Nepal is well known for its Himalayan giants, unique tradition, culture, hospitality, beauty and most of all adventures. You have heard about mad honey or honey hunting traditions of Nepal, this traditional practice is fanaticizing experience and famous all around the globe. For centuries this tradition have been followed by Gurung Communities in Lamjung and Kaski district especially in the villages like Bhujung, Pasgaon, and Ghlaegaun.
Honey hunting and is growing its popularity day by day among the tourist as this tradition gives you a feeling of adventure. Gives you a chance to blend in the nature and anthropology. This whole journey is unforgettable moment in any trekkers’ life.
In this blog we will dive into the traditional honey hunting practices, what this tradition really is? And how it is performed? How will you plan for your trip? This blog will guide you from the booking to packing.
Definition of Traditional Honey Hunting
Traditional honey hunting is not just extracting honey for fun or just for the business, it is the cultural ceremony that holds spiritual significance. This ceremony is practiced by Gurung communities living in Lamjung, Kaski district. Gurung people risk their life by climbing to 200 meters cliffs using bamboo ladders and ropes that are home made. They harvest honey from the world’s largest bee species who build massive hives on the vertical faced rocks (Apis Laboriosa) without any proper safety not even wearing a proper bee protecting suits.
Mad honey is famous for its medicinal and hallucinogenic properties making it very special and expensive. Collecting honey is spiritual and cultural ceremony. So what is the reason behind the name ‘mad honey’? So basically the chemical that are present in this honey contains Grayanotoxins and polyhydroxylated cyclic hydro carbons and without nitrogen making it intoxicating. During spring season Bees extract nectar from the blooming rhododendron flowers. Mad honey is a natural remedy to treat high blood pressure and anxiety.
Before harvesting mad honey the spiritual ceremony is performed to honor spirits of cliffs and bees. Rice, flowers and prayers are offered for the hunter’s safety.
Places to go for Traditional Mad Honey hunting tour
Several villages in Lamjung and Kaski district offers you a traditional honey hunting experience. Villages includes
Bhujung and Pasgaon
These villages are located in Lamjung known for the most popular destination for traditional honey hunting experience. Rugged terrain and untouched forest makes these village perfect for cultural event. Local tour operators and guide from these areas arrange the community based tourism package that includes facilities like accommodation, meals, treks and honey hunt participation.
Ghalegaun
Located at the altitude of 2100 meters in Lamjung this village is not only known for mad honey hunting but also known for model tourism homestay. Blend between the panoramic views of Annapurna range, cultural immersion and the opportunity to observe honey hunting closely makes this village a top choice for traditional honey hunting tour.
Naudanda
Located in Kaski district near Pokhara this village is known for its short trek journey ideal for those trekkers who are short in time. Although this trek is short it will give you the same experience as other villages mentioned above.
Best season for traditional honey hunting
Honey hunting is practiced twice a year and a seasonal tradition. Bees are most active during spring season April to May due to blooming rhododendron. This is the only season when the potential mad honey is extracted.
Autumn season October to November is also an ideal for honey hunting in Nepal. Although the honey that is harvested in this season is generally milder in its effect but the medicinal value is equally there.
Picking the right season is very beneficial and important for honey hunting trek as honey hunting tradition is just a seasonal activity.
What to expect on Honey hunting tour
A traditional honey trek is an educational as well as cultural trek to know the life style of Gurung. Here is what you can expect on traditional honey hunting trek.
Trekking through remote villages
You can expect a few days of hiking through quaint villages, lush forest and terraced villages. Travelling through the offbeat path, home stays and enjoying authentic Gurung cuisine with traditional dance performance is the experience that you won’t miss out.
Participating in Rituals
Before the hunt, Gurung community perform rituals to honor bees, cliffs and pray for the safety of hunters. You will get an opportunity to get the closure to these traditions. Tourists are often invited to observe and even participate traditional honey hunting practice.
Witnessing the Honey Hunt
Honey hunting is the main event of this whole tour. Early morning hike to the Cliffside is the first thing you will do where you will watch honey hunters preparing themselves with smokes, ropes and homemade bamboo ladders. They calmly descend to the top reaching the hive then they use a long stick with a blade at the end to cut the honeycomb and collect it into the basket while angry bees stung them.
Tasting the Mad Honey
After the harvesting is done locals will let you taste the mad honey in small samples. Taste ranges from bitter to sweet depending on the season. Taking high amount of mad honey can kill you. Few minutes of tasting the mad honey your body will feel dizzy, cold and hot at the same time. Knowing how the honey works is very important.
Cultural Etiquette and Responsible Tourism
Witnessing mad honey hunting is a trilling experience and it is very essential to approach these experience respectfully. The tradition means a lot to Gurung community and tourist are expected to honor their costumes and making a boundary as a respect. Being responsible means being self-prepared, as a tourist you are expected to have a sense of responsibility. You are welcomed to dance remember forced fun is no fun. You should dress modestly during religious ceremony. Honey hunting is itself a risky job so don’t interrupt or interfere. To support local economy consider staying in home says, purchasing local crafts and donating to communities initiatives.
Physical Requirement and Safety
You don’t need to have athletic skill to peruse this trek but having stamina and strong physical ability can be benefit for longer hours of walking and steep climbing. You need to wait for a long to watch honey hunting this can involve longer hours of staying in sitting position. Many tours does not allow tourist to be involved in actual honey harvesting due to some safety measures but many will offer you a climbing experience under strict provision.
Cost of honey hunting tour
Cost and spending depends on your travelling agency, guide, duration, accommodation and travel style. Here are some prince ranges that are break down for you. If you are doing 3 to 5 days of touring it can cost you 300 to 700 dollars per person this includes your guide allowance, homestay fees, meals and permit fees. Standard tour with cultural experience will cost you 500 to 900 dollars per person including trekking support fees, full cultural immersion and village donations. Private and costumed tours are comparatively expensive costing you range from 500 dollars to 800 dollars expenses depending on exclusibility and additional side treks with extended village stays.
Itinerary
Your total your day is 5. During this 5 days you will get to experience a lot more. Day 1 includes driving from Kathmandu to Besisahar and trek to Ghalegaun, on day 2 you will trek to honey hunting sites by trekking for at least 4 to 6 hours to cliff sides. On day 3 you will experience honey hunting ceremony, on day 5 you will return back to Ghalegaun. At the last day, day 5 you will drive back to Kathmandu.
Why you should go on a honey hunting tour
Honey hunting tour will give you a rare cultural experience with thrilling experience. Your participation helps to preserve and provide for local community in this way you will support sustainable tourism. This whole tour is educational based tour you will learn about ethnobotany, traditional medicine, sustainable foraging and indigenous spirit beliefs. Honey hunting tour is a foundation or goldmine to photography, every part of your journey have different story to tell.
Conclusion
Traditional honey hunting tour will help you to blend in the culture and natural beauty with adventure thrills. If you are traveler, photographer or someone who wants to learn more about tribes then traditional honey hunting tour is best for you. This journey is rare and once in a life time opportunity since the honey harvesting is done twice in a year and seasonal based ceremony. By choosing this tour you will support the local tradition and raise sustainability support in developing the region or a certain valley.
If you are looking for extraordinary and educational tour then traditional honey hunting tour is nest for you. Why not trade your expensive journey to the mad honey tour to support the traditional culture of the hunter tribe of Gurung Community? Don’t miss out on this once in a life time experience.