Apples, beans and wool in Khalanga bazaar

Khalanga bazaar is small enough to walk end to end in twenty minutes, but it holds most of what the Karnali produces. In late summer and autumn, apples arrive by the basket from orchards across the district, crisp and sweet; the town is well known in Nepal for them, and they fetch a premium in Kathmandu.

Grain shops sell sacks of marshi rice, speckled Jumli beans, buckwheat, barley and walnuts. Look also for herbs from the high pastures and for woollen goods: radi, thick hand-woven rugs, and pakhi, woollen blankets, made from sheep wool in hill villages, used on every bed in winter.

Go in the morning when the shops open and villagers arrive with produce. Your guide can translate, help with fair prices and point out the difference between local goods and those trucked in from elsewhere. Remember weight limits on small planes before you buy too much.