Tongba and momo in a Hile kitchen

As the evening mist rolls over the ridge, we settle into a family-run kitchen on the main road, warm from the stove and busy with locals and drivers. The tongba arrives in its pot: fermented millet grains packed to the top, hot water poured over, and a thin bamboo straw with a closed, slotted end that filters the grains. Traditionally the pot is made of wood or bamboo, though metal versions are common now.

You let it steep for a few minutes and sip. The taste is mild, sour and warming, a little like a light, warm cider. When the liquid runs low, the host tops up the pot with hot water, two or three times, until the grains are spent. Our guide explains how millet is cooked, cooled, mixed with a starter called marcha and left to ferment for days, and why tongba is offered to guests and at rituals.

With it come momo, thukpa or fried potatoes with chilli, and perhaps a plate of sukuti, dried spiced meat. If you do not drink alcohol, ask for hot lemon or milk tea and enjoy the food and the company. Conversation in these kitchens is easy, and our guide helps it along. The evening ends early; Hile goes to bed soon after dark, and the sunrise walk starts before dawn.