PERU: VERTIGO IN THE ANDES | France 5 | Les Routes de l'Impossible

On Deep canyons cut into the Andes cordillera from the north to the south of Peru. In order to supply the gold mines, tend their vines or quite simply gain access to their villages, people have no choice but to take the most improbable of roads, hewn out of the rock. Major companies always find their place at the end of the road, attracted by the fabulous natural resources of the country, either under the ground with its wealth of precious metals or in its waters teeming with fish. However, it’s rare for all this wealth to benefit the lowly workers, the men and women who have to bend double to work deep in the shafts, scratching at the earth amidst clouds of ammonia, or risk their lives at the end of a 200’ rope, for a handful of euros. From the Maranon River valley to the Cotahuasi canyon, by way of the Paracas desert, this Impossible Road makes its way through a Peru of magnificent landscapes, but where life comes at a high price…