Kithul Tapping

The kithul is a fishtail palm, and the sap of its flower stalk is what treacle and jaggery are made from. Getting it is the hard part: the tapper climbs the trunk, then over weeks beats and dresses the flower stalk with a prepared paste to start it flowing, and after that climbs twice a day to collect the sap before it ferments. The knowledge is held by a shrinking number of families. UNESCO added the practice to the Representative List in 2025.

The main sights

• The climb - tappers going up the trunk twice a day with a pot.
• The stalk preparation - weeks of beating and dressing before the sap runs.
• The boiling - sap reduced over fire into treacle and then jaggery.
• The transmission - a skill held in families and passed down by working alongside.

When to go

Tapping happens year round but each tree yields for a limited period. Collection is at dawn and dusk. Demonstrations are arranged through villages in the wet zone and hill country.

Before you go

This is dangerous work: tappers climb high without harnesses and falls are the main risk of the trade. The number of active tappers is falling sharply and young people are not taking it up. Watching should be arranged and paid for, not turned up on.

Nearby

Meemure and the wet zone villages are where tapping is still common.