Himalayan Gold: The Strange Fungus Worth More Than Gold - Full Nature Documentary

Hidden high in the Himalayas is one of nature's strangest and most valuable treasures: a rare fungus that grows from the body of an insect and can sell for more than gold. Known as Yarsagumba, or caterpillar fungus, this extraordinary organism is found in the remote alpine grasslands of Nepal and the Tibetan Plateau. Its unusual life cycle begins when a parasitic fungus infects a caterpillar living beneath the mountain soil. Every spring, thousands of villagers embark on a dangerous journey into the Himalayas to search for this tiny natural treasure. Among them is Suga Lal, who leaves his fields with his wife and two sons, hoping to earn enough money to support his family for an entire year. But the fungus is extremely difficult to find, and the search takes them to altitudes approaching 5