The Fearless Honey Hunters of Nepal

1.

The Gurung men do their work without any protection from the bees.

2.

Before a hunt can commence the honey hunters are required to perform a ceremony to placate the cliff gods. This involves sacrificing a sheep, offering flowers, fruits and rice, and praying to the cliff gods to ensure a safe hunt.

3.

Helpers light fires at the base of the cliffs in a bid to smoke the bees out.

4.

The honey hunter clings precariously to the rope ladder while he waits for the rising smoke to drive the bees out of the nests.

5.

Once the bees have been smoked out of their nest the honey hunter is able to cut the exposed honeycomb away from the cliff face.

6.

Clinging to a ladder of braided bamboo well over 250 feet above ground, the men work for four hours to gather the honey by hand.

7.

The honey hunters use sharpened bamboo poles to slice through the honeycomb to dislodge it from the cliff.

8.

Taking a smoke break some 200 plus feet above the ground.

9.

Using precision and skills mastered over many years the ‘cutter’ jousts tentatively at a bee’s nest with a sharpened stick known as a tango.

10.

One of the Gurung men watches from the base of the cliff as the cutter repositions himself on the rope ladder 200ft above.

11.

Braided bamboo baskets haul in their prize, the toxic rhododendron honey produced by the Apis laboriosa bee.

12.

Hauling in the fresh honeycomb.

13.

Worker enjoying the fruits of his labor.

14.

Blood, blisters and bee stings are synonymous with this treacherous tradition.

15.

Ready to protect their harvest by any means necessary.

16.

Man hauling some freshly cut honeycomb.

17.

A young boy from the nearby village feasts on a piece of freshly cut honeycomb that has fallen to the ground.