Charchan & Niya

This map shows the ground covered during Rana’s march west from Charchan.

The “Sky Funeral” and related scenes largely take place in the Charchan area. The “Lonely Hillock” would be along the left bank of the Charchan river where it exits the map in the upper right corner.

The two roads leading west are shown. Rana and Tando take the desert track to Endere and the battle with the T’ang is fought near the Aklash river, between Endere and Niya. Tando’s “third way” leads northwest through Old Niya and across the desert to Kara-Dong, the “Hill of Sand.”

Tando’s Map (Modern Rendition)

This map shows the general Taklamakan region and notes the modern day position of all the major cities mentioned in the story. The lines or “Yarrow Sticks” as Tando calls them show how he solved the riddle of the map.

While no facsimile of Tando’s actual map has ever been found, this modern day rendering is presented to help the reader understand.