Himalayan Honey Acrobatics — the Gurung Hunters

Andre Newey captures the honey hunter taking aim at the honey with two tango's (sharpened sticks). One to push the honey combs of the cliff and one to position the basket just beneath the honey. Whilst dangling on a 200 feet high ladder.

High in the Himalayan foothills of central Nepal Gurung honey hunters gather twice a year, risking their lives to harvest the honey from the world’s largest honeybee. For hundreds of years, the skills required to practice this ancient and sacred tradition have been passed down through the generations, but now both the number of bees and traditional honey hunters are in rapid decline as a result of increased commercial interests and climate change. 

Andrew Newey was awarded in the 2012 International Photography Awards (IPA) with 9 Honorable Mentions, won ‘Best Single Image in a Portfolio’ in the 2012 Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) awards and was a finalist on the 2013 TPOTY awards.

Images and text originally published on Andrew Newey´s Facebook page.