In Spring and Autumn, visitors gather to witness honey-hunting locals in their daring collection of wild nectar from beehives on perilous cliff faces in the deep Modi Khola.
The harvest ritual, which varies from community to community between Landruk and Ghandruk, begins with a prayer and offering flowers and rice. Then a fire is lit at the base of the cliff to smoke the bees from their honeycombs. From above, a honey hunter descends the cliff harnessed to a ladder. Repelling some very territorial bees, the brave honey hunter cuts chunks of honey from the comb and sends them down the ravine by the bucket. Such is the cost of sweetness in these parts.
