Deadliest Journeys

Due to lack of infrastructure and leftover mines from the civil war, delivery drivers in Somaliland take their lives in their hands each time they cross the dessert. Somaliland is one of the biggest consumers of the plant khat which when chewed gives a cocaine-like high. The plant quickly loses its potency and so the delivery drivers must race to get their product to the distributors.

The forests of Gabon are some of the densest and most mysterious in the world. But there are a few adventurous souls who risk it all in this green hell every day. They are the drivers of enormous logging trucks that can carry up to 40 tons of wood at a time.

Driving tankers loaded with 20 000 pounds of gasoline, these wild men drive on unmapped roads to deliver supplies to illegal gold mines in the heart of the Amazon Jungle.

Hundreds of metres above the ground, criss-crossing the valleys of Bolivia, is a network of makeshift cables. Clinging onto these cables, coca growers whizz across the mountains, transporting their harvest. Should they slip or the aged cables snap, they face certain death. Once they've reached the other side of the mountain, the danger doesn't end.

The roads in Guyana are treacherous but in one difficult journey taking mining supplies across the forest Roy can earn up twice the average salary. We also meet the tough as nails Guyana cowboys who work from dawn to dusk in the blazing sun often without food or rest.

When the Congo gained it's independence it had the best road network in central Africa, but the situation has deteriorated and today only 2% of roads are paved; during the rainy season many parts of the country turn into a muddy bog.

In this episode, we follow the thousands of Bangladeshi muslims making the six hour pilgrimage to Dhaka. Traveling on a hugely hot and overcrowded train, some choose to find space on the roof. Ducking bridges and trying not to slip off, countless people have fallen to their deaths. "If you die, no one cares and you are eaten by the dogs."

Crossing the mountainous forests is a real challenge and it is vital to stay careful as ravines are 700 meters deep. The journeys are dangerous and drivers must be ready for anything - from catastrophic mudslides to attacks from armed gangs. Truckers are drinking alcohol or chewing betel nut to keep calm and awake, but sometimes it can lead to an other accident.

Ladakh, the most northern state of India, is one of the harshest environments in the world. It is connected to the rest of India by a perilous road that winds through the soaring mountains. This road is one of the highest and most dangerous in the world; here even the slightest mistake can be fatal.

Landlocked and shrouded in historical mystery, Laos is home to dozens of forgotten tribes who reside in its vast rolling mountains and impenetrable jungles. One of the last standing communist countries, we travel along the Ho Chi Minh trail that was used to transport weapons in the Vietnam War.