:00:00. > :00:11.It's the largest pre-Incan site in South America and three times
:00:12. > :00:21.So why aren't there more people here?
:00:22. > :00:23.I'm in northern Peru, exploring its remote archaeological
:00:24. > :00:36.And Ben's in Serbia, getting a bird's-eye view
:00:37. > :01:18.This week, we are in the highlands of Peru, 1000
:01:19. > :01:21.kilometres from the capital, Lima.
:01:22. > :01:23.It's a region still relatively untouched by the hordes of tourists
:01:24. > :01:28.you will find in other parts of the continent.
:01:29. > :01:39.I'm in the north of the country in a town called Chachapoyas
:01:40. > :01:43.or Chacha as the locals here call it, over 1000km from Lima,
:01:44. > :01:46.and this is my starting point to get to one of the most
:01:47. > :01:48.incredible but lesser-known archaeological sites
:01:49. > :01:54.The isolated ruins of an ancient civilisation, the remains of some
:01:55. > :02:04.This is Kuelap, an architectural and historical wonder on the cliffs
:02:05. > :02:25.It was rediscovered, and it was full of forest.
:02:26. > :02:27.It was built by the Chachapoyans, who lived
:02:28. > :02:48.here centuries before their famous Inca cousins conquered the region.
:02:49. > :02:51.Building started here 1500 years ago and for the next 1000 years,
:02:52. > :02:54.the site was expanded, making it one of the largest stone
:02:55. > :03:02.At their peak, there were half a million Chachapoyas people living
:03:03. > :03:09.I'm just fascinated by these perfectly round
:03:10. > :03:16.Apparently, they used 30% less building material than your
:03:17. > :03:19.traditional square or oblong house, and they're more resilient
:03:20. > :03:29.The walls surrounding the structure are 20 metres high,
:03:30. > :04:02.But as the Chachapoyans left no written records, very little is
:04:03. > :04:05.yet known about them or the type of lives they lead.
:04:06. > :04:08.But one thing we do know is that they had elaborate
:04:09. > :04:18.More or less 200 mummies were found in the lake,
:04:19. > :04:20.on the shores of the Lake of the Condors
:04:21. > :04:24.These mummified remains were discovered by farmers
:04:25. > :04:31.and are now carefully stored in the Leymebamba museum.
:04:32. > :04:33.Farmers open a new clearing, a new field,
:04:34. > :04:41.There are thousands of sites, undiscovered sites, in this area.
:04:42. > :04:46.So they discover a site and they think about making money.
:04:47. > :04:49.When they find mummies, they try to sell them.
:04:50. > :04:52.So most of the funeral sites we know are looted already,
:04:53. > :05:07.These mummies, I know, they looked terrified, don't they,
:05:08. > :05:09.but apparently they were put in this position
:05:10. > :05:12.after they were dead so that you could bundle
:05:13. > :05:18.them and store them and transport them to be buried in the cliffs.
:05:19. > :05:21.The people that lived here went to great pains to preserve
:05:22. > :05:24.the remains of their ancestors, embalming them to hide them
:05:25. > :05:30.It was their way of keeping their memories and identity alive.
:05:31. > :05:35.And archaeologists are making new discoveries almost every week.
:05:36. > :05:41.All these archaeological sites, I would say
:05:42. > :05:43.90% of the archaeological sites we know locally
:05:44. > :05:54.Very few governmental institutions are investing money in investigation
:05:55. > :06:04.So, maybe some tourism, there will be more funding
:06:05. > :06:13.Despite the fascinating history, it's still a region relatively
:06:14. > :06:16.unknown to tourists and that's mainly due to the remoteness.
:06:17. > :06:25.So, we are in Tingo right now, which is where most travellers
:06:26. > :06:28.will start their journey to Kuelap, which is just on the other side
:06:29. > :06:33.For me to get there, I'd be treking for about half a day
:06:34. > :06:36.or stuck in a car for about two hours.
:06:37. > :06:45.But now there are new developments that could change all that.
:06:46. > :06:48.The town of Chachapoyas will benefit from the expansion of a nearby
:06:49. > :06:51.airport that will take a direct flights from the Peruvian capital,
:06:52. > :06:53.Lima, making the whole area more accessible.
:06:54. > :06:57.And this multi-million pound cable car is due for completion by the end
:06:58. > :07:04.Jose Luis, how will this cable car transform the travel experience?
:07:05. > :07:10.This cable car will transform this region, this economy,
:07:11. > :07:12.this people, because, now, in 20 minutes,
:07:13. > :07:36.But in the future, it's 100,000 people.
:07:37. > :07:39.It's eerie to be able to explore such a historic site virtually
:07:40. > :07:46.The crowd pulling Machu Picchu receives more than 1 million
:07:47. > :07:55.So many people, in fact, that they had to introduce quotas
:07:56. > :08:00.to limit the number of people going there.
:08:01. > :08:02.Do you think more and more tourists will have an effect
:08:03. > :08:21.And although Kuelap may lose some of its tranquillity,
:08:22. > :08:24.it's hoped that one day it will be as celebrated as Peru's
:08:25. > :08:54.Still to come on this week's Travel Show:
:08:55. > :09:04.Our Trip Star Ben is at the bottom of a bottle in Belgrade.
:09:05. > :09:06.I've left a happier, slightly more disorientated man.
:09:07. > :09:09.And I'll be getting to grips with one of the tallest
:09:10. > :09:34.The Travel Show, your essential guide whereever you're heading.
:09:35. > :09:38.We're exploring six great cities around the world
:09:39. > :09:42.using only a smartphone and your recommendations.
:09:43. > :09:45.We've had quite a time so far and this week,
:09:46. > :09:48.we're in a part of Europe that our Trip Star,
:09:49. > :09:52.Benjamin Zand, knows very little about.
:09:53. > :09:58.These days, it's all sunshine, sightseeing and staying up late.
:09:59. > :10:02.But in the late 1990s, the war in Kosovo prompted Nato to
:10:03. > :10:05.launch a bombing campaign here that changed the city for ever.
:10:06. > :10:12.But that was all a long time ago now.
:10:13. > :10:15.I want to find out how life has changed here since.
:10:16. > :10:18.The truth is, I still don't really know much about the place so
:10:19. > :10:23.my challenge is to use this to meet the people who can tell me what life
:10:24. > :10:27.is really like here today in the city.
:10:28. > :10:35.My first suggestion points me towards some tasty Serbian treats.
:10:36. > :10:44.I've tried Rakja before but never at 1pm in Serbia, so...
:10:45. > :10:49.It smells like what I would imagine Rakja to smell like.
:10:50. > :10:51.It's dangerously fruity and refreshing.
:10:52. > :10:53.She's giving me smaller portions now.
:10:54. > :11:14.I've left a happier, slightly more disorientated man.
:11:15. > :11:17.This tower was built to commemorate 1000 years of the Austro-Hungarian
:11:18. > :11:28.On the one side, you've got a real Mediterranean feel and on the other,
:11:29. > :11:30.you've got these brutalist buildings that tell
:11:31. > :11:37.I'm not a big fan of those Soviet style blocks but,
:11:38. > :11:40.as I'm finding out on Instagram, some people really are.
:11:41. > :11:50.He has some good framing skills, I'll give him that.
:11:51. > :12:03.Teach me the art of framing brutalism to the max.
:12:04. > :12:06.Try to be as low as you can and go wide.
:12:07. > :12:08.So what composition are you looking for?
:12:09. > :12:13.It's more like break dancing than photography but I'll do it.
:12:14. > :12:17.If it makes it more enjoyable, then...
:12:18. > :12:24.Oh, wow, that's beautiful because you've got the sun
:12:25. > :12:28.From here, I think it's a nice angle.
:12:29. > :12:33.They are very ugly buildings and they're are also quite
:12:34. > :12:48.But I really wanted to see the view from the
:12:49. > :13:02.It's a beautiful thing, because you are living with the
:13:03. > :13:04.You have every morning the beautiful view
:13:05. > :13:10.It's a great thing, especially in the summer,
:13:11. > :13:12.when you have a clear view.
:13:13. > :13:29.My next suggestion was made in such enthusiastic terms that I demanded
:13:30. > :13:33.to meet its owner and get a personal tour.
:13:34. > :13:35.Please step into our little 5-star yacht.
:13:36. > :13:41.How do the splavs kind of reflect the history?
:13:42. > :13:44.Yes, we did have a pretty hard time during the 90s.
:13:45. > :13:46.During that time, a lot of people went
:13:47. > :13:48.to the shelter underneath all these buildings, and
:13:49. > :13:51.spent their time over a period of 90 days together in
:13:52. > :13:55.these shelters and really got to know each other, got to see,
:13:56. > :13:57.kind of going back to the roots of relationships,
:13:58. > :14:07.friendships, about the true meaning of life.
:14:08. > :14:10.Up to 200 splavs line the river here and Andreja reckons
:14:11. > :14:23.they are busy every night of the week.
:14:24. > :14:31.People just generally having fun doing what they love and
:14:32. > :14:46.you can't really complain about that, can you?
:14:47. > :14:49.And finally this week, I'm in the tiny town of Cuispes
:14:50. > :14:52.just north of Chachapoyas in northern Peru and we're about to
:14:53. > :15:01.head to the jungle to discover one of the area's best kept secrets.
:15:02. > :15:04.Tucked away in the eastern Andes, Cuispes didn't feature on the
:15:05. > :15:16.But a few kilometres away lies a spectacular discovery that has
:15:17. > :15:23.Hidden in these rainforests are some of the tallest
:15:24. > :16:15.The only way to get close to the waterfalls is on
:16:16. > :16:38.So, we've been walking for more than an hour, so
:16:39. > :16:41.I'm not surprised that not many people have heard of this place
:16:42. > :16:55.And we're going to walk underneath it?
:16:56. > :17:04.This is just one of some 30 waterfalls concentrated in this
:17:05. > :17:09.They were recognised internationally in 2005 after a
:17:10. > :17:17.German explorer stumbled across them.
:17:18. > :17:21.Since then, the local guides have invested their time to make the
:17:22. > :17:29.trail accessible to tourists, moving heavy rocks to create hiking trails.
:17:30. > :17:31.But the main attraction here is Yumbilla waterfall.
:17:32. > :17:34.At a whopping 895 metres, it's the fifth tallest in the
:17:35. > :17:48.And people are now seeing that this is the perfect backdrop for
:17:49. > :17:50.something more challenging than hiking.
:17:51. > :18:13.This team is setting up the first professional venture here.
:18:14. > :18:24.Yumbilla is split into four almost sheer
:18:25. > :18:28.drops and I'm going to try to abseil down the bottom section with a lot
:18:29. > :18:33.I'm going to rappel down here, down this little
:18:34. > :18:37.waterfall about ten or
:18:38. > :18:39.12 metres into a pool and then from there,
:18:40. > :18:42.we'll abseil down the rest of the waterfall which is
:18:43. > :18:46.And I'm one of the first people to do this.
:18:47. > :18:48.Before we can start, the team must meticulously
:18:49. > :18:53.anchor a system of ropes into the rock face.
:18:54. > :18:58.Never that glamorous getting into a wet suit, but I'll be
:18:59. > :19:02.I'm attached to a harness and instructed on the safety
:19:03. > :19:05.apparatus that will allow me to control my descent.
:19:06. > :19:23.I put my feet against the wall and slowly
:19:24. > :19:27.It's hard to stay up with the constant
:19:28. > :19:29.pressure of the water pushing me backwards
:19:30. > :19:31.and I'm told this is the easy part.
:19:32. > :19:46.We reach the tiny ledge overlooking the last 70 metres
:19:47. > :20:21.So far, so good, but halfway down, I'm in for a shock.
:20:22. > :20:24.Slightly unnerving that we're going to lose the rock now and go
:20:25. > :20:34.Without the rock face, I'm literally hanging.
:20:35. > :20:44.Basically, this rope is holding my body weight
:20:45. > :20:47.and I'm having to release the rope to get me down.
:20:48. > :20:51.This way of coming down is faster and scarier than
:20:52. > :20:55.We reach the last part of the descent
:20:56. > :20:57.and I'm so relieved to finally get to the bottom.
:20:58. > :21:01.I know it's crazy, I didn't expect quite so much water.
:21:02. > :21:37.And once the cold and the terror disappear, I feel
:21:38. > :21:41.lucky to be one of the few people to have experienced this wilderness
:21:42. > :21:44.while it's still a bit of a secret from the outside world.
:21:45. > :21:47.That was an amazing experience but I tell you
:21:48. > :21:50.what, I'm glad to be back on solid ground and out of that wetsuit.
:21:51. > :21:53.That's all we've got time for the programme this week.
:21:54. > :21:57.Coming up next week: Christa's on the west coast of Ireland
:21:58. > :22:00.project that's attempting to reintroduce rare birds
:22:01. > :22:18.And don't forget, if you want to join the
:22:19. > :22:21.rest of the Travel Show team on their travels in real-time,
:22:22. > :22:23.you can check out our social media pages.
:22:24. > :22:25.All the details are on your screen now.
:22:26. > :22:28.But until next time, from me, Carmen Roberts, and
:22:29. > :22:32.the rest of the Travel Show team here at Yumbilla Falls in