Himalayan Journals — Volume 2

A red-robed figure hurries down Tendong’s rocky ridge, followed by Lepchas with bows, quivers, and knives flashing in the sun. Joseph Dalton Hooker fears the Dewan’s men have come to stop him—until his companions cry, “The Tchebu Lama!”

In mid-19th-century Sikkim, naturalist Hooker sets out from Dorjiling toward the upper Teesta valley, where political resistance and rough mountain paths threaten to delay his expedition. With forty-two companions to provision, he must press on despite the Dewan’s obstruction and the country’s scant supplies. The way leads over Tendong’s forested heights and into landscapes of immense oaks, orchids, landslips, and striking changes in vegetation—each ascent bringing new questions about the land and its people. How far can Hooker travel when the road, the weather, and the authorities all seem against him?

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