chief spurs are known generally as the Murree

23spur, the highest of all on which the Murree Sanitarium is

24situated and which attains an altitude of 7,500 feet, the

25Oharihan spur, a few hundred feet lower, and the Paphundi

26spur over 7,000 feet at its highest point. These three are in

27the Murree tahsi]. In the Kahnta tahsil the Narrar spur runs

28down westward from the grand plateau of the Narrar mountain.

29This is a table land some miles in length and breadth,

306,000 feet above sea-level and just above the Jhelum river to

31which it falls in a succession of grand and almost precipitous

32steps. This mountain with its massive square front and

33precipitous sides is a very fine and striking feature in the

34landscape. Precipitous on three sides the spur sinks very

35gradually from east to west until it strikes the Scan river,

36which cuts through the western end of the spur, and forms a

37very wild and picturesque gorge at the southern end of which

38is situated the renowned old Gakhar fort of Pharwala which

39was taken by Babar, and which is still the seat of a very

40celebrated and very much decayed family of Admal Gakhavs.

41Further south again is a lower spur running from Utrinna,

42overlooking the Jhelum down towards Kahnta. This is much

43smaller and shorter than the others, and its greatest height

44is 8,763 feet. . These hills and the valleys between them are

45ofteii extremely beautiful, the higher- spurs are covered witli

46a very varied growth. Only a few deodars are to be found

47in Murree and these were specially planted and tended, but

48there are many very hand so me trees of the silver fir species;

49the ilex oak, the hill oak, the blue pine, chestnuts, wild cherry,

50some fine ash trees, maples, &c., UBiting to form very beautiful

51forests on the Murree and Paphundi spurs. The lower hills

52are covered in many places with the green pine, the hill oak, and

53lower down again we find hangar^ hhair and phalda (acacias)