When we think of honey, we don’t think of scaling a cliff with giant bees to get it. These images tell the photographic story, shot by Eric Valli, of the Himalayan Gurung men of Nepal harvesting honey. But this isn’t a story about harvesting honey. The Himalayan honey bee, or Apis dorsal laborious is the world’s largest honey bee – measuring up to 1.2 inches. They exist only in the Himalayas and build their nests in high altitudes (from 8,200 to 13,500 ft). The nests can contain as much as 130lbs of honey and interestingly different types of honey can be found at different altitudes. Himalayan honey bees make spring honey, red honey, and autumn honey. Red honey, made solely by Himalayan honey bees and found at the highest altitudes, is the most valuable because of its intoxicating and relaxing qualities. The Gurung men can import this honey to other parts of Asia for five times the price of the other honey.
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