Earth Longest Mountain Range: The Andes | Mountains And Life | Documentary Central

mountains rooftops of the world vast Majestic inspiring ancient home of the Gods inhospitable to the Human family always drawing us to their grand view ice ice mountains challenge our complacent assumption that the world was made by us for us their sheer size dwarves us up where the air grows thin it's hard enough to scramble go too high and they call it the death zone and yet there's life plants and animals and people [Music] tough and resourceful they found ways to live here forging cultures that reflect the splendors of their surroundings below the world is changing the delicate balance of life shifts resilient as they are mountain people can't stand apart from the fate of Grace from the peaks of the Korean Peninsula to the rhizori mountains of Africa from the Alps from the Rockies to the Himalayas this is the global story of humanity in high places of mountains and life [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] they span an entire continent a string of high plateaus and Peaks stretching seven thousand kilometers from the tip of South America to the couch [Music] the Andes forged millions of years ago in a series of Rapid tectonic uphills today the legacy of that seismic turmoil is a landscape which on so many counts he surpasses all others the planet's longest mountain range the highest navigable Lake on Earth the world's highest town and even what's said to be its highest gymnastic Mountain domain of extremes [Applause] extreme altitude is extreme agriculture ancestors [Music] extreme description struggles at these altitudes so how do people cope laboring for a whole lifetime with so little oxygen to breathe buenosis how can human dignity survive when the Scrabble for gold at the top of the Heap foreign race to the bottom in terms of living conditions health and safety is and what happens to the human soul when it's driven to such extremesis foreign at the edge of human endurance [Music] the Andes are high due to the Bulge straddling the equator caused by the planet's rotation one of the Andean Summits reaches further from the center of the earth than any other Mountain even Everest from north to south the range extends through seven South American countries on average the peaks stand a heady 4 000 meters above the sea altitude can do strange and worrying things to the human body visitors to this city [Music] three and a half kilometers above sea level and built on rocks that once lay on the ocean floor is a world heritage site this was the capital of the most powerful indigenous empire ever seen [Music] by day Cusco dazzles at night it can really take your breath away every evening locals and Backpackers come to this gym to push themselves to the village in the name of the latest aerobic crazed foreign [Music] El Mundo is [Music] the tourists the altitude of near Studio [Music] belt so I'm staying here for two weeks today is actually my second one so I started yesterday with Crossfit and I tried to adapt to the height level it's it's hard it's it's tough you may be fighting fit but you'll need time to acclimatize to life at 3 500 meters the main problem is probably taking breath so you really feel it in here that it burns as soon as it finds or you have stairs or you work out you'll notice it and it's it's getting hard to breathe and at some time it starts hurting even the best conditioned clients need to be [Music] box vomiting is unpleasant to me other risks is [Applause] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign you can't escape the effects of geography if you live in a city like Cusco but there's no getting away from History either just as the crash of tectonic plates forged the geology of the Andes the fish of two civilizations has shaped the backstory of everyone in these look more closely at the streets of Cusco and you can see the strata of the two cultures sitting top [Music] the foundations of the old Inca Capital are still here every stone individually shaped and fitting perfectly into solid walls which still mystify archaeologists with the skill of their construction but above them are the Colonnades and terracotta rooftops [Applause] [Music] the Spanish may have conquered by military might but it was the Incas who were the true masters of high altitude living this site morai on the edge of Cusco is proof of that the people used to think that was an Amphitheater because these steps and the circular shape [Music] detailed archaeological investigation uncovered the true nature of this hollow in the landscape it was a natural depression it's a natural formation they took advantage of that and according to the Natural formation they start building The Terraces in a round shape The Terraces were actually part of a huge agricultural Laboratory one of the site's most remarkable design features is the large temperature difference between the top and the bottom Terraces as much as 15 degrees Celsius the microclimates created allowed the Incas to experiment to find the ideal growing conditions the high priests astronomers the leaders the people that organized them was a kind of a secret group this Elite was able to learn which crop varieties grew best at different temperatures in the soils found across a wide swathe of the Andes and was their mission headquarters so they sent their technicians astronomers Engineers to far away places to make studies in that way they use this place as an important experimental Center to adapt and breed the crops like corn potatoes squash beans and Grains the impressive roster of produce remains important to this day it's said that 60 percent of the world's food crops originate from plants grown in the Andes some of them would have been cultivated right here [Music] the secrets of morai help the Incas keep their grip on a vast Empire the success in turning the high plains into fertile ground didn't go unnoticed when the Conquistadors stormed the Inca citadels Spanish Eyes looked With Envy at the prime agricultural land Spanish might swept the Incas away from it the natives were forced to move even higher up the mountains so high that farming seemed impossible an impossible it may have been to all but the Incas today centuries later evidence of their Ingenuity is still to be seen if you travel high enough [Music] surrounded by 5 000 meter Peaks this is the Valley Community the legacy of the Incas has never quite been extinguished yet [Music] ancestors when he's not in the classroom or the fields he loves to practice playing the sequel or zamponya an instrument as traditional as the Region's colorful costumes laughs nowadays the distinctive music of the Andes is a familiar sound all over the world here it's close played as an expression of human emotion but also as a peace offering to the presiding local divinity [Music] for these mountain people pleasing the gods has always been crucial to their very survival before planting or harvest they make an offering to pachamama Mother Earth it's a ritual which has been observed here since humans first shaped this landscape for agriculture Los Angeles is nothing can guarantee about the Harvest agriculture here is a risky business but as well as a little sympathetic magic cooled down from the heavens adamira and his family can draw on many generations of experience encountering the best possible results for this challenging planting environment the Inca Heritage offers Farmers here some insurance against ruling crops fell on one Terrace another with different levels of exposure to wind sun and rain May well prove fertile um foreign [Music] [Music] but they're fragile and highly dependent on these traditional forms of agriculture quick ly yeah as in so many other mountainous parts of the world the older generation is seeing its young people drawn away by the bright lights and more secure prospects of the city leaving only a kind of nostalgia for the way things work the total problem is [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] the road climbs perilously up the Steep sided valleys and further into the mountains hear what little farmable land exists is massively exposed to the extremes of weather above the tree line the winter snows have melted the highest Terraces of all are fertilized [Music] those who are heading for the cities are leaving behind work which can have changed little since the Incas were lauded Over The Peasants of their empire but those who remain who seem to enjoy one advantage there's evidence that over the generations their bodies have adapted to the thin air of the mountains their lung capacity is noticeably greater than those born at lower altitudes foreign [Music] capacity for sheer hard work is easy striking even if they do depend on the stimulus of coca leaves to keep going but up on the high plains hard work and big lungs aren't enough to deliver a decent Harvest the winds are too strong the soil too dry the growing season too short rather than cultivate plants people here have had to learn to breed animals these are camelots the alpacas and llamas which have become synonymous with these mountains thick wool keeps them all large hearts and lungs keep them well supplied with oxygen these adaptations are inherited from Wild ancestors which still survive in parts of the Andes but up even with these advantages semi-domesticated animals need the most careful husbandry as part of a conservation effort focused on one particular species [Music] is on his way to a remote site in the islands here herds of acunias are protected in large fenced-in compounds on the Mountainside 50 years ago only a few thousand of acunias remained in the Andes now careful supervision more than a hundred thousand Rome the rolling grasslands there's still a protected species but once a year local people are allowed to round them up and to share adults thank you Victor is coming here to oversee this year's hurting for him the work is a delight rather than a burden it's bringing him back to Homegrown is significa foreign herding dates back to the days of the Incas when wearing the cunya garments was a special privilege granted only to royalty is The Rules of Engagement are strict Victor is here to make sure the villagers treat the animals gently throughout the herding and during the shearing is what's up it looks like fun but this is a serious business nowadays anyone is allowed to wear the fine flights only the very rich can afford to a simple scarf costs as much as a thousand dollars produces less than 500 grams of fiber this one has delivered just to 100 grams I probably can't be shown again the scarcity value means that the cunya wool is one of the most expensive finders in the world it generates vitally needed cash for poor Indian communities like trapezius in foreign [Music] the productive creatures after weather the conditions at this altitude hunter-gatherers first ventured here in pursuit of animals like these thousands of years ago today foreign [Music] [Music] [Applause] it isn't just the tripiche farmers who rely on the camelots the economic value the animals generate sustains another important tradition in these mountains weaving Andy and we 've great innovators developing over the centuries techniques which have spread throughout the world the clothes they make are highly practical they keep people warm in the Cold Mountain but they're also Badges of identity the patterns and colors indicate the region and status of those who are wearing them and even something about their attitude to life is [Music] foreign this is the Mountain Village of chinchero an ancient Tambo a resting place on the Inca Road through the Andes here Nilda is leading a Resurgence in the weaving traditions of the area craft skills and knowledge were in danger of Disappearing as people settled for cheap mass-produced Imports rather than handcrafted setting up the center for the traditional textiles of Cusco was nilda's response to worries that a whole way of life is passing away foreign today the project supports weaving in villages all over the region but the Revival started right here in nilda's home Community College chinchero patterns are an integral part of one of the oldest textile traditions in the world you might even say they're woven into the fabric of life here is [Music] the larger more complicated designs can take weeks to finish spinning local wool dyeing it with plants from the hills weaving it on traditional Looms there are no shortcuts to Reinventing a tradition but when each piece of cloth is finished it's said that something of the spirit the skill and the personal history of the Weaver has entered [Music] is for centuries indigenous people will look down on made to feel ashamed of their identity and traditions this Venture is helping to restore the women's dignity their dignity and their work in their community and in themselves the University education Mahatma Gandhi declared that weaving should form part of any true system of Education the would agree Lake Titicaca the largest lake in South America it's the highest body of navigable water in the whole world sunrise over its Waters is one of those must-see items on any tourist's itinerary but one visitor today is here for more than the stunning views Lowry Morgan is a world-class endurance athlete from Wales in the UK she competes professionally in Ultra marathons races held over hundreds of kilometers in climates as different as the jungles of the Amazon and the Arctic as part of a short visit to the Andes Lowry is assessing the mountains as a base for high altitude training I know many Ultra endurance athletes train about two thousand two and a half thousand meters above sea level but I think this is the extreme Ultra athletes have to absorb huge amounts of oxygen to sustain their exertions over massive distances up here there's so much less oxygen in the air only about 60 percent of the amount found at sea level I've done some running and ski touring in the Alps but nothing compared to where we are now we're 3850 meters above sea level and uh it's a it's a it's a new experience for me training at altitude encourages the body to produce more red blood cells which absorb oxygen and more mitochondria to use that oxygen to generate energy all this helps increase an athlete's VO2 max the amount of oxygen they can take in it doesn't happen overnight I think you need at least two weeks to properly acclimatize they say about four weeks is is a good time to be up in the mountains but ideally you need to live in the mountains [Music] I know many endurance athletes who've actually moved to the Alps or Kenya or Boulder Colorado to really take advantage and that VO2 max increases their overall strength increases you see them at the next race and they've improved incredibly it definitely works um but it is you do need to change your lifestyle basically to move to the mountains seeing something of how the local population copes with life and work at extreme altitude has been there's been a real eye-opener for this world-class performer I have the most respect for the people who live here it's really hard to kill and physical work up here and to be able to do that day in day out is incredible to see so their Fitness levels must be fantastic I must admit I know many of us athletes use altitude masks and altitude tents but nothing compares with living in the high mountains that was tough much harder than expected really reason it's so frustrating so frustrating because the amount I just ran is so small compared to what I'm used to I'm used to running 100 miles and yet just to run a couple of miles it feels as if I've just run 100 miles Lowry is a highly trained and highly motivated athlete later but for performance at altitude this short visit has been nothing long enough to get her up to speed the legs aren't moving fast enough because I'm not getting enough oxygen into the legs and the lens are screaming uh just foreign [Applause] for athletes and Adventure Seekers pushing themselves to their limits here in the mountains is enough others the Global benefits Lust For Gold has lured people high into the Andes since time immemorial Legends of a lost city of gold enticed European explorers to scan the planes and mountains of El Dorado gold is still to be found in the end and it still tempts adventurers to risk everything to get it but this is not the road to welcome Adam this is the drive every week thousands of miners undertake this chip commuting up from their homes on the outer planet scrap they're making their way to the highest town there's gold here 5100 meters above sea level but you won't find the Gilded architecture tin Huts off a shelter from freezing beans these shift suburbs where the traveling miners sleep during their working week the Town Center a hub for the 30 000 people who reside the opponently La Rinconada is cursed by pollution the gold bearing quartz that's mined here is processed using mercury and that was contaminated with water the ground and the air but none of that has prevented the parents of these children from rushing here 500 years after the Conquistadors the dream of striking it rich remains all enticing the Town Center is a Rat's Nest of electricity cables and half-built build buildings open drains run through the main streets as little evidence of Civic planning or control the boom times for Larry Canada began four decades when mineral prices since then this Gold Rush town has become home to a whole generation of nowhere else and despite the chaos a sense of community is developing new neighborhoods spring up virtually overnight today the parish priest is about to celebrate an anniversary Mass to Mark the foundation of one of them El Pueblo Colorado [Music] an anniversary is always a festification there's a freezing wind threatens that's no excuse [Music] a special occasion can lift the spirits the father Martin knows the everyday reality for people here is [Music] foreign [Music] donde [Music] Dinero [Music] the bars and Cantinas in the center of another Echo with gossip and Scandal and bear a wash with enough drink to fuel a wild west style broad now and again prostitution is right and some of the money made combines get spent in these streets most of it heads straight down the mountain leaving little behind to fund Civic communities or beef up lorda but this isn't the business end of town to find that you have to climb higher still [Music] Lauren Canada's goal is dug out from shafts and tunnels cut deep into the mountain above the town with mining at this altitude is shot through with risk even before they enter the darkness of their workplace the miners Brave a little danger directly above the works is a huge Glacier called La Bella dorniente when she stirs from sleep as the seasons change she sends ice blocks crashing down onto the works below no wonder laryn Canada has been dubbed up an ice hell on Earth yet thousands are willing to risk life and live here even though most of them aren't even paid a salary instead they're rewarded under a traditional system called cachireo to get no cash at all but for every month they work they get to keep whatever they can dig out from the mine on a single day [Music] in reality they may drive away with a little more but there's no guarantee that there's any actual gold at all in whatever they take Fortunato choke lives up to his name he's fortunate to have survived here long enough to have graduated from laboring at the rock face now he's an engineering Foreman on a salary working with one of the cooperatives Corporation is foreign and accidents do happen it's Lauren Canada's Medical Center which has to deal with the aftermath and with tens of thousands of people isolated at extreme altitude on this Mountaintop the clinic also faces a host of other calls upon its expertise is directly or indirectly it's the Fallout from the mine which puts most strain in medical facilities here paired even to other South American countries Peruvian mining has a very low safety record s is tragedy is something Medics and Mining communities all over the world have had to learn to cope with here it's so free it's virtually an acceptable fact of life but that doesn't easy Ness the mortise Fortunato is Keen to take us to a notorious Backstreet neighborhood but only if we film undercover using a tiny Palm Corner we followed him to a place where miners bring their small caches of all to be refined film Crews aren't welcome here it's an edgy sort of place with a whiff of the black market in the air and a hint of violent crime not so far away this is where the quartz is ground down and then mixed with Mercury which sticks to the gold despite the obvious health risks getting Hands-On with Mercury themselves is the cheapest way for miners to refine their goal the amalgam is heated to evaporate the Mercury this is the end product 19 grams of laryn Canada's finest worth around 800 Domino questions asked it's the currency of life here legal or otherwise [Music] there are other ways in Lauren Canada to try to get your hands on the precious metal combing through the waist tips for tiny pieces of quartz these are the palaqueros gold scavengers driven here by extreme poverty and the faint hope of earning a few solids [Music] foreign [Music] but typically it adds up to desperation a last throw of the dice to save the family as they left behind [Music] that Tower are you ready foreign gold seems to promise an answer to so many people's pain and poverty just one small nugget may change your whole life while the wait for a Lucky Strike goes on people develop their own mechanisms of survival even when danger and misery seem overwhelming so find sustenance [Music] compassion tenderness comrade chip something is holding this town together in spite of the chaos and suffering after Mass father Martin climbs the steps to inaugurate and bless the roof of a brand new building it's a community center a tangible sign of the common purpose the residents have found here it's proof but even for those at the edge of human endurance there's more to life is [Music] the endings mountains which have shaped the history of the whole continent [Music] they empowered the Incas with the secrets of agriculture in high places they lured Invaders with the promise of mythical gold visitors can experience them as breathtaking for those who are at home here life in these mountains is often backbreaking altitude demands the ability to adapt animals and in its human population farming here Remains the steepest of challenges and yet it has nurtured a distinctive culture which is recognized all over the world oh and produced a breed of Artisans who are determined to uphold their Traditions against all the Arts at their most extreme the Andes lay bear the greed and avarice which can seize us with desperation which poverty will drive us but they also shelter those who've hung on to the kindest and noblest of his testing conditions and held fast that in these mountains life is worth [Music] thank you [Music]

Channel: Documentary Central

Views: 153,001

Keywords: Doco, Documentaries, Documentary, Episode, Movie, Movies, Series, free high-quality documentaries, hd, full hd, quality, patagonia, glaciers, volcanos, hot springs, geysers, salt lakes, tierra del fuego, south america, fire, ice, coldness, heat, bolivia, peru, altiplano, tracks, documentary movies - topic, full documentary, travel documentary, culture documentary, coke leaf, potosi silver mines history, documentary, crossing the andes, andes documentary, argentina, terra del fuego, fishermen, migration

Id: WEIv-hJTAec

Length: 52min 1sec (3121 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 05 2023