Honey Hunting Tour

Overview of Honey Hunting Tour

Among many thrilling adventure activities in Nepal, Honey Hunting Tour is the most amazing and surprising tour. The high hills abode several vertical cliffs presenting a safe hive chamber for the wild honey bees.  There are five different species of Honeybee available in Nepal. The wild honey bees make the beehives hanging on the vertical rocky cliffs. The local ethnic communities have a long practice of cliff honey hunting.

It requires a special skill of rock climbing and beekeeping. However, local honey hunters are practiced to hunt within limited tools & resources. Along with the honey hunting activity, there is the chance of viewing and experiencing the traditional honey harvesting technique of Gurung ethnic people. Normally, the locals harvest the cliff honey twice a year (spring and autumn).

Honey Hunting tour – a Traditional Practice!

The traditional way of honey hunting tour is an adventure activity that uses almost no special tools and techniques and safety measures. Generally, the honey hunters are Gurung people. They are practicing the tradition for generations.

Extracting honey from rock bees that live in steep slope is an age-old tradition of some of the indigenous Nepali communities like Gurungs and Magars. Among many mountain cliffs in Nepal, the Budhi Gandaki valley in the Manaslu region and the Cliffs in Annapurna Conservation Area have a notable presence of wild bee. This species of bee makes hive on the vertical slopes of such a cliff. Hunting cliff honey is a risky job. Therefore, most of those cliffs got names after the honey hunters who died while harvesting.

The activity of the cliff Honey hunting tour has an old tradition in the upper hilly region of Nepal. In past days, the local people used to organize a religious ceremony before collecting honey from those cliffs. To protect themselves from the attack of honeybees and any misfortune, they conduct such ceremonies. The locals celebrate the honey hunting tour as a festival by offering flowers, grains, and sheep to God before hunting. Furthermore, they organize worship to respect the hard work of honeybees and their contribution to the survival of human beings.

A thrilling experience!

Watching honey hunters at work is a thrilling scene. Only the experienced villagers can participate in this activity by hanging from cliffs as tall as 300m with the help of homemade ropes and Bamboo ladders. The lead honey hunter collects honey in the bucket from the beehives and passes down to another person. This wild honey has a medical purpose with a great deal of money in the international market.

Nepal Honey hunting tour is still part of traditional livelihood that is why it is more interesting for tourists to know the Nepali traditional honey hunting knowledge and skills. The trekking routes to and from the honey bee hives are exciting and breathtaking. Honey hunting in Nepal also enables visitors to take in the beauty and magnificence of the Nepali landscape and wildlife. At the same time, tourists can experience the culture. Thus, it adds more color to our delight. The tour is the best opportunity to view and experience the traditional method of wild honey harvesting and hunting which is worth a visit.

Oriental Journeys is flexible enough to customize the trip as per the interest, choice, and availability of the traveler.

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