Nepal is the destination of an $11 billion gold rush as tens of thousands of people trek through the nation's most remote highlands, scouring the land for the so-called "Himalayan Viagra" - a fungus which supposedly serves as an aphrodisiac and has medicinal properties.

The Tibetan fungus is known as "yartsa gunbu" to locals which translates roughly to mean "summer grass, winter worm."

Like Us on Facebook

The substance is created when a parasitic fungus infects underground caterpillars and once the fungus mummifies the insects, it thrusts out of the soil. However, these protrusions are often so tiny that it can take searchers weeks to find them.

"Yarsagumba is very mysterious. Some could search for it in a square metre and won't find it," a local stated. "Sometimes, we can't collect a single one in a working week, but some other times we're able to get 50 of them on the same day."

The libido-boosting powers of the "Himalayan Viagra" has caused a boom in demand for the substance, especially in the Chinese market where it is highly prized.

The fungus is harvested just before monsoon season, in May and June, and tens of thousands of tents have begun to invade the plateaus of Rukum and Dolpa as over 60,000 harvesters strive to gather the substance.

Researchers are starting to feel some concern over the sudden increase in harvesting of the material and have warned that uncontrollable collection of the unique fungus could trigger some devastating changes in the already fragile mountain ecosystem and eventually lead to the downfall of the local economy.

The sudden popularity of the fungus also has other negative side-effects, namely in that its value attracts criminals as well. In 2011, six men were given life sentences for attacking harvesters who had up to $410,000 worth of fungus in their tents.

But Nepal is also home to one of the world's poorest economies and some villages and towns have benefited financially from the sudden influx of interest in the Nepalese fungus. It remains to be seen whether the financial benefits will outweigh the less-than-positive effects of the increasingly popular "Himalayan Viagra."

TagsNepal, Himalayan, viagra, Harvest, month, yartsa gunbu