Limited largely to the Himalayas, it is the largest Apis. It is found in the mountainous regions of Bhutan, the Chinese province of Yunnan, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam. It mostly nests at altitudes between , building very large nests under overhangs on the southwestern faces of vertical cliffs. One nest can contain as much as of honey. The bees forage at altitudes of up to . Due to its peculiar nesting behavior, the Himalayan giant honey bee is also referred to as the Himalayan cliff honey bee. The term Himalayan honey bee is sometimes used more informally for any of the four types of honey bees that are found in the Himalayan region; Apis cerana, Apis florea, Apis dorsata and Apis laboriosa.