We have to cross Ingushetia along a corridor that is guarded by the army to reach Chechnya: the signs of the bloody wars have been almost entirely erased and Grozny is full of skyscrapers still under construction and even the most remote towns have been rebuilt from the rubble of the war; but we are able to document the tragic story nonetheless.
The conflicts and the bureaucratic difficulties associated with permit for transit complicate our journey.
Accompanies by archaeologists we will have the privilege to enter the “oldest cellar in the world” which is 7,000 years old and take part in a series of excavations in search of the Armenia’s most ancient past.
Under the sever gaze of the statue of Mother Armenia, the capital Yerevan flaunts museums, libraries, art galleries and theatres.
We leave the Talish Mountains to reach the bucolic city of Lankaran, which is famous for the massive tower where a young Stalin was imprisoned for a period after taking part in the prime uprisings.
One of the Countries that most clearly highlights the contrast between Asia and Europe: Azerbaijan, which is crossed by the ancient Silk Road, has always been an important trading crossroads between the West and East.
We will fly over the plains in the legendary Colchis, where the Golden Fleece that was sought after by Jason and the Argonauts was meant to have been conserved.
We’ll be getting lost in the alleyways and lanes of Tbilisi, an ancient city and the current capital of Georgia, to admire the beautiful traditional buildings and the many historical and religious monuments.
The expedition continues through the incredible and extremely dangerous Canyon del Pato.
The journey continues in surprisingly fascinating landscapes through to the ruins of Quillarumiyoc, one of the last archaeological and historic discoveries in Peru.
Our objective of reaching the Rìo Manu National Park is obstructed by landslides, flooded roads and and a huge rise in the level of a tributary of the River.
Leaving from the border of Desaguadero between Bolivia and Peru we reach Puno after a few bureaucratic issues, to meet the Uros, on their floating islands on Lake Titicaca
The journey continues in the Amazon area of Bolivia. With the help of the authorities we enter the coca plantations: in Bolivia the chewing of coca leaves is legal, and is very different from the refined and illegal version, cocaine.
To reach Potosì, a snow-capped pass at an altitude of more than 5000 metres stands in our way.
The journey heads towards the Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt desert in the world. We are surprised to enter a hotel made entirely of salt, including beds, chairs and tables.
La Paz looks like an intricate mass of buildings within a bottleneck. It is mainly inhabited by Quechua and Aymara Indios, and features the most traditional craftsmanship, highly coloured markets and a daily guile to survive.
We continue along a route amongst the sand dunes of the Badain Jaran desert. Mongolia presents its most well known but most shocking side: in a single valley we counted 49 coal- fired power stations. The Genghis Khan Mausoleum tells the story of this great historic character, who played a huge role in China’s, while the Taoist monastery Wudang reveals the Buddhist religion of the population.
The Altai Mountains offers us forests, Kazakh tents, grazing animals, Siberian and Mongolian ethnic minorities. The Uyghurs, the ancient inhabitants of the territory, are mainly concentrated in the large cities and dedicate themselves mainly to trade and their families. The Kanas Natural Reserve, with its marvellous eponymous lake, has been transformed into a story of Chinese Switzerland, given the incredible similarity of the buildings in the vast pine forests.
Once we reach Urumqi, the capital of the Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, our attention will be focused on the population that lives in this area of China, which is mainly Muslim in cultural and religious terms. Although the Han represent the majority, the Uyghurs insist on having their own state. The journey continues in the territory to the North of Urumqi and our encounter with thousand of oil wells shows the great race for the exploitation of the territory.
The journey on the Southern Silk Road continues from Hotan and ends in Kashgar, which in ancient times was considered the city with the largest open-ait market in the known world. Today the extraordinary bazar is relegated to a covered pavilion surrounded by huge buildings. Kashgar is the starting point for the Northern branch of the Silk Road that will lead us to Turpan over a series of new roads, modern cities and stretches of the ancient track with ruins of the abandoned ancient dwellings.
At the legendary Jade Gate, we leave behind us Han China and enter the land of the Uyghur, the Muslim population that inhabits the North West of China. The most adventurous part of the journey awaits us: the exploration of the Taklamakan Desert with the tallest dunes in the world and the powerful sandstorms caused by the torrid Karaburan wind. The southern track of the Silk Road features a series of important Oasis-Cities that are irrigated by the water coming from the glaciers of the Kunlun.
From Lanzhou, after passing the Yellow River, we head back up the Gansu corridor, an obligatory step to head West amongst the final dunes of the Gobi desert to the North an the snow-capped mountains of Qilian Shan to the South. There will be numerous historical and artistic testimonies, which were in part described by Marco Polo who lived here for a bout a year.
With its splendid testimonies of grandeur, the city of Xi'an offers travellers the Terracotta Warriors and the Wild Goose Pagoda. Here Buddhism spread easily thanks to the enormous quantity of people who coexisted in a single territory, despite being of different religions. Even now Muslims organise markets full of culinary resources and trading stalls.
Overland’s journey starts from Beijing, which has now become one of the most modern cities in the world. With its peaceful daily invasion of tourists and visitors Tiananmen Square has changed radically, like it had on every previous occasion Overland passed through it: in 1985 with 3 fiat pandas in a sea of bicycles, in 1989 with the Itala shortly before the student protests, in 1999 with the orange trucks and in 2005 with the bicycles, in a square which was then full of motorised vehicles.
An introvert's urgent road trip to reclaim his lost love is derailed when he meets a free-spirited woman who challenges all of his ideals
«The Last Nomads» features the greatest traditional journeys left on Earth as seen through the eyes of the people who still travel on them. From the Zagros Mountains of Iran to the frozen wastelands of northern Siberia, the Sahara to the Himalaya, these beautifully filmed documentaries give a unique insight into the very last human journeys still being travelled as they have been for thousands of years.
«The Last Nomads» features the greatest traditional journeys left on Earth as seen through the eyes of the people who still travel on them. From the Zagros Mountains of Iran to the frozen wastelands of northern Siberia, the Sahara to the Himalaya, these beautifully filmed documentaries give a unique insight into the very last human journeys still being travelled as they have been for thousands of years.
«The Last Nomads» features the greatest traditional journeys left on Earth as seen through the eyes of the people who still travel on them. From the Zagros Mountains of Iran to the frozen wastelands of northern Siberia, the Sahara to the Himalaya, these beautifully filmed documentaries give a unique insight into the very last human journeys still being travelled as they have been for thousands of years.
This episode of Nomads is an unconventional road trip that follows the ‘Local Exposure Tour,’ in search of the next BMX pro rider. It follows some of the biggest names in BMX: Allan Cooke, Ryan Nyquist and Corey Bohan, as they search for a BMX “grom” deserving of the opportunity of a lifetime.
Discover together Murramarang, Longreach, Outback Rally and The Bungle Bungle Ranges.
Discover together Montague Island, Trains & Koalas, Outback Rally and Sydney 360.
Discover together Lake Eyre, Ningaloo Reef and Road Trip.
One may decide to leave because one has never traveled or, on the contrary, one may choose to travel because one left too often. After traveling the world without seeing it, an airline pilot decides to ride his bicycle following the airway from the airport of Guangzhou (China) to Paris CDG (France).
One may decide to leave because one has never traveled or, on the contrary, one may choose to travel because one left too often. After traveling the world without seeing it, an airline pilot decides to ride his bicycle following the airway from the airport of Guangzhou (China) to Paris CDG (France).
