Chin Hills

The high ridge country of the southern Chin Hills opens toward the Arakan Mountains and the valleys that carry movement between upland settlements. Khonu Msung, known also as Nat Ma Taung and Mount Victoria, rises to 3,053 metres, making it the highest summit in the range. Pine, camellia and teak occur in the varied montane forest, and lower slopes shade into country used by different communities. Agriculture supplied most village needs, while local paths linked fields, homes and forest products across steep ground.

Relations with the plains carried risk as well as exchange. Chin raiders reached Burman villages along the Myittha and Chindwin rivers, and hill communities also fought one another. This southern section is therefore defined by elevation and forest, but also by villages defended by distance and by paths worn by local traffic.