Lhasa to Nalanda - journey time by foot

[L. A. Nadybal]

Dear Mr. Stern,

These extracts from books I have might help:

1.  "The total travelling distance between Punakha (Bhutan)and Ramgamatty
[across one pass and southward down a valley] on the northern bank of the
Brahmaputra is 188 miles, which we effected in fifteen days".

2.  "The distance travelled from Dewangiri [Bhutan, on Indo/Bhutan border,
now called Samdrup Jongkhar] to Punakha [by a valley route north to
Tashigang then west across mountain passes] was rather more than 250 miles,
and the number of marches made was 26 - giving an average of about nine
miles, five furlongs each march."

> From Report on Bhutan, by R. B. Pemberton, 1838.

3.  Manning leaves Lhasa April 9, 1812 towards Cooch Bihar:
    Arr Phari Dzong 1 May
    Arr Tazigong 31 May via Rapasay, Bida-Balk, Matakah, Dumgong
    Arr Kantalbari 3 Jun
    Arr Cooch Bihar 10 Jun (two day stay at Kantalbari)

> From Narratives of Mission of George Bogle to Tibet and Thomas Manning to
Lhasa, Clements Markham, 1875.

4.  November 7, 1881 Sarat Chandra Das leaves Darjeeling for Tashilumpo, Tibet
    December 9, 1881 arrives

> From Journey to Lhasa and Central Tibet, S. C. Das, 1902

I hope these together give you the rough idea of the walks along the
roughly parallel route that you described in the historical period
concerned.  I don't think much changed between walking in the 7th century
and walking in the 19th.

Regards
Len Nadybal
Washington DC










At 10:55 PM 02/15/2001 -0500, you wrote:
>I'm hoping that somebody on the list can answer this question. About how
>long would it take to walk from Lhasa or its environs to Nalanda in Bihar?
>References to 20th century journeys by foot in either direction between some
>specified location in India to or from the Lhasa area would help , such as
>books about Tibetan refugees' experiences.
>
>The aim is to form an idea of how long it might have taken the Buddhist monk
>zaantarakSita to travel to Tibet, and return in the 7th century.
>
>
>Elliot M. Stern
>552 South 48th Street
>Philadelphia, PA 19143-2029
>United States of America
>Telephone: 215-747-6204
>email: emstern at bellatlantic.net
>