From the plain the ascent appeared to be simple but, when they started to climb, they found that it was rugged and almost impassable.

There was no semblance of road, and the men had to toil up the goat paths and sheep tracks.
The Dargai ridge was from a thousand to fifteen hundred feet above the spot from which they started.

On the near side it was almost a sheer precipice, and the only means of access to the top was up three steep waterways, which converged to the left of the position.
It was only two hundred and fifty yards' range from the summit but, as soon as it was crossed, the steepness of the cliff afforded the assailants shelter from the enemy's fire.

From this point the path zigzags up, until men in single file can reach the summit.

The ridge then dips into the hollow plateau where the village lies, and then runs up two hundred feet to the cliff, making a descent of the better part of a mile.