Three ‘Himalayan Viagra’ pickers feared dead after being hit by an avalanche in Nepal
- Three people are missing and another 12 are injured after an avalanche in Nepal
- Himalayan pickers were looking for the parasitic fungus Cordyceps sinensis
- The fungus, which grows on caterpillars, is said to boost sexual performance
Three ‘Himalayan Viagra’ pickers are feared dead and another 12 injured after being hit by an avalanche in Nepal.
Each year, thousands of villagers in Nepal and Tibet harvest the parasitic fungus Cordyceps sinensis, known locally as yarchagumba, which is said to improve sexual performance.
The fungus, which grows on a caterpillar’s body, can fetch huge sums in neighboring 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 pickers were searching for yarchagumba in the highlands of the Mugu district on Saturday when they were hit by an avalanche.
Rescuers were on their way to the remote location after a helicopter failed to land due to snowy weather, district official Mohan Bahadur Thapa told AFP on Monday.
Three ‘Himalayan Viagra’ pickers are feared dead and another 12 injured after being hit by an avalanche in Nepal’s Mugu district (file image)
Every year thousands of villagers in Nepal and Tibet harvest the parasitic fungus Cordyceps sinensis (file image)
Yarchagumba, meaning “summer plant, winter insect” in Tibetan, is only found at elevations above 3,500 meters and forms when the parasitic fungus lodges in a caterpillar and slowly kills it.
No definitive research has been published on the beneficial properties of the fungus, but Chinese herbalists believe that, like Viagra, it may promote sexual performance.
Boiled in water to make a tea, or added to soups and stews, it is believed to treat a variety of ailments, from fatigue to cancer.
Overfishing has caused populations to decline by at least 30 percent in 15 years by 2020, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which listed the species as “vulnerable” to extinction on its list of endangered species.
Officials are still searching for two more missing yarchagumba foragers in the western Darchula district after recovering three bodies in the avalanche-hit area last week.
Yarchagumba, meaning “summer plant, winter insect” in Tibetan, is only found at elevations above 3,500 meters and forms when the parasitic fungus lodges in a caterpillar and slowly kills it. (file image)
The group of 15 pickers were searching for yarchagumba in the highlands of the Mugu district on Saturday when they were hit by an avalanche. (file image of Mugu district)
Spring is the beginning of the climbing season in Nepal, when nearly a thousand mountaineers will attempt to climb Everest.
Last week, an American climber who was acclimatizing to about 20,000 feet on Mount Everest died.
A guide said the man, who has not been named, became unwell and died in Camp 2, about 2,400 meters below the 8,849-meter peak.
It came after three Nepalese guides died on Everest last month after a chunk of falling glacial ice swept them into a deep canyon on the avalanche-prone mountain.