Head Count: not very many

The Skinny: Hile could be an old Wild West town, with cowboy shoot-outs and rustlers whooping through it, except that it's in the mountains of Nepal. Its one main street is lined with shops, hotels, and restaurants that all shut up tight by 9 p.m. for a very quiet, peaceful night. You can feel the elevation (the oxygen is thinner) as you climb around the steep hills outside the town. The Everest Base Camp trek and some smaller ones can be started from Hile, and many people come here to get in shape before starting out.

What Thar Be: The town itself is surrounded by intensely farmed hills and valleys. Twice a day a helicopter lands just outside of town to drop off food and supplies, and take away empty Coke bottles and other exchanges. Children line the steep road to watch the helicopter as it breathes life into the isolated, mountain town. Locals can be seen all over Nepal playing "charram", a board game sort of like Tiddly-Winks combined with pool, and in Hile we got a chance to try our luck at it in a little restaurant that supplied beer and the board for just a few of our rupees.

Digs: Hotel Himali: Small villages are always cheaper than cities, and we took advantage of this in Hile with a 4 bed room for 200R. It was airy and clean with a shared bath. Water is not plentiful in Hile, so showering was a bit of a hassle, but not impossible.

Vittles: The friendly family who runs the Hotel Himali cooked good, cheap food for us upon request. One venture was made to eat elsewhere, but the comforts of home won out and we ate our meals at the tables downstairs at the hotel.

Hooch Factor: The 'Himali' family supplied us with Tongba (local moonshine made from fermented millet) for 20R a glass, and 22 oz beers for 65R.

Navigability: There is no need to drive within Hile, as the town itself can be walked in about 20 minutes. The streets are quiet as a result, with only the occasional bus or truck barreling through the main street.

Sliding In and Out: The road up from Dharan Bazar to Hile is paved and in good shape, however the drive is very steep and windy, with many ups and downs to tire out a motorcycle and driver. It's a nice drive, though, with fantastic views of the surrounding hills and valleys (and snowy peaks if you're lucky.)