They went up a mountain to pick ‘Himalayan Viagra’ – and never came back

Three people are still missing after a group of 15 foraging for Cordyceps sinensis were hit by an avalanche in the highlands of Nepal
The parasitic fungus, also known as ‘yarchagumba’, is only found at certain elevations for a few weeks each year – and can fetch huge sums in China

Nepal

Agence France-Presse

Published: 1:31pm, 9 May 2023

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Three people are missing and 12 others were injured after an avalanche hit northwestern Nepal, where the group was picking “Himalayan Viagra”.

Every year, thousands of villagers in Nepal and Tibet harvest the parasitic fungus Cordyceps sinensis, known locally as yarchagumba, which grows on the body of a caterpillar.

It can fetch huge sums in China, where it is used in herbal medicines, and is only found at certain elevations for a few weeks each year.

The group of 15 were in search of yarchagumba in the highlands of the Mugu district – located on the border with Tibet – when they were hit by an avalanche on Saturday.

Rescuers were hiking to the remote site after a helicopter was unable to land because of snowy weather, district official Mohan Bahadur Thapa said on Monday.

Yarchagumba, which means “summer plant, winter insect” in Tibetan, is only found at altitudes above 3,500 metres (11,500 feet) and forms when the parasitic fungus lodges itself in a caterpillar, slowly killing it.

Demand drives Chinese medicine’s ‘Himalayan Viagra’ to brink of extinction

No definitive research has been published on the beneficial qualities of the fungus, but Chinese herbalists believe it boosts sexual performance.

Boiled in water to make tea, or added to soups and stews, it is believed to treat a variety of ailments from fatigue to cancer.

Over-harvesting slashed populations by at least 30 per cent over 15 years by 2020, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which listed it as “vulnerable” to extinction in its directory of threatened animal and plant species.

A shopkeeper shows a Cordyceps sinensis specimen, also known as yarchagumba, at a traditional medicine pharmacy in Hong Kong. Photo: David Wong

Officials are still searching for two more missing yarchagumba collectors in the western Darchula district, after recovering three bodies from the avalanche-hit area last week.

Spring is the beginning of Nepal’s climbing season when nearly a thousand mountaineers will try to summit Everest.

Last month, three Nepali guides died after a chunk of falling glacial ice swept them into a deep crevasse on the avalanche-prone mountain.

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