Churpi (also spelt chhurpi) is a traditional cheese from the Himalayan regions of Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and parts of India. There is a soft kind eaten fresh and a hard kind that is dried until it is rock solid. Hard churpi has been chewed slowly by people for generations, and it is the basis of the yak chews sold for dogs.

What is a Himalayan yak chew?

A Himalayan yak chew is a block of hard churpi-style cheese made from yak and cow milk, lime juice and salt, shaped and sized for dogs. It is dried until very hard, so dogs gnaw at it slowly, softening and scraping the surface as they go.

How is hard churpi made?

Milk is heated, then an acid such as lime juice is added so it separates into curds and whey. The curds are strained through cloth, pressed into blocks to squeeze out more liquid, cut into pieces and then dried slowly over several weeks until they are hard all the way through.

Where are Highland Yak Chews made?

Highland Yak Chews are made in Nepal using the traditional hard churpi method, then packed and sold in the UK by Highland Yak Chew.

Where can I buy yak chews in the UK?

You can order Highland Yak Chews from highlanddogchew.co.uk, with flat-rate £1.99 delivery anywhere in the UK. We sell classic and flavoured chews in small, medium and large sizes, puff treats, and mixed boxes.

Himalayan Yak Chews: How Churpi Is Made in Nepal

The yak chew in your dog’s mouth started life as something people eat. In the Himalayas, churpi (often spelt chhurpi) is a traditional cheese that has been made for generations in Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan, Sikkim and Darjeeling.

There are two kinds. Soft churpi is eaten fresh, a bit like cottage cheese, and turns up in curries and pickles. Hard churpi is dried until it is rock solid. It keeps for a very long time and is chewed slowly, a small piece lasting for hours — which made it ideal food for long winters and journeys on foot through the mountains.

It is that hard churpi that became the Himalayan yak chew.

Pale golden original Himalayan yak milk chews resting on wood with dried grasses

How Hard Churpi Is Made

The method is simple, but it takes time. In broad steps:

Heat the milk. Yak milk, cow milk, or a mix of the two is heated in a large pot.

Curdle it. An acid — for our chews, lime juice — is added. The milk separates into solid curds and liquid whey.

Strain. The curds are gathered in cloth and the whey drains away.

Press. The wrapped curds are pressed under weight to squeeze out more liquid and form a dense block.

Cut. The block is cut into bars or pieces.

Dry slowly. The pieces are dried for several weeks, traditionally in the dry mountain air and sometimes over smoke, until they are hard all the way through.

Nothing is added to stop the cheese going off. It keeps because the water has been driven out — the same reason a hard cheese like Parmesan lasts longer than a soft one.

From Human Snack to Dog Chew

At some point, people noticed what dogs already knew: a piece of hard churpi keeps a dog busy for a very long time. Dried slowly and properly, it is hard enough to need patient gnawing but softens at the surface as saliva works into it, so a dog scrapes it away bit by bit.

Today, the dog chews are made the same way as the cheese, then cut and graded into sizes for different dogs. That is what a Highland Yak Chew is: hard churpi, made in Nepal from yak and cow milk, lime juice and a little salt, sized for your dog.

Turmeric yak milk chews with a Highland Yak Chew pack showing yaks grazing below Himalayan peaks

Why the Traditional Method Matters

You will find a lot of yak chews for sale in the UK, and they are not all the same. A few things to look for:

A short ingredient list. Milk, an acid such as lime juice, and salt. If you see binders, fillers or long chemical names, it is not traditional churpi.

Honest labelling of the milk. Most churpi uses a mix of yak and cow milk. A clear label tells you which.

Proper drying. A well-dried chew is hard right through. A chew that feels soft or bendy out of the pack has not been dried properly and will not last.

No odd smell. Good hard churpi has a mild, milky smell, not a strong or sour one.

Our Flavours, the Same Tradition

Our original chew is the traditional recipe. For dogs who like variety, we also make versions with real strawberry, blueberry and turmeric added to the same base. The method stays the same; only the flavour changes. You can read the full ingredient breakdown in what are yak chews made of.

Himalayan Yak Chews in the UK

Highland Yak Chew brings churpi made in Nepal to dogs across the UK. We sell classic and flavoured yak chews in small, medium and large sizes, puff treats for older dogs and smaller mouths, and mixed boxes if you want to try a few at once.

Not sure which size to get? Our yak chew size guide will help.

Ready to Try One?

Use code FRANK10 at checkout for 10% off your order. UK delivery is a flat £1.99, and orders usually arrive within 3–5 working days. Browse all our chews, start with a Classic Yak Chew, or send us a message if you are not sure which one to pick.

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Himalayan Yak Chews: How Churpi Is Made in Nepal