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179 Two miles ahead the Khyber Pass begins, and there is an ascent through a narrow and difficult gorge, which at some places narrows to 150 yards, with steep and precipitious cliffs overhanging on either side. After Ali Masjid, the valley widens a little, but the upward trend of the road continues until Landi-Kotal, (3,370 feet) is reached. The whole of this distance presents a zig zag course between two series of barren mountains running roughly parallel to each other. From Landi-Kotal onwards a winding steep slope begins, which ends at Landi Khana. Here the visitor has to present his passport personally to the border officer. The Afghan frontier post facing Landi Khana is Torkham, half a mile ahead. Here passports are examined by an Afghan official called Mamoor-i-Passport. After traversing seven miles of level road, encompassed by rocky hills, Dakka is reached. Here the visitor has to stop to get his passport checked by the Afghan Border Officer (Sarhad-Dar). After going through these formalities the visitor leaves for Jalalabad. Dakka to Jalalabad—40 miles. There is on leaving Dakka nothing to arrest the attention until Jalalabad is reached. Except for the Speen Ghar Range on the left at a distance of some 20 miles to relieve the monotony, the landscape is mostly barren and uninspiring. The road lies nearly parallel to the Kabul River, between two ranges of mountains, which, running east to west, enclose between them a region about 20 miles wide from north to south. This intermediate country is by no means a valley, as it is divided into a series of small plains by crossing ranges of small hills. The plains are nearly barren and quite stony. It is only at the foot of the hills and along the banks of the river that fertile patches are to be seen.