Himalayan Gold Rush

Every spring, in a remote part of Nepal, tens of thousands of villagers leave their dwellings for a dangerous trek to the Himalayas, in order to collect Yarsagumbu. This peculiar hybrid between plant and insect is being sold in China up to 60 000 USD a kilo, because of its medical wonders. That is much worthier than gold! Suga Lal too leaves his fields, which scarcely provide with enough to survive, along with his wife and his two sons to join a group of Yarsagumbu pickers. But this hidden treasure is rare and difficult to find. They will have to climb higher and higher, up to 5 500 meters, to gain enough for the whole year. In the meantime, Dhanchandra, who works for a rich Yarsagumbu dealer based in Kathmandu, travels from camp to camp with a lot of cash, in order to buy the best specimen. It is a dangerous job - he could get robbed any time. Sometimes, the harvest has to be escorted by soldiers to Kathmandu, where it is shipped to high-class Hong Kong pharmacies. From the snow-capped summits of the Himalayas to luxurious penthouses in Hong Kong, from the hands of poor Nepalese to those of the wealthiest Chinese consumers, feel the incredible fever of this Himalayan Gold Rush.