Mad honey from Nepal is different from any normal honey as it contains Grayanotoxin which is found in Rhododendron flowers and extracted by the Himalayan giant honey bee.
Grayanotoxin is a natural neurotoxin found in Mad Honey. When the human body consumes some grayanotoxin, even in small amounts, it creates reactions described as stoned, high, dizzy, sedated or euphoric, and sometimes leads to hallucinations.
“I tried mad honey with my girlfriend, it was a super nice trip. No hallucinations but after 10-15 min I felt the first body heat, small nausea and firstly we were a bit asleep. After 1 hour it kicked in harder, full energy, crazy laughs and super horny so we had couple of drinks on top of it...” Check out our Mad Honey products and reviews to find out more.
Scientists and aficionados say it also has powerful medicinal benefits. Mad honey is used as a herbal medicine for its antibacterial, antiseptic and antioxidant properties as for the treatment of sexual dysfunction, hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis. It is overall a great boost for the immune system used since thousand of years!
However, consumers must also keep in mind that when over-consumed, the mad honey can cause other effects such as low blood pressure and irregular heartbeat, nausea, numbness, blurred vision, fainting, potent hallucinations and in rare cases seizures.
The Crazy Hunt of Mad Honey
As the rhododendron flourish at high altitudes and the bees usually built their hives on the stiff cliffs of the Annapurna mountains, collecting the honey is a stunning yet, incredibly dangerous operation.
Once to twice a year, the Gurung Tribesmen walk through the dense jungle of Nepal and brave the hard conditions to reach the sites. After a ceremony, in respect of the ancient traditions, the honey hunters go for the vertiginous vertical climbs while enduring stings from enormous bees to harvest the mad honey.
Immediately after the collection, the mad honey is roughly filtered and packed in big containers to carry the precious nectar back to the village.
READ MORE // Our recommendation:
National Geographic great documentary on the Mad Honey hunt.
"Three hundred feet in the air, Mauli Dhan dangles on a bamboo rope ladder, surveying the section of granite he must climb to reach his goal: a pulsing mass of thousands of Himalayan giant honeybees. They carpet a crescent-shaped hive stretching almost six feet below a granite overhang. The bees are guarding gallons of a sticky, reddish fluid known as mad honey, which, thanks to its hallucinogenic properties (...)"
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