- 2 days ago
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00:00In the remote high cliffs of Nepal, only just two weeks a year, a very rare honey with hallucinogenic effects is harvested.
00:08Mad honey.
00:10This extraordinary honey, produced by the world's largest honeybees in the Himalayas, contains very potent greyana toxins.
00:17These toxins can distort your senses in unimaginable ways and send your mind into vivid hallucinations like hearing voices that don't exist or seeing the world around you melting away.
00:27You can't see it.
00:29You can't see it.
00:35To reach the rare mad honeycombs, hunters climb hundreds of meters up unsafe cliffs, relying solely on just a rope ladder.
00:42They use only their bare hands and feet while bearing countless painful stings from the giant bees.
00:47Throughout history, locals have used mad honey in small doses as a cure for various diseases and an aphrodisiac.
00:54But the line between its unique healing capabilities and toxicity is razor thin.
00:59An extra spoon of mad honey might cause a slowed heart rate, paralysis or even loss of life.
01:04In the remote village we are visiting, only one family is left practicing mad honey hunting.
01:09Just like in this 7,500 year old cave painting, their ancient methods have never changed.
01:14And their way of hunting honey is something that you won't see anywhere else.
01:18After 36 hours of flying and road tripping, we finally arrived at Tanzi village and met the Gurung tribe.
01:24They've migrated and settled here from Tibet.
01:27How are you?
01:28I am fine.
01:29Your father is the main honey hunter.
01:32Yeah, yeah.
01:33Wow.
01:34According to their custom, the newcomers like me must wear an amulet for protection against harm, illness and evil spirits.
01:40So before going honey hunting, the lady blesses me with water and ties a thread around my neck.
01:45We're currently heading towards the honey hunters.
01:47We're making our way downhill along a path with rice terraces.
01:50Namaste.
01:51Namaste.
01:52Namaste.
01:53Here stand three generations of honey hunters, Budiman, his father and his grandfather.
01:58The years of hard work are visible in his hand.
02:01My name is Nanda Lal.
02:03I've been here for the first day, to find a good place.
02:08Every year, he goes to the towering cliffs to seek mad honey.
02:11I want to see you.
02:12I want to see you.
02:13I want to see you.
02:14I want to see you.
02:15I want to see you.
02:16Everyone is busy with their tasks right now.
02:18They are getting ready to hunt the golden potion.
02:20Nanda and her father are making plans to decide which cliff they will go to while the others prepare the handmade tools.
02:26To create a ladder, they are carefully fitting these wooden rungs into the braids of two bamboo ropes, which are meters long.
02:34At the top of the cliff, Nanda and the other villagers are making final preparations.
02:38They are firmly securing the ladder on the trunk of a tree.
02:41Getting the ladder close to the beehives is crucial.
02:44The tree is to trap the tree.
02:48The tree is cut and the tree is cut.
02:51It's the tree where it is.
02:52There is a tree.
02:54There is a tree where it is.
02:56Where is the tree?
02:57There is a tree.
02:58There is a tree.
02:59Meanwhile, others are making a huge bundle of freshly cut leaves.
03:03They place some chalks in the middle and wrap it around with a rope.
03:06This giant incense is the only defense of the honey hunter against the bee colonies.
03:10I don't want to go away after that.
03:27Has there ever been an incident that you were caught in a fire?
03:32I don't want to go away, but when I was up, I would have to go away.
03:38The hunters put on their beekeeper mask, it's time to go down.
03:46The ladder they use is 80 meters long, but the cliff is taller than that height, so Nanda
03:51starts his climb from the top of the cliff instead of starting at the bottom.
03:54I will stay with the group providing support from below the cliff.
03:57It's better to put the beekeeper suit on because this place will soon be swarming with angry
04:01bees.
04:02The mad honey is produced by Apis laboriosa, the largest honey bee on earth.
04:08Being 3 centimeters tall, this species is twice as large as the average worker honey bee
04:13and has long stingers that can easily penetrate clothing.
04:17Their first stop is a ledge right above the giant bee hives.
04:20Here they rearrange the position of the ladder.
04:22To make the ladder stay balanced, Nanda's friend climbs down to the lowest point of the rope
04:26and waits there.
04:27With this teamwork, they will get the mad honey and we will be able to taste it.
04:32Why is it so?
04:34The meat is dry, the meat is dry, the meat is dry.
04:43It's dry, the meat is dry.
04:46The meat is dry, the meat is dry.
04:49The meat is dry, the meat is dry, the meat is dry.
04:54The honeycomb surface is covered with black layer of bees.
05:08Consisting of up to 100,000 bees, each colony builds one vertical exposed comb at the cliffs
05:14reaching up to one meter in length.
05:16Smoke is rising.
05:17The bees have sensed danger and are now doing their defense wave by moving their abdomens
05:21up and down in perfect sync to scare off the enemy.
05:24This optical illusion confuses predators by making the bees appear as a single massive
05:29organism.
05:30The bees are now fighting off my drone.
05:32They are seeing it as a giant buzzing intruder.
05:35It's time for the most multitasking part of the job.
05:37Nanda has a lot to juggle.
05:39He uses two poles, one to balance the basket.
05:41To keep the pole steady he uses his foot and with the other pole he is cutting the huge
05:46honeycomb while the bees are furiously buzzing around.
05:49Every time he cuts out several kilos of honey.
05:52Bees may sting him over 100 times each hunt but he has to stay stable.
05:56The hunter has got to be quick and careful up there.
05:58His only safety is the rope tied to the bamboo ladder.
06:01Any wrong move could be fatal.
06:02How many years he has been hunting honey?
06:16How many years he has been hunting honey?
06:18How many years he has been hunting honey?
06:23If I take a spoon of honey, what happens?
06:38If I take a spoon of honey, what happens?
06:48If I take a spoon of honey, what happens?
06:50You become a paining, vomiting and unconscious.
06:54What if I take two spoons?
06:56You don't know anything.
06:57I will be like paralyzed?
06:58Yeah, one day for like paralyzed.
07:01We are going back as it started raining.
07:04We don't want our cameras to get wet.
07:06Honey hunters will meet us in the village.
07:08Namaste.
07:09So while he was cooking, the lights went off.
07:15These days, the monsoon rains are about to take over Nepal.
07:19The electricity has been out for three hours now and it's starting to get dark.
07:23The honey hunters couldn't return to the village yet.
07:25Meghu is cooking some veggies and rice for us with the help of a flashlight.
07:30Finally, all the hunters have returned to the village safe and sound after a long day.
07:34Did the bees sting?
07:36Right here.
07:40How much honey did we hunt today?
07:47Will you all go if the weather is good?
07:52Tell us what has happened to your father.
07:59I was really excited to try mad honey today, but now it's past 10pm and everyone needs
08:27to wake up early for tomorrow's harvest.
08:30Trying it alone at night might not be safe, especially in a remote area miles away from
08:34the nearest health facility.
08:35So I have to wait until tomorrow to give mad honey a go.
08:42We're going to have breakfast.
08:53It's like 7am in the morning.
08:54After breakfast, we'll go for honey hunting.
08:56This time, I'll taste it.
08:58We were there yesterday.
09:00Today, which way are we going to go?
09:02The other side?
09:03Other side, yes.
09:04Are we going to climb up or climb down?
09:07Climb down.
09:08Today, we have a larger group with us.
09:11They believe that today's location will result in a bigger mad honey harvest.
09:15Now it's time for the hunters to sacrifice the chicken.
09:17They are cutting these wood pieces to add to the ladder.
09:26The ladder is so heavy that even two people can hardly carry it.
09:30While they get the chicken ready, we're making our way to the cliff where the honey will be
09:33harvested.
09:34The path is much more treacherous today with slippery grounds.
09:37This bridge has collapsed due to landslides, but we have to get to the other side because
09:42that's where they will harvest honey.
09:45Okay, okay.
09:46It's all right.
09:47It's all right.
09:48We have to be like synchronized because we are shaking the bridge.
09:54Very dangerous.
09:55You're fine?
09:56Yeah, I'm fine.
09:57And you?
09:58I'm fine.
09:59Yeah.
10:00All right.
10:01I'm coming down.
10:02Oh, Tom.
10:03Yeah, I got it.
10:04If there's anything more dangerous than mad honey itself, surely the way of harvesting
10:09it.
10:10If he falls down from that age, there's no way he can survive.
10:13It's at least 100 meters.
10:14I took this off, but he told me to put it on again.
10:19Maybe in an hour we will have a lot of bees flying around, furious bees.
10:23Even while we were waiting, some bees had already started to defecate on us.
10:27What you see on his finger is bee feces.
10:29This honey toilet, so this is bee poop.
10:33Nanda and the other hunters are back at it again.
10:36The ladder and the flaming bundle are lowered.
10:38The mad honey harvest has begun.
10:40Can you see how he fixes this stick with his foot?
10:42Amazing.
10:43He's like an acrobat there.
10:45Grayanotoxins come from the nectar of rhododendron flowers that bloom in the Himalayas, and it
10:50takes about four million flower visits for the bees to make just one kilogram of honey.
10:55And an average worker bee produces only one twentieth of a tablespoon of honey in its entire
10:59lifetime.
11:00It's not surprising that the 200 grams of rare harvest mad honey, which has the highest
11:05amount of Grayanotoxins that I am about to taste, is currently being sold on the market
11:09for approximately $400.
11:11However, it's a sad fact that hunters risking their lives earn less than $50 per person by
11:16selling kilograms of honey.
11:22Here comes a basket full of honey straight up from the cliff.
11:24The team is now extracting the mad honey.
11:26They use a straw sieve to filter out larvae, dead bees, insects and other impurities and
11:31store it in the plastic jerry can.
11:33It's finally time to taste the mad honey.
11:35This is where things get really exciting.
11:37It has a slight bitter taste with sweetness.
11:39I can really feel the Grayanotoxin kick in almost immediately.
11:43It's tingling, right?
11:44Yeah.
11:45There's a different texture.
11:47It slowly burns your mouth.
11:48It already started, as you said.
11:50It's like eating something spicy.
11:53Yeah.
11:54But there's a risk I didn't think about.
11:55I definitely don't want to experience temporary paralysis or unconsciousness out here in the
12:07middle of nowhere.
12:08So I'm moving fast.
12:09When you get intoxicated with this honey, you'll be like dead for 12 hours.
12:14You cannot move your body.
12:16Yeah.
12:17It's hard for us to help you, carry you this mountain.
12:20Even that amount.
12:21Will you get me high?
12:22Even that amount.
12:23Sometimes, yes.
12:24We have a lot of ways to go back.
12:26We are hurrying to return to the village.
12:28I hope my body does not give up.
12:30Since we climbed up high enough, we're going to take a quick break here.
12:33We will eat the chicken, which was sacrificed before the honey harvest.
12:36Take it, brother.
12:37Thank you, brother.
12:38He was stung several times and a painful one was right on his lower lip.
12:42It's visibly swollen.
12:44Eating something will slow down the absorption of the mad honey and the graenotoxin entering
12:48my bloodstream, so we can keep going with less rush.
12:51Mad honey is considered the earliest known biological weapon.
12:54In 67 BC, as the Romans invaded the Black Sea region, the soldiers of the Kingdom of Pontus
12:59placed mad honeycombs along the path of the Roman army.
13:03The Romans couldn't resist, became intoxicated, lost their guard, and their lives were ended
13:07tragically.
13:08When I have the perfect dose, I see more clearly, I feel active mentally, and I can
13:14work more, I can focus more.
13:16I use it as a meditative purpose.
13:18What is right, brother?
13:19It depends on the honey.
13:20This one is very strong.
13:21One tablespoon is okay for me.
13:23If you overeat, then it's going to be very bad for you.
13:26I finally got to the entrance of the village without any trouble, and here I go for one last
13:31dose of mad honey here.
13:32This time, I'm not holding back and squeezing a generous amount of mad honey into my mouth.
13:37I ate a lot, right?
13:38I don't know if it's too much, but I already swallowed the entire thing.
13:49I hope I won't get really sick.
13:53The taste is really, really, really bitter, and it makes me cough a lot.
13:58We'll wait, and I'll tell you my experience with all the details.
14:02You're body will start to heat first, you'll feel tingling, but it highly varies.
14:12Do you think that I consumed a lot of honey?
14:15That's a decent amount, but we will see.
14:17Meg who consumed like a small spoon of the same honey and he is throwing up.
14:20So what I will feel is totally a surprise.
14:23Everybody experiences it differently.
14:25Let's give it some time and see what happens.
14:27While we wait for mad honey to kick in, I got really exciting news to share with you.
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15:50It's been a few hours since I ate the mad honey.
15:53And last I checked, Meghu was feeling sick.
15:55I'm going to see how he's doing now.
15:58How are you feeling, man?
15:59Not good.
16:00Not good.
16:01How much did you consume?
16:02A little bit.
16:03Just.
16:04I consume more than that.
16:06You want to sleep?
16:07We can leave you alone.
16:08Cold.
16:09Cold.
16:10And my leg, my finger, very cold.
16:16So, can you stand up?
16:18No, no, no.
16:19I feel thirsty if I drink water.
16:21Don't drink.
16:22Why?
16:23I feel thirsty.
16:24I drink water.
16:25I vomiting.
16:26Then again vomiting.
16:27Then again vomiting.
16:28Then again vomiting.
16:29Then time I vomiting.
16:30Soon after, I started showing similar symptoms to Meghu.
16:33My body temperature dropped suddenly, and I wrapped myself tightly in the first blanket
16:37I could find.
16:38It's coughing.
16:39No.
16:40You want some water?
16:41Tea?
16:42Yes.
16:43Look, this is hot.
16:44Yes.
16:45I don't feel any heat on my fingertips.
16:49I can hold it like this for hours.
16:51You hold it here, and I hold it here.
16:53Who can keep longer?
16:54You still hold it?
16:58In the human body, grey anotoxin disrupts sodium channel activity in cell membranes and
17:02prevents neurons and muscle cells from communicating and functioning properly.
17:06That's why my fingertips are currently insensitive to heat and have abnormal sensations like tingling
17:11and numbness.
17:12And I feel this effect slowly spreads throughout my body.
17:15Take it, man.
17:16Take it.
17:17I feel very hot now.
17:19Take it.
17:20Take it.
17:21Take it.
17:22Take it.
17:23Take it.
17:24Take it.
17:25Take it.
17:26Take it.
17:27I first felt like I was burning, so I tried to take off my shirt.
17:34And then after a little moment, I was feeling cold.
17:37The lady also had a spoonful of the mad honey we harvested today.
17:41She seems to be in good spirits.
17:59Our host is definitely benefiting more from mad honey than I am.
18:02She's now in a euphoric state.
18:04How old is she?
18:06It's so rude to ask.
18:07I'm sorry.
18:08How old is she?
18:10How old is she?
18:11How old is she?
18:12What did she say?
18:14What is she saying?
18:17She is saying?
18:19Here's a girl!
18:20She's not.
18:22She's not born.
18:23She's not born.
18:24I'm born.
18:24She was born.
18:25What she's born.
18:26Did you like me?
18:27I'm born.
18:28We are born.
18:29I'm born.
18:30I'm born.
18:31She's born.
18:32Is she comfortable with us filming her?
18:35Yes.
18:36i have a headache here from my forehead to my left eye i don't want to keep my eye open i'm
18:53dealing with pain all over my body seconds feel like hours and i slightly lose my track of time
18:59the effects are growing more intense and i'm starting to feel sick i've suddenly begun throwing
19:03up grayanotoxin doesn't have an antidote most of the time the body can tolerate it but there are
19:10rare cases where it can cause heart failure to enjoy the medicinal benefits without side effects
19:15it's best to stick to your doctor's recommendations fortunately my body cleared the poison within 24
19:21hours and i felt much better the next day despite a night filled with headaches nausea and ringing in
19:26my ears mad honey isn't easy to come by it requires skilled and brave individuals to harvest it from
19:31cliffside hives the gurungs preserve a rich cultural legacy that i hope will be passed down to future
19:36generations don't forget to download the game that my game development company has created
19:42the last wrap go play it on steam now i'm sure you will have a great time the link to the game is at
19:47the very top of the description box of this video see you on the leaderboard of the last wrap bruhi chenet
19:53was here
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