Himalayan Viagra / Love Bug ()

The world's most valuable aphrodisiac; 'Yarchagumba' - a mushroom that grows out of the head of caterpillars has led to a modern day gold rush with more than fifty thousand people making the dangerous journey up the Nepalese mountains in search of the mysterious parasite, worth half the price of gold.

“The main property it gives you is energy – like a Viagra”, Raaj Waiba, owner of a tea shop in Kathmandu, told reporter Sam Farmar, “So I call it Viagra from the Himalaya. Man, it gets you really sexy”. Eventually Yarchagumba ends up in places like Japan, where a bowl of soup containing just three caterpillars costs a hundred dollars.

The worlds best 'Himalayan Viagra' comes from Dolpa - the poorest and least developed region of Nepal - with no roads, few jobs and reliant on food aid. Much of the region is now under the control of the Maoists rebels who dominate two thirds of the country and have been fighting a war killing 12,000 people in the past nine years. Yarchagumba is now providing millions of dollars towards the Maoist rebellion.

Intrepid British journalist Sam Farmar travelled by foot across the roof of the world in pursuit of this story.

Broadcast on BBC Newsnight, ABC Foreign Correspondent, NHK, CNN

Director: Sam Farmar

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