Over the hills to Hile

by TEXT AND IMAGES BY DEWAN RAI

FROM ISSUE # 165 (September 2009) | IN THIS ISSUE
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Destination: Hile, Dhankuta
How to get there: Take a bus to Dhankuta from any major points of the country. Or fly to Biratnagar and take a bus or even hire a private car from there.
What to take: Bring along warm clothes and if travelling on a bike don't forget waterproofs. Also carry an iPod as it's a 14 hour long bus ride from Kathmandu.
How much to take: About Rs 500 per day excluding accommodation and travel charges.

Prior to Panchayat era, Dhankuta was known as 'Purba Tin Number'. It prided itself as being the cultural vanguard, a relatively progressive community with its own intellectual elite. Dhankuta Bajar, already in the 1930's, had the only high school in Nepal to be located outside the Kathmandu Valley. The reason probably was the exile of education advocate, Dev Sumsher Rana, also known as 'Phiste Maharaj' who was banished by his own brother. 

Ever since Nepal was divided into 75 districts during the Panchayat system, the district remained as the regional centre of the Eastern Development Region. The same district gave the nation two prime ministers - Surya Bahadur Thapa and Nagendra Prasad Rijal, and became the pioneer district to set up a horticulture centre. And now it is a tourist destination. 

Hile is a small town 13 km north and up the mountain from Dhankuta situated at an altitude of 1,900 m from sea level. If Darjeeling was in Nepal, this is probably what it would've looked like. The
pine-serrated ridges offer a panoramic vista of Mt Everest, Makalu, Lhotse and Kangchenjunga. 

Along the road to Hile are the carpeted slopes of Raniban, Guranse Tea Estate and jungles of rhododendron. The higher you go, the further you can see clouds floating like cotton candies. This is the kind of scenery that makes you want to scribble off a few gazals, no wonder eastern Nepal has so many poets.

One can get a minibus to Dhankuta from Dharan or long route buses from Kathmandu itself. In fact, most buses to Dhankuta continue as far as Hile and Basantapur of Sankhuwasabha district. Hile is a stopover for those who travel to the Arun Valley and up to Khandbari.  The town has now a number of hotels and lodges for average to luxurious accommodations.

Although the summer is mild because of the altitude, winter can be chilly. That is why Hile is famous for its tongba bars even in summer. Hot water soaked in fermented millet and sucked up through a bamboo straw; indeed one can get quite addicted to its heart-warming qualities. The huge statue of a tongba cylinder at the Hile roundabout says it all.

If you do not drink, you can ask for regular tea or Shu tea. Shu is ideally prepared from yak milk, butter and salt instead of sugar. It is served in a bigger glass and you are supposed to have more than one cup. Regular tea is also served in a beautifully painted Chinese ceramic cup covered with lid to keep it warm. Even regular tea tastes better as they are prepared from unadulterated milk, not powder milk.

Remittances from Gurkhas working in the Indian and British armies has sustained the economy of this region. That is why the district is more prosperous than most other surrounding ones. Dhankuta is also famous for its fruits: oranges, lime and other citrus.

While Hile bazaar is populated with Sherpa, Tamang and people of Tibetan origin, Newars are dominant in Dhankuta bajar. Rai, Limbu, Chhetri and Bahun are other ethnic groups in the district. Irrespective of castes and creeds, one finds the same harmony and hospitality across the region: quick to smile and offer hospitality. What a change from Kathmandu!