People Who Risk Their Lives To Hunt Honey On The Cliffs Of Nepal

Among the mountains in the eastern Himalayas of Nepal, Kulung men make a living by hanging in the air hunting wild honey.
People who risk their lives to hunt honey on the cliffs of Nepal
Following Mark Synnott and National Geographic photographer Reman Ozturk, the land of the last honey-hunting mountain climbers in the dark and muggy areas of Nepal is clearly visible.
A man quietly clung his hand on a rope twisted into a ladder to climb the steep cliff. Wait for him up there, where the rock hole lies halfway up the mountain is a Himalayan beehive with honey-wax bumps full of honey and gold. Photo: NatGeo

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Hanging tens of meters in the air, Mauli Dhan tried to cling to a rope of clouds. He climbed up the rock hole where thousands of giant Himalayan bees nest. Just sliding his hand could lose his life because of the abyss below, and above it was a group of bees frantically fighting back
At a price of 60-80 USD per half kg, Himalayan wild honey sold in Asian black market is 6 times higher than conventional honey in Nepal.



This price makes poor people like Mauli risk their lives to climb high to harvest.
The fruits of the harvest after a day of hard work are heavy bushes of wild honey. Photo: NatGeo.
For Mauli, honey hunting on the cliffs was the only way for him to make money to pay for basic necessities like salt and cooking oil. Mauli said he was one of the last people to do this dangerous work. "If this continues, our culture will disappear," Mauli said.
This year 57 years old, the age is close to old age, so his grip on hand is not strong enough to cling to the vine Around the bees constantly sting all over their face to fight off intruders.



However, in spite of the pain and danger, Mauli still moved up the climbing ladder to reach the alcove.
Professionals like Mauli are not many anymore. Photo: NatGeo.
Himalayan honey has many varieties, depending on the season and the type of flowers that the bees in this area get. Those who risk climbing cliffs are the Kulungs living in eastern Nepal, who have a tradition for centuries of using wild honey as a cough syrup and antiseptic. Meanwhile, the beeswax they harvested was sold "out of stock" in the capital, Kathmandu, to be the core of copper casting, to cast statues of gods.
In recent years, the Himalayan forest honey hunting market has exploded with Kathmandu as the main transshipment and trading point. From here the honey is transferred to markets like Korea, where it is thought that Himalayan honey helps them stay fit in the bedroom.




According to Duy Binh / Vnexpress
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