Sacks of Jeeraphool rice, small and scented like cumin flowers, come in from the farms of Surguja, and woolen carpets knotted by Tibetan families travel down from Mainpat. Even trash has a trading value here, because the city's garbage cafe swaps a hot meal for a bag of plastic.
Beyond the stalls, the Mahamaya temple watches over town from the eastern hills, and a road south climbs to the cool tablelands and waterfalls of Mainpat. The climate is humid subtropical, with heavy monsoon rain from June to September and crisp, dry winters. A Local Friend reads the menu, the map and the mood for you, so you know which rice to order and which hill to drive up first.
