Earlier, every time you used to spot a bee your instant reaction was running away from it, lest it sting you. But now, visitors are flocking together to apiary farms to see the bees making honey and going on hone trails. This World Bee Day, we take a look at the emergence of apiary tourism across the globe and what visiting an apiary entails in different off-beat tourist spots.
With a shift in experiential travelling or discovering hidden gems, people are resorting to exploring bee tourism in various hotspots around the world. Here’s a look at five most alluring places where you can visit with your adventurous mind and sweet tooth.
Slovenia is a global leader in api-tourism. It is well known for the presence of Carniolan honey bee, the farming of which contributes largely to national employment percentage. When in Slovenia you can explore activities like a honey-tasting trail, bee museums like the Radovljica, learn a thing or two about bee-keeping, take a tour of bee museums and apitherapy cabins. Apitherapy involves sleeping near a bee-hive where you can relax your mind listening to the buzz and smelling the hive aerosols.
The land of Doremon and Naruto isn’t far behind when it comes to bee tourism experiences. Japan offers some unique apiary experiences which should not be missed out on, when in the country. Apart from visiting orchard apiaries or honey cafes, one should also soak in the experience of rooftop urban beekeeping. The people of Japan realised that honey bees making their hives in urban spaces can be turned into benefits, preservation and tourism rather than considering them as a nuisance. This principle gave birth to the unique co-existence of bees with humans and also paved the way for honey harvesting from urban spaces including popular tourist hotspots. But what remains different is the taste. A trail with the Ginza Honey Bee Project can open eyes on what thoughtful community conservation and co-existence can bring about. To visit this region in Japan, the nearest airport is Haneda from where Ginza takes about 40 minutes.
While bee harvesting was always a popular activity among the villages of Sundarban, apiary tourism is a new phenomenon. The nearest airport is the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport from where one has to take the railways to reach Canning, then Godhkhali by boat and then Sundarbans by further water channels. A boost in the eco-tourism sector, one can visit around March to May to see how honey is collected. If you target apiary tourism only then visits to Gosaba and Satjelia villages, local bee-keeping projects, purchasing raw unsweetened honey and photography trails are must-do activities. This GI certified product is collected by a community of people called Mouals and they pray to forest deities before embarking on the quest in the land of the Royal Bengal Tigers. Honey tourism here is as much about preservation and economic boost as it is about cultural beliefs of the locals.
The lush green valleys of New Zealand offer some unique apiary activities. Home to the Manuka honey, one can visit bee farms, take helicopter tours and engage in honey-centric wellness activities. Some of the popular regions to visit include Northland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty; each accessible from the Auckland Airport within 2 – 4 hours. In fact, honey is a prominent ingredient in wellness rituals. Thus, in a place like New Zealand which is so full of wellness retreats, apiary tourism and wellness retreats go hand in hand. Visit apiaries in their natural habitats, see how honey is harvested, go for honey trails and taste the best of the sweet liquid, and see how its uses branch out in different sector. From hives to the mind and body, New Zealand is your one-stop for understanding honey in state of the art wellness rituals.
If you want to experience apiary tourism as a cultural identity rather than an emerging form of tourism then Ethiopia is the place to be. It is known for its indigenous bee-keeping traditions which are very different from modern harvests, honey wine and forest hives. The honey wine or Tej is a local alcoholic drink which is made with fermented honey, water and an indigenous plant called gesho. You can visit local spaces and see how this is made and of course have a taste. These experiences should not be missed out on, when in Ethiopia.
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