Cordyceps Sinensis is a unique and tonic mushroom that grows in the mountains of Bhutan at an elevation between 14,500 feet and 17,000 feet, just meters below the snow line. To go to where the Cordyceps is, you have to travel for no less than seven days by horse, on foot, and finally by yak up to the snow line where the wild Cordyceps grows. The air is so thin at that altitude and the elements are so harsh that most people never make it to this destination.

Only skilled local villagers from the Cordyceps growing areas are permitted to collect this special fungus. Harvesting is limited to one month a year, timed at a specific point in the growing cycle to ensure maturity and sustainability, and is overseen by local leaders and forestry services, who also keep an eye out for poachers.