The people who put the kettle on.

Kamla has grown apples above the valley for thirty years. She bakes the bread, knows every trail by its birds and will insist you take a second helping of rajma.

Hosts: Deodar Attic, Slate Roof House

Anitha runs her family's fourth-generation estate. Ask her about pepper, pandi curry or the year the elephants ate the bananas.

Hosts: Pepper Vine Estate

A retired forester who now grows orchids and tells the best ghost stories in the district. His cottage garden is a small jungle of its own.

Hosts: Mistwood Cottage

Pema farms cardamom and ginger and cooks the warmest thukpa in the valley. Mornings start with butter tea and a view of the snow line.

Hosts: Prayer Flag Farmhouse

Tashi grew up on the ridge and has walked every path to the monastery. He leads the sunrise walks and plays guitar by the stove at night.

Hosts: Rhodo Ridge Homestay

Mariamma spent twenty years tasting tea for estates before opening her bungalow to guests. She will teach you to tell a first flush from a second by smell alone.

Hosts: Tea Fold Bungalow, Cloud Nine Cabin