Honey Hunting Tour – An Adventure Filled Journey with the Gurungs

In the cloudy Himalayan mountainous cliffs where nature has not been tamed yet there lies the honey wilder than the wild itself. The honey is not ordinary that is found in the normal honey or supply store but a honey which demands bravery, courage and skill to harvest. Nature as the only beekeeper for this honey is free to be harvested but needs dosage consideration for the usage. The honey is not harvested, it’s hunted as a bounty and the harvesters are popularly known as the Mad Honey Hunters of the Himalayas. Only some of the most lucky and fortunate ones get to experience this adventure of lifetime. 

Mad Honey? What Is It?

As I have already mentioned , it is not an ordinary honey. This reddish nectar collected in the hives of the largest of all bees, Apis laboriosa does contain grayanotoxins. Grayanotoxin, a naturally occurring neurotoxin produced by the rhododendron flowers that bees forage on. Even in very small amounts, mad honey can have intoxicating, even hallucinogenic effects hence the name Mad Honey for its maddening effects. Locals have been utilizing it as medicinal as well as spiritual uses in the past centuries and have been continuing the art of honey hunting.

Honey Hunting Tradition

While the modern world is just exploring this Mad Honey, the Gurungs have centuries of experience regarding the use for medicinal purposes and harvesting. Although the harvesting process is old and traditional, it still is in practice among the Gurung Community. When adrenaline rushes at a high level, Mad Honey Hunting Tour in Nepal serves adventurous travellers more than that. It is a unique experience to watch one of the most spectacular and dangerous cultural event in the world where courage, tradition, and nature meet in a spectacular harmony that leaves the jaw dropped.

The Mad Honey Hunting Tour

The mad honey hunting tour is usually organized by travel & tour companies as well as some companies that sell Mad Honey from Nepal. The tour is organized for two seasons per annum where a selective few gets the chance. The hunting ritual involves local honey hunters climbing down high cliffs using makeshift rope ladders and bamboo scaffold. Having to hang off a rope sometimes hundreds of feet in the air these expert bee farmers dislodge large bee hives through the use of long poles and sustain countless bee stings.

The entire experience not only exceeds a hunt but is an essence of sacred ritual followed down the centuries through generation after generation, with each journey being undertaken with great reverence to nature and what are considered to be spirits guarding the mountains.

Mad Honey Hunting Tour usually follows the route of 7 to 10 days and starts in Kathmandu and follows along and deep into the Himalayan foothills particularly in the villages of Lamjung, Kaski or surrounding districts. On the route, one goes through beautiful rhododendron forests, terraced slopes and isolated Gurung settlements, being permeated with the local culture.

Tour Highlights:

Guided Trekking: Trek through luscious green forest guided by experts on a local trail.  

Cultural Immersion: Aiming to immerse in the local culture, you will be staying with homestays, sharing their meals, learning about local traditions, shamans and traditional medicine.

Adventure: It is a one time adventure that not many travelers get to observe.

Photography & Storytelling: The imagery–pictures of the hanging hunters to the hives on the cliffs are amazing and memorable.

Responsible Travel:  Led by the local expert who knows the roundabouts and is responsible enough to take care of the visitors

Experience the Honey Hunt: See how the expert climbs and skillfully collects the mad honey from high cliffs.

Try Mad Honey: More adventurous people can taste, under the advice of the locals, a small measured portion of fresh mad honey.

Is it safe?

Although the honey hunting is very dangerous to the persons involved in it, people visiting there as tourists will never be expected to scale or take part in the hunt itself. Sustainable tours that focus on the safety of the passengers, sustainability, and respect toward local traditions are being arranged. Mad honey is served in small portions and any responsible tour operator that deals with the honey will see to it that the bees and the environment will not be impacted negatively through the process of obtaining the honey.

Final Thoughts

Mad Honey Hunting Tour is not a usual holiday on takes a break from.  It is an adventure packed, authentic, daring and life-changing tour. Are you a cultural traveler, an adventurist or just someone interested in learning more about lesser known practices of the world then this trek into the heartland of Nepal will show you something you have never witnessed the true real world that remained unknown to time.