Hunting Nepal's Mad Honey That Causes Hallucinations

The mad honey is produced by apis laboriosa, the largest honey bee on earth. Being 3 centimeters tall, this species is twice as large as the average worker honey bee and has long stingers that can easily penetrate clothing.

If there’s anything more exciting than mad honey itself, it’s surely the way of harvesting it.

Grayanotoxins come from the nectar of rhododendron flowers that bloom in the Himalayas, and it takes about 4 million flower visits for bees to make just 1 kilogram of honey. An average worker bee produces only 1/20th of a tablespoon of honey in its entire lifetime.

This honey doesn't have an antidote; most of the time, the body can tolerate it, but there are rare cases where it has caused heart failure. Before even considering tasting it, it's best to stick to your doctor’s recommendations.

This honey isn’t easy to come by. It requires skilled and brave individuals to harvest it from cliffside hives. The Gurung tribe preserves a rich cultural legacy.