The Hile gompa and bazaar walk

We walk along the bazaar as shops open and buses come and go, loading passengers and goods for the villages to the north. Our guide points out the kitchens, the shops that supply the villages to the north with everything from rice to roofing sheets, and the shrines of different faiths along the way. Hile is small, so the walk is short, but there is plenty to watch.

The small monastery near the road serves the town's Buddhist families. If it is open, we turn the prayer wheels, walk clockwise and look inside with permission. Our guide explains how the town's Buddhist families came to settle on this ridge, and how Kirat, Hindu and Buddhist traditions sit side by side here, with families often joining each other's festivals and sharing food on special days.

It is a short, simple visit that fits well before breakfast or before the drive on. Leave a small donation if you go inside. If you are lucky, you may hear morning prayers or see butter lamps being lit. Afterwards we stop for tea and a breakfast of Tibetan bread or sel roti at one of the bazaar kitchens, and then continue the day's journey north or south.