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204 (b) Balkh to Andkhoi (133 miles) via Nasratabad (40 miles), Aqchah (56 miles), Shibarghan (93 miles), Khwaja Dokoh (101 miles). The road for the most part is level and runs through a sandy plane. The scenery is monotonous and tiring. Andkhoi is a small town but has a flourishing trade in carpets and Karakul skins. (c) Andkhoi to Maimanah (85 miles). For the first fifty-three miles there is a vast plain. Then the traveller finds himself in an undulating desert of small hills. Maimanah is a small commercial centre, and is chiefly noted for its fruits. It is the centre of the province of the same name. (d) Maimanah to Bala-Murghab (107 miles). The road runs through an undulating plain for the most part. Important stages en route are Ilmar, Kaisar, Kurmach, Bukiz, and Maruchak. (e) Mala-Murghab to Qala-i-Nao 71 miles). There is no change in the general appearance of the country. Qala-i-Nao is an important commercial centre. (f) Qala-i-Nao to Herat (99 miles). After a journey of thirty miles the Paropamisus range is reached. The road then leads through a pass, Sabzak as it is called, which presents some difficulty during winter months, when it is usually blocked with snow. (g) After crossing the pass, we enter the plain of Herat, watered by the Hari-Rud (Arius of the classical writers). Other famous passes through the Paropamisus are : Zarmast, Ardewan, Sang, and Hazrat Baba. The total fall from these passes to Herat is about 2,000 feet. Between this range and the city there is a low ridge called the Koh-i-Mulla Khwaja, which with an attitude 600 to 800 feet higher dominates the city from a distance of about three miles.