CHOOR DHAR APERTURE
30.875000,77.083300
Description
»At the top of Chor peak amidst the cairns, there is a small aperture in the ground. It is said that if a coin is dropped in the same, the jingling of the coin can be heard for many seconds, a fact pointing to some mysterious vertical passage in the ground. This is not true« (note 1). ETYMOLOGY: So far, I saw the name of this hill or, if you prefer, »most noble and conspicuous object« (note 2) called, spelled or transcribed, edited and printed as Chaur Peak SWAIN (1984: 22) Choor FRASER (1820) Choor Dhar hillwaystravels.tripod.com (accessed 2006.07.01) Choordhar SUD (1985) Chor mountain (note 3) HERVEY (1853, 1: 378); ROBERTS, F S (1897 edited 1898, ch. 41) Chour HERBERT (1825 map) Chor peak SUD, O C (1959 / 1981: 55)Churdhar 3647 India Road Atlas (Eicher Goodearth 2006: 6 A5) »The magnificent Choordhar peak or Choor Chandni, which poetically translates 'Mountain of the Silver Bangle' (note 4) is clearly visible from Barog [note 5], and when the moonlight lavishly pours itself on the slopes of the peak, it appears as though countless shimmering, silver bangles are sliding down in the night« (hillwaystravels.tripod.com/id1.html accessed 2006.07.01). SITUATION: Somewhere »at the top of Chor peak« (SUD 1985: 55) where the districts of Sirmaur (Himachal Pradesh) and Dehra Dun (Uttarakhand) meet at the highest point on the interfluve between the rivers Giri and Tons at elevations (note 6) including 3647 m SWAIN (1984: 22); India Road Atlas (Eicher Goodearth 2006: 6 A5) 3658 m ROBERTS, F S (1897 edited 1898 chapter 41): »close on 12'000 feet high« 3675 m HERVEY, Mrs. (1853, 1: 378): »The exact height is given at 12,056 3/4 feet [3'674.897 m] above the level of the sea, by trigonometrical measurement« (note 7). APPROACH 1849: »Simla is about sixty miles [95 km] from the Chor. The marches areMuhâsu 8 milesFâgoo 6 "Synge or Syhines 8 "Dya or Deeah 8 "Patturnulla 8 "Khugnoo 7 "Surân 10 "and then to the top of the Choor is a very rugges ascent of about five miles [8 km]; the summit being a collection of huge rocks, very difficult to clamber up. The only conveyance adapted tp these last five miles of the road is the hill Dandy, -- a carpet, each end of which is gathered up and closely tied, slung on a long pole, which is carried on the shoulders of two men only at a time. It is more portable than a dhoolie, but less convenient for the traveller; especially the sitting dandies, where he is constrained to sit in the middle of the carpet, -- putting his head and shoulders on one side of the pole, (and above it,) while his legs hang below the opposite side!« (HERVEY 1853, 1: 379-380).APPROACH 1873: »After crossing a stream called the Ghiri, below Fagu, the road passes through beautiful forest and cliff scenery, and for the most part was fairly easy, until the foot of the mountain was reached about six miles from the top, when it became very precipitous and difficult. We were the whole day doing this march, breakfasting in one place and lunching in another higher up. There was a good deal of snow in the shady spots. A few days before we had noticed that the top of the mountain was white, but the sun was still too strong in the daytime for the snow to lie long in exposed parts. The way being too steep for my wife to ride or go in a dandy, we all three walked, or rather climbed, up to the shoulder where our tents were pitched, about a mile from the summit. The forest through which we passed was very beautiful, commencing with dark-green ilex, glistening holly, and sombre brown oak, interspersed with groups of the dainty, graceful, white-stemmed birch, and wreathed with festoons of the scarlet Himalayan vine. As we mounted higher, trees became fewer and the foliage less luxuriant, till at length only oaks were to be seen, their branches twisted into all sorts of weird, fantastic shapes from the strength of the south-west monsoon. Huge rocks became more frequent, covered with lichens and mosses of every shade, from dark-green to brilliant crimson. At length trees and shrubs were left behind, except the red-berried juniper, which grows at a higher elevation here than any other bush, and flourishes in the clefts of the rocks, where nothing else will exist. We got up in time to see the most glorious sunset … There was such a high wind that our small tents had a narrow escape of being blown away. That night the water was frozen in our jugs, and it was quite impossible to keep warm. We were up betimes the next morning, and climbed to the highest peak, where we found breakfast awaiting us and a magnificent view of the Himalayan ranges, right down to the plains on one side and up to the perpetual snows on the other. We descended to the foot of the mountain in the afternoon, and then returned, march by march, to Simla.« CULTURAL HISTORY: The legendary connection to the underworld may reflect the lost tradition of a sacrifice pit. VEGETATION: In May 1815, »Choor appeared nearly covered to the top with various sorts of fir-trees but the top itself, of bare rock, had nothing on it except here and there a spot of snow« (FRASER 1820: 126).
NOTE 1: Liz [Elizabeth] Price (personal correspondence) kindly forwarded the reference to SUD, O C (1985: 55). NOTE 2: »Choor … This mountain is a most noble and conspicuous object in every way; it is the highest peak between the Sutlej and Jumna, short of the Snowy Mountains [Himalaya] and their immediate shoulders. Indeed there is no hill as far as the Alacnunda that nearly approaches it in height. Observations subsequent to this tour have fixed it at 10,688 feet above the plains; it is seen at a great distance from every quarter, and forms an excellent point for observation; it is, moreover, the nucleus whence all the hills around radiate as from a centre. Streams are sent from its face in every direction, which swell the Girree or Pabur rivers; and standing on a height near it (for we did not ascend it), the hue of every ridge was plainly perceived diverging from, or connecting with it, as far as the sight extended« (FRASER 1820: 132-133). NOTE 3: »There is another mountain in the Simla district which commands one of the most extensive views of the mountains of the Himalaya that the mind can conceive. I allude to the Height, called the "Chor," the most elevated of all the Peaks, within a hundred miles« (HERVEY 1853, 1: 378). NOTE 4: Another, less romantic origin of chaur or choor, chor, and chur is from "gaur" (Indic), the Indian bison, related with "cow" (English) and "Kuh" (German). NOTE 5: Barog 30°53'N: 77°06'E (AMS sheet NH43-08 Ambala 1959; India Road Atlas, Eicher Goodearth 2006: 5 H4 H5); not to be confused with the other three places called Barog 31°07'38”N: 77°01'20”E (nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003), AMS sheet NH43-04 Simla 1959), Barog 30°55'N: 76°56'”E (nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003), AMS sheet NH43-08 Ambala 1959) and Barog 30°52'N: 77°13'E (nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003), AMS sheet NH43-08 Ambala 1959). NOTE 6: »The great mountain Choor rises from the banks of the river Girree to the height of 10,560 feet [3'218.7 m]« (FRASER 1820: 293) but unspecified observations »have fixed it at 10,688 feet [3'257.7 m] above the plains« (FRASER 1820: 132). NOTE 7: According to these measurements, the altitude of Churdhar decreases at rates increasing from 2.58 m/a (metres per year) between 1853 and 1897 to 7.91 m/a between 1897 and 1984.
Documents
Bibliography 25/03/2016- Sud, O C 1981.
History
EXPLORATION HISTORY: 1873 October: Frederick Sleigh Lord Roberts of Kandahar narrates the story of »a fortnight's trip to the top of the Chor, a fine mountain sixty-two miles from Simla, and close on 12000 feet high« in the company of an anonymous wife (no name mentioned) and one Colonel Baigrie (ROBERTS, F S 1897 edited 1898: Forty-one years in India.- London: Richard Bentley, chapter 41) but mentions no "aperture" (or so).
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.9 | BAROG TUNNEL | ||
| 0.9 | SOLAN, Happy Valley (Cave near) | ||
| 1.8 | PANCHMUNDA CAVE | ||
| 4.9 | BREWERY TUNNEL | ||
| 6.5 | PANDAVA CAVE, Karool Tibba | ||
| 18.1 | Bhimkund, Pinjaur | ||
| 19.3 | GAMBHAR BRIDGE (Cave near) | ||
| 21.1 | Thour Clefts | ||
| 21.1 | Thour Recess |