Original subtitles

'My name is Levison Wood.'

Phew! That was steep.

'In 2014, I walked the Nile,

'from its source to the sea.'

Yeah!

'I saw the heart of Africa...'

Take care. '..at eye level.'

This is like being on Mars.

'Now, I'm taking on an even tougher journey.'

This is hard-core.

Wow, wow, wow, wow!

'I'm walking the length...'

It's absolutely phenomenal.

'..of the Himalayas.

'My route will trace the backbone of an entire continent.

'I want to walk 1,700 miles.

'From the western peaks in Afghanistan,

'across snow-covered passes and lush tropical foothills.

'Past Mount Everest, to end in the secret Kingdom of Bhutan,

'where the Himalayas drop into the Tibetan plateau.'

Wow. That's something.

'It will take me four million steps to reach my goal.'

Which nutcase came up with this idea?

'So far, I've battled Afghanistan's icy peaks

'and crossed Kashmir's conflict zone,

'to reach the Himalayas' spiritual heartland -

'India.'

It makes my walk quite easy when you see these guys.

Wow. Look at that.

'I'm fulfilling a lifelong promise to an old friend.'

How are you doing, mate? I'm really happy to see you.

'Together, we'll take on the monsoon...'

I've never seen rain like it.

'and Mother Nature.'

We should get out of the water now.

'Only for our adventure to hit disaster.'

CRASH

Please help! Help!

'I'm more than 500 miles into my mission

'to walk the world's mightiest mountain range.

'I'm trekking through India's magnificent Himalayan foothills,

'with some unusual friends.'

Good on you, mate.

'BAA!'

Keep walking.

Are you going that way?

Is he farting or sneezing? I can't tell.

'You can't always choose your travelling companions.

'Luckily, for my next leg, I'm being joined by someone very dear to me.'

The first time I came to the Himalayas,

it happened to be in the midst of a civil war in Nepal.

And as a sort of reckless young 19-year-old,

I found myself caught up in it.

I was stuck virtually on my own and I got taken in by this young lad,

he was about the same age as me, called Binod,

and he looked after me for couple of weeks.

And he took me out into the hills, and I stayed with his family.

We kept in touch,

and I asked him if he would meet me in Dharamsala,

and he's going to walk with me from then on in.

'Dharamsala is the adopted home of 14,000 Tibetan refugees.

'A piece of Tibet in India, it's known as Little Lhasa.'

So I'm about to go and meet Binod.

I've not seen him in five years, since 2009.

So I'm really excited to see him again.

He's a really good guy,

and it's actually his first time in India as well.

I'm fashionably late.

I hope he's here now.

Binod, how you doing, mate? Hi.

Good to see you, yeah. How you doing? How's things?

Good, and you? I'm very well.

Oh, mate, good to see you.

It's been far too long. Yeah. It's so long. How was your journey?

INDISTINGUISHABLE

How long did it take?

About... More than 20 hours on a train.

20 hours on a train!

How's Pokhara these days? Oh, Pokhara is very quiet now. Is it? Yeah.

There's not much people. No. Yeah, because of the earthquake.

Of course, yes.

I'm really happy to see you again.

Me too.

Still look like I'm 19, don't I?

No?

'For the next 230 miles,

'we'll skirt the southern edge of the mountain range,

'to reach the sacred city of Haridwar,

'where the mighty Ganges emerges from the Himalayas.

'We'll cross into Nepal and stay low

'so we can visit one of its least explored regions -

'a pocket of tropical rainforest called the Bardia National Park.

'Then we'll head to the snowy peaks of Binod's hometown of Pokhara.'

I'm so excited. This is my first time. I'm in India now.

It is a big dream for me, yes.

'This might be a dream come true,

but Binod's making a huge sacrifice to be here.'

I have three kids.

Two sons and one daughter.

Now I'm out of the country and out of home, yeah.

I miss the family a lot.

'It's a dangerous time of year to trek here.

'Torrential monsoon rains are due any day.'

I can tell it's coming.

You can see by the amount of moisture in the air,

and the clouds, there's definitely a storm brewing.

'Two years ago, heavy downpours triggered floods

'and landslides near here.

'Almost 6,000 people lost their lives.'

This is one of the problems with the paths around here.

As soon as a bit of water gets on it, they just get washed away completely.

'These footpaths are the last place we want to be

'when the monsoon starts.

'We need to find the road.'

Namaste. Road?

HE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE

Argh!

Yeah, don't do that.

LAUGHTER

BLEEP

Come on, then. Get a move on.

Woo! Woo!

We made it! Nice one, mate.

You're doing good. Find a good path.

I wouldn't say it was a good one.

But it was definitely a short cut, though.

'For once, I'm glad to be on tarmac roads.

'But we leave one danger behind,

'to learn that others lurk ahead.'

Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you, sir. What's your name?

I am Mohammed Islam. I am the bus conductor of this school.

Ah, very good. Very good. I'm from England. England?

UK. United Kingdom. Exactly.

I tell you're making a film. Yes. About...

About the Himalaya Mountains. Himalaya mountains.

We're just on a journey walking on foot everywhere.

You know, I shall never suggest to you

to go on foot on this danger area...

In this danger area.

Why is it dangerous?

That is a forest area. Yeah.

You will find a board which is written,

"there are a lot of elephants".

Elephant attacks on the man and kills him. Wow. OK.

Well, we'll have to be very careful, but we have to walk.

No, you should take any vehicle.

You can take any vehicle from here.

That's very kind of you but unfortunately we have to go on foot.

That is our mission.

But why? Why?

Why are you trying to go on foot?

Why? Because I'm walking the length of the Himalayas.

I'm walking from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir, Himachal,

all the way to Nepal.

You are walking different countries. Yes.

I wish you good luck with your journey. Thank you, sir.

The danger zone - it is starting from this tree.

The danger zone starts... Yes, yes. ..from this tree.

Thanks for your warning.

OK. OK.

THEY SPEAK ARABIC

Have you heard of anyone being killed by an elephant before?

They come through the villages and they destroyed houses there.

But sometimes they killed people also.

'Apparently 300 people a year

'are killed by wild elephants here in India.'

What does that say? You should not stop your car. Oh, really? Yeah.

So, walking's probably not a good idea.

Probably not a good idea because this is very warning, this area.

What should we do? Just keep walking. Yeah. Yeah. OK.

It's a bit like walking through a safari park.

And it looks safe enough,

because there's cars driving up and down the road

but the reality is that elephants don't care if there's roads or not.

They'll go anywhere they please.

'And smash almost anything in their path.'

You can see where the elephants have pushed over the trees.

They've been here recently.

'But today, the real menace are the monkeys.'

It's like the Planet of the Apes.

They're everywhere.

Show no fear.

'Nature and spirituality live side-by-side in India's Himalayas.

'For Hindus, like Binod, the mountains are home to the gods.

'And July and August are when pilgrims hit the road.

'We might not all share the same dress sense,

'but we're all aiming for the same place -

'the holy river Ganges.'

What is this? What are you carrying?

Ah, so, this is water.

Yeah, that is water.

Where's your shoes? Why are you travelling barefoot?

So you're doing the same route as we are,

but you're doing it barefoot?

And how far do you have to go?

Well, have a good journey.

HE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE

Namaste.

Walking it barefoot. Incredible.

I'm just glad of one thing.

And that's that I've got shoes on.

I'm walking the Himalayas, through the spiritual heartland of India.

I'm with my old friend, Binod, heading for the River Ganges.

The Ganges is so sacred that ten million pilgrims are due to

visit it this year.

And most are on foot.

People here don't question, why are you walking?

I got that a lot when I was walking the Nile.

But...here...nobody bats an eyelid, everyone's walking.

These kindred spirits are pros, I wonder if I can measure up.

So, how long, how many miles, how many kilometres did you walk?

Er...270.

270km?

How many, how long, how many weeks?

How many weeks? Only five days.

Five days? Five days? That's impressive. Very good.

You're walking faster than me. I'm not.

'These guys come from the northern state of Chandigarh.

'They've made this pilgrimage six times.'

Is it hard work?

Hard work, no. Lord Shiva power.

Lord Shiva gives you the power and strength to walk?

Me, I am walking on foot from Kashmir to Nepal.

Kashmir to Nepal?

For Shiva? Not for Shiva, no. Only for...?

For a journey. Journey?

For walking the Himalayas. OK.

THEY CHANT

It's like cup final day... but with added spirituality.

It's like a party. What...party?

MUSIC PLAYS

Not much of a party for this chap, though.

What is happening? Why does he do this?

It's a pledge to Shiva.

OK, so you make a pledge to Lord Shiva all the way on the pilgrimage?

So he'll be doing this for weeks? Yeah.

That's dedication for you, isn't it? Lying down, standing up,

lying down, all the way. Every single step of the way.

Incredible.

So, it makes my walk quite easy, to be honest, when you see these guys,

what they're doing...

It's just...

it's remarkable the faith that these people have got to

put themselves in such pain.

All around me, pilgrims are physically testing the limits

of their devotion.

Some pledges are more permanent than others.

He's got an actual tattoo machine there.

Name, name, name.

Very good, very good.

Binod, get a tattoo? I do it by myself.

With a needle. I can do it with a needle by myself.

You lunatic! HE LAUGHS

I'll get one later on, on the way down.

Big one, full body, all right?

'After a gruelling three-hour walk, we reach the festival camp ground.

'It's not all that different from the soggy cow fields back home.'

This puts any festival in the UK to shame.

There's no beer around but, you know, plenty of entertainment.

HE CALLS OUT

Wow, look at that.

This is Haridwar, one of the holiest places in all of India for Hindus.

It's insanely busy. Look how many people there are everywhere.

This water is the life force of the Himalayas

and Hindus believe bathing in it cleanses you of all sins.

The river is heavily polluted but the faithful believe its divine purity

protects them from contamination.

Spiritual tourism is big business here in India.

And there are some surprising services on offer.

Ear cleaning?

How do you do it?

Just cotton buds. OK.

Ear cleaning? Why not?

After all, cleanliness is next to godliness.

What are you doing it with? This cotton bud. Is it clean?

Clean, clean. Show me. Let me see. Let me see. Clean. That clean.

And this side? Let's do a clean one.

I think it's not a good idea to clean your ear.

What is that? That's not come out my ear.

That's definitely not... You've planted that.

I swear that's not come from me!

This guy is way too good at this.

This is just horrific.

I do wash, honestly.

Very good.

Do you want one as well? No?

I'm scared. I don't want to. Why, what are you scared of?

Having more ear wax than me?

Thank you, sir.

I need to take drastic action

and head straight back down to the river for a makeover.

Well, I've had my shave, now I think I need a bit of a trim.

Ankit Kumar knows how to make even the filthiest of explorers

human again.

OK? Very good, very good. Now... Something, something?

Something, something? OK.

What is this? What's he plugging me into?

'I thought I was just getting a haircut,

'but Ankit obviously has other ideas.'

You don't get this in Toni & Guy.

Something's about to happen.

That's two months of walking you're popping out of there.

Ooh!

'But Ankit hasn't finished with me just yet.'

Well, I didn't think for a moment that I'd be getting a face pack

on an expedition but...here we are.

'I look like an Italian footballer.'

You've done this for a laugh, haven't you?

'And the finishing touch.'

Fresh look. Personalised make-up for your own...

Foundation, I think. Yeah.

I came in for a quick trim and it's just got out of control.

What is this? Face powder. Face powder?

I'm not usually one for make-up. But I'm just going to roll with it.

Wow.

That was the best haircut I've ever had. Thank you very much.

Worth every penny.

'I feel like a new man.'

But there's still one thing Binod and I are in need of.

We can't leave India's spiritual heartland without a blessing.

We've heard about a monk by the name of Chandipuri...

living near the cremation grounds,

who is said to have special powers.

HE CALLS OUT

Waiting outside is his assistant, Garamatta.

What do you do for the Aghori Baba?

He also eats...meat off the human bones.

Really? He eats people? Dead people?

No, really? Yes.

Where does he find the dead people? Where does he find the meat from?

Wow. Have you ever tried eating a dead person?

What did it taste like?

Like chicken?

Chicken? Yes!

'Most holy men I've met in India are strict vegetarians.

'I'm not sure a cannibal is the best person to go to for a blessing.

'Who better to ask than the man himself?'

This is not quite what I was expecting.

Religion is a ?30 billion industry in India

and Chandipuri is actually very in demand.

He even has his own press shots.

Good. Good to meet you. My name's Lev.

This is Binod.

'Cannibalism is certainly a unique marketing angle, I'll give him that.

'I'd best find out exactly what I'm getting myself into.'

What is an Aghori monk? What do you do?

You're a very famous man.

He can bring them back to life? Yeah.

'As sales pitches go, this is pretty extreme.'

One of the things that we've heard is that Aghori monks actually eat

dead people, is that true?

Can I ask you, which part of the body do you eat?

'I'm not entirely sure what to make of all of this,

'but since we're here...'

Can you give as a blessing for our journey, to walk through Nepal?

HE MUTTERS PRAYER

He says, "You can do it".

Thank you.

'Well, for 30 quid, who knows what the blessing will bring?'

We're heading for tough terrain in Nepal, so I hope it works.

Now it's back into the countryside before getting to the Nepal border.

A nice day. I see there's still a few orange-clad stragglers around.

How many miles do you have to walk to your village?

Good luck, we'll see you on the road.

We're leaving the pilgrims and the TV crew behind.

Now, that's the border just there.

The other side of the bridge, that's Nepal.

Binod, are you excited to go to Nepal?

Feel that I'd like to get home now.

Because we are near the border. So, it's the hometown, homeland.

It's been a wild ride in India. But I think it's about to get even wilder.

Welcome to Nepal, Levison, my brother.

I think we're going to have some adventures here.

I've officially passed the halfway mark

in my mission to walk the Himalayas.

My friend Binod and I are now in country number four, Nepal.

As we arrive, the monsoon hits with full force.

Day one in Nepal and it's absolutely pouring down!

'We are a long way from where the earthquake struck,

'but the far west of Nepal has its own problems.

'Political parties, unhappy with the government,

'have called a general strike.

'The shops are closed for business, but thankfully,

'open for shelter against the monsoon.'

This is horrendous!

Just been walking through that and I've had to stop because

it's so bloody horrific!

Do you like the rain?

Yes! Yeah? Yeah.

Think it will stop?

Don't know. It's coming with the wind, so... From the opposite side,

where we are heading to.

It's something different.

Something different?! This is horrible!

'The locals might be on strike, but we have to push on.'

I've never seen rain like it.

The monsoon should have started about a month ago,

but it's been so hot that it's just been burnt off,

and now it's finally arrived

and it just makes everything ten times harder.

'Streams can become raging rivers in an instant

'and landslides are common.

'Just a few days ago,

'16 people were killed in a rock fall near Binod's hometown, Pokhara.'

I think we've got a few challenges ahead!

Before the Himalayas lead us up high,

we want to explore a narrow strip of protected rainforest

called the Bardia National Park.

After that, we'll climb to Binod's hometown of Pokhara,

and the gateway to the world famous Annapurna range.

It's an incredible opportunity to actually go to one

of the places that very few people think of when they think of Nepal.

So, Umanga is our guide today...

'Umanga has lived here all his life and knows the park inside out.'

What's it like living here on the edge of the jungle? Do you like it?

Yeah, I love it. Is it not too hot?

Season time is very hot, in the cold time it is very cold here!

What has changed here in your lifetime in these villages?

Internet? Internet, yeah!

'For protection, we are also bringing along a game scout.'

So, this is our game scout, his name is Chandra Wali. Hello.

Yes! How are you? Fine. Good? Yes.

What animals will we see today?

Maybe rhino, elephant, porcupine, tiger...

Have you seen a tiger? Yes.

'I admire Chandra's optimism,

'But tigers are highly elusive creatures,

'so our chances of spotting one are slim.

'There are just 2,500 of them on the entire subcontinent.

'Only 50 live here in Bardia National Park.

'Nevertheless, Umanga insists on giving us the full safety drill.'

Yeah?

Never turn around?

Then, like, walk back. OK.

'If we come face-to-face with a man-eater,

'I'm sure Chandra's got it covered.'

Where is your gun? No gun. No gun?

What happens... Only a stick. Only a stick? Yes.

What are you going to do if a tiger comes?

Tiger no attack.

They don't attack? No attack.

Are you sure? Yes, yes.

OK, if you say so!

'Let's hope these tigers are really as shy as everyone says.'

Scat? Yes. From tiger?

That's the tiger scat.

And in amongst it, you can see

the fur of whatever animal it's eaten, looks like a deer.

And also some bones.

Pretty small, they've been munched up good and proper.

Hoping I don't end up as tiger scat!

'We're well and truly in monsoon season now.

'Every day brings two or three downpours.'

Binod, are you all right? Yeah. Good.

Nice little walk in the rain now.

It's getting much cooler!

'And few things love the rain more than leeches.'

Look at that, horrible!

They'll sit on the edge of branches, waving,

and they wait on the movement, so whenever you come past,

they'll just latch onto you.

Leech on my stomach, just from here.

That is disgusting.

Oh, bollocks, there's one there!

One right there. Look at them! BLEEP!

'If the tigers don't get us, then the leeches certainly will.'

There it is, I knew there was one on me.

Horrible!

So, I think we're going to lose a bit of blood on this trip!

How are we going to get across the river, Binod?

I think we walk across the river.

So, it looks like we've got a river to cross.

This one's full of crocodiles,

but that doesn't seem to be stopping Umanga!

'There is only one way to continue our journey.

'I've got to follow Umanga into the water, crocs or not.'

Keeping an eye out for crocodiles.

'We haven't seen any yet,

'but Umanga warns me that Bardia is teeming with crocodiles.'

How are your feet, Binod? Painful on these rocks, isn't it?

< Huh?

What? Really?

Umanga says there is an enormous crocodile just over there.

Oh, my God! That is massive.

'It's a marsh mugger crocodile, at least nine feet long.

'And he is on the move.'

We should get out of the water, now!

Massive!

It's just good that we crossed the river.

It's a big one, a huge one!

'It's good to be back on dry land.

'But we escape one danger, only to face another.'

Tiger footprint.

Tiger footprint? How new is that, how recent is it?

Today, morning. Today? Yes.

So, it looks like a tiger has been here today, there's a fresh print.

It seems to be heading in our direction.

Tigers, they are here somewhere.

'All this tiger tracking has delayed us.

'We had hoped to be out of the jungle by now.

'But we are way behind schedule.'

It's six o'clock and we need to find somewhere to camp, quickly,

before it goes dark.

'Luckily, we find a piece of flat ground by a river.'

Home, sweet home!

Ready for bed, Binod? Yeah.

Ready to go sleep. It's big rain.

Night-night.

Oh, what a day!

There's something that makes you feel quite vulnerable

when there is nothing but a piece of canvas between you and the jungle.

It's quite exhilarating.

THUNDER RUMBLES

Also a little bit terrifying.

It's the lightning.

I think we are in for more rain.

Anyway, time to get some sleep.

Something in the bushes.

It's BLEEP!

What's up, Binod?

What, really?

BLEEP!

It's been raining all night and, um,

the water in the river has come up at least a metre, maybe more.

We've got to get out of here, fast!

'If the river bursts its banks, it will wipe out our camp.'

Umanga, what time does the sun come up?

About 5:30.

All right, about 5:30, we have one hour.

'Trekking through the jungle in broad daylight is hard enough,

'but finding our way out at night is almost impossible.'

River is coming so close to us

and we had better just move from there, because we have to be safe.

If we were washed by the water, then the life is gone.

We've, er, climbed up this hill, onto safe ground,

up here we should be all right.

We are good few metres up above the river now.

Should wait some of the times up in here.

We are safe, we are in safe place.

I was really scared at that time!

'The next morning, we get a look at the river -

'now twice the size it was yesterday.'

Look at that!

'It's a sobering reminder

'of just how unpredictable this environment can be.

'Thanks to Binod's quick reactions, we escaped unscathed,

'but it could have been very different.'

Bloody hell! That was a close call.

'Tomorrow, we'll leave the park.

'Little do we know that the worst is yet to come.'

My friend Binod and I are in the far west of Nepal.

For the past five days we've been walking through thick jungle.

Now we're back on tarmac.

My brother Pete has flown out from the UK to join me for a few days

and we're sharing camera duty.

Is this on? It's on.

It's filming? Yeah, it's filming.

It seems like everyone's on foot or bike.

There's absolutely no cars or lorries on the road. It's all...

Hard for people to move from place to place

because every other week there's a strike and problems.

We heard that somewhere there's this much people are dead.

Why were they dead?

Because of the pollution, the struggles, people fighting together.

So there seems to be a massive procession of motorbikes up ahead.

I wonder if this is the striking. What do you think, Binod?

No doubt.

HORNS BLARING

PEOPLE SHOUTING

With no sign of the strike ending any time soon,

reaching our destination is going to be tough.

We're aiming for Binod's hometown of Pokhara, 100 miles to the northeast.

It's from here that the Himalayas reach their full majesty,

soaring to an elevation of 8,000 metres.

To reach Pokhara we need cash and somewhere safe to stay,

but everywhere's on lockdown.

Nothing's open. The banks are closed so I can't change any money,

so I'm running out of money fast.

Most of the shops are closed. The hotels are closed.

Everybody's saying that it's too dangerous

to be seen on the roads in a vehicle

because they reckon they'll either set the vehicles alight

and beat them up, or go so far as to kill the driver, which is not good.

At least we can walk.

We head higher into the mountains in the hope of finding accommodation.

Camping up here is not an option,

every inch of spare land is covered by crops.

As night falls we're still no nearer to safety.

Let's see what we can find down here.

A lone taxi working at night to avoid protestors

agrees to take us to the nearest guest house.

Tomorrow, we'll hitch a lift back down to where we left off.

We drive three miles up steep roads.

As the car starts heading downhill...

the brakes fail.

My camera captures what happens next.

CRASH

GRINDING

MAN SCREAMS

SCREAMING

I can't feel my arm!

Binod!

HE SCREAMS: Help!

HE SCREAMS: Help!

How are you feeling?

It's really, really painful. I've never felt pain like it.

My arm's broken.

It's completely shattered in several places.

Binod's a bit shaken up and he doesn't really remember anything.

'It's a miracle that everyone survived the crash.

'My brother Pete only suffered minor injuries

'and the driver is recovering in another hospital.'

I can remember everything just really vividly.

The car fell about 150 feet.

And...we rolled about six or seven times.

I'm just overwhelmed that we were found.

People just came with torches...

But they managed to bring the stretcher

and carry us out the jungle.

Turn it off.

So it's been two days in this med centre now

and my arm's still not in a cast.

They've got nobody who can do it properly,

cos the joint needs resetting and bones need put back into place.

I've got a few broken ribs as well.

Now the bruising's starting.

It's just a lot more painful. It's absolute agony.

An X-ray reveals my arm needs to be put back together with metal pins.

It's major surgery

and I have no choice but to call for a medevac to the UK.

Of all the dangers the Himalayas could throw at us...

..this the last thing I was expecting.

'Next time...'

Welcome!

'We return to finish what we started...'

So surreal being back here.

'..meet the most incredible people...'

Saved our lives. Thank you very much.

'..see areas devastated by Nepal's earthquake...'

Four floors came down? It's incredible that you're still alive.

'..join a death-defying tribe of honey hunters...'

This is insane.

'..and behold the mother of all mountains.'

That is Mount Everest. Whoo! It's absolutely phenomenal.

Subtitles by Ericsson