Where Russia meets Asia lies the Caucasus,
a hidden land of dramatic peaks and ancient cultures.
For centuries, wars and natural barriers
have stopped outsiders passing through,
but now I want to cross this mighty mountain range, all the way to Iran.
HELICOPTER WHIRS Whoo! And this is where the journey begins.
My name is Levison Wood.
It's a cold one today.
I've travelled the length of the Nile...
I can't see a thing now.
..the Himalayas...
This is hard-core.
..and the Americas.
Ah!
Now I'm crossing the Caucasus... Whoa, whoa, whoa!
We're running up here, aren't we? This is a bad idea.
..with the help of the locals themselves.
Can we jump on?
This is hitchhiking, Georgian-style. Yes.
Starting from the foothills in southern Russia, I'll track
the mountains as they zigzag across five countries
to the shores of the Caspian Sea,
from the dusty peaks of the northern badlands to the fertile
valleys of the former Soviet republics,
aiming to finish in the captivating nation of Iran.
Wish me luck.
I'll travel through remote...
Wow. There's a mummified cat nailed to the wall.
You'd think it'd feel safe but it really doesn't.
..volatile...
GUNFIRE AND DOGS BARKING
I think we'd better leave.
..and spectacular lands.
That has got to be one of the most mind-blowing views.
It puts the Grand Canyon to shame.
And I'll meet people...
He's getting very friendly with his sheep.
..like no others on earth.
Assalaamu Alaikum.
What do you reckon? Suit me?
So far, I've made it to Russia's Islamic southern region,
and seen how it's blighted by the threat of terrorism.
The local people call them freedom fighters.
Now I'm crossing the feared state of Dagestan...
He's exactly the kind of guy that we've been told to avoid.
..into a stunning wilderness...
Dagestan is a land of mountains.
..and villages that time forgot...
Josef Stalin, dated 1951.
..towards a country with so much oil the locals bathe in it.
This is quite a welcome to Azerbaijan.
PANTING
It's a cold one today.
I wasn't expecting winter to return,
but it's been snowing all night,
and it's freezing cold.
Yeah, it's, like, about minus five.
Yeah. Definitely.
I'm in Dagestan, a remote mountainous region where
Islamist insurgents hideout in the hills.
The British Foreign Office advise against all travel here,
but to finish my journey across Russia's Caucasus,
my guide Rasheed and I have to head deeper into these badlands.
Ahmed. Ahmed. Nice to meet you, Ahmed.
Cold day for shepherding today.
Where are you taking the...the goats?
HORN HONKS
RASHEED TRANSLATES
GOATS BLEAT
Really? Yes.
Go and put some... Go and put some warm clothes on.
THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE
So far I've made it 690 miles along Russia's southern border,
and now I'm going to cover 200 miles across the state of Dagestan,
through isolated hilltop villages and dangerous mountain passes,
and then across the border into country number two, Azerbaijan.
This is Dagestan, one of the wildest frontiers of Russia,
and it's been the place of lots of localised civil wars
and an ongoing insurgency,
and even now there's lots of rebels who are fighting
against the Russian government, hiding out in the forests.
Shall we hitchhike? Let's get this. Yeah.
Assalaamu Alaikum...
Despite the threat, we're travelling with the help of locals.
Yeah? Yeah, we'll go in there. OK.
Assalaamu Alaikum. Alaikum Salaam.
Karim. Karim and Mohammad. Mohammad.
Karim and Mohammad.
Karim is striving to Rahata.
This town is famed as the place that once clothed this region.
At one time, Dagestani men sported the unique woollen cloak
they make here.
So this is it. We are entering the factory.
CAR DOORS CLOSE
Oh, wow.
So, how many people work at this factory?
It's quite a big factory, though, just for three people.
In its heyday, this factory employed 250 people,
and even kitted out the Russian military in the Second World War.
Just be careful, yeah, because they are very sharp.
I'll be careful.
Uh-huh. LEVISON LAUGHS
OK, so we put this here...
WOMAN SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE Be careful. Be careful.
BLEEP!
Come on, then, there you go.
LAUGHTER
They're quite sharp.
For a 21st-century workplace, the tools seem a bit medieval.
Am I doing it right?
THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE
LAUGHTER Was that a no?
OK, I think I'm done with that. That's bloody sharp.
LAUGHTER
Ow.
Any blood?
No, we're OK.
Has he got any that are finished?
RASHEED TRANSLATES
Kamil, the manager, retails the cloaks for $40 apiece.
So what do you do, just literally just have it on your shoulders?
Yeah, basically you just put it on your shoulders like that... Yeah.
..and when you're riding a horse, for example... Yeah.
..you just... This part of you just goes, like, to the back.
Really? That's definitely going to fall off if I'm riding a horse.
I think my ears need to be tucked in.
Yeah, I mean, this may look like something from a really bad
fancy-dress party, but the reality is that this was the traditional
cloak of all of the Caucasian peoples,
and this is what every man, every warrior would wear.
You know, on a daily basis you'd wear this, riding your horse.
Which one do you think suits me, the black one or the white one?
Black, of course. Black? Black. Yeah, more manly.
THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE
LEV LAUGHS
Keep up the good work. Great burkas.
But keeping a business running in this volatile region
isn't for the faint-hearted.
Much of the violence comes from home-grown Islamists,
but they're up against the might of the Russian military.
So, up ahead is one of the biggest Russian army bases in the region.
Do you think anyone's watching us?
We're going to have to be pretty careful on the filming here.
You know, this is one of the main centres where
the Russian army operates their counterterrorism
raids on the insurgency.
The Russian army and the FSB are all based here,
just in case things kick off.
You can see why Dagestan is known as the land of mountains.
There's a lot of them.
This is a canyon famed throughout all of Dagestan
for its beauty and its wild wolves.
It's incredible, isn't it?
Whoo!
Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar!
# Allahu Akbar
# Allahu Akbar... #
HE CONTINUES SINGING IN OWN LANGUAGE
Well, that definitely scared the wolves away.
RASHEED LAUGHS That's what it's made for.
The Russian Empire invaded this Muslim region nearly 200 years ago,
and we're now entering the former stronghold of
the Islamic resistance.
You can see down there that is the famous town of Gunib,
famed across the whole Caucasus,
because this was the last stand of the Caucasian hero, Imam Shamil,
and he was the guy in the 1820s, '30s and '40s,
who was fighting for independence against the Russian Empire,
but this was where he finally surrendered and Russia took over
the whole Caucasus.
Even after almost two centuries of Russian rule,
nine out of ten people here are Muslim.
Is that Imam Shamil as well?
Yeah, on that picture is Imam Shamil.
We want to find someone who can take us to the fabled village of Chokh.
Assalaamu Alaikum. Yeah?
Yeah, we'll go with them.
ENGINE RUMBLES Thanks.
Ah...
THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE
Ali...
Lev. Nice to meet you.
The mountain settlement of Chokh was once a magnet for
scholars and students alike,
and I'm keen to see how this historic town is faring today.
I'll see you, man. Thank you very much.
THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE
ENGINE ROARS
No cafes, nothing.
Well, we can knock on someone's door
and just ask for tea, hopefully.
LEV LAUGHS
So, Chokh used to be one of the big centres in Dagestan,
famous for its art and crafts, and famous Islamic teachers,
but, you know, now it's a bit like a ghost town.
DOGS BARKING There's nobody here.
The Soviet Union used to employ rural communities like Chokh,
but when it collapsed, the jobs disappeared,
and young people left to find work.
You know, it's, like, almost apocalyptic.
The village of 2,000 has now dwindled to just 400 people.
Salaam.
Assalaamu Alaikum. Alaikum Salaam.
Nice to meet you.
What's your name? My name is Zaur.
You're the first young person we've met in Chokh.
CHICKENS CLUCK
Zaur is a local builder, who was born in Chokh.
He shows us around his hometown, which feels frozen in time.
What was this building before?
THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE
Somebody's house, yeah.
THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE
It looks like it could do with some new wallpaper.
This hasn't been touched for maybe 50 years.
This is soap.
That's soap? Yes.
LEV LAUGHS
A bar of soap from the 1950s.
HE LAUGHS It says "USSR" on it.
Look at that.
This is a newspaper, and it was just at the bottom of this drawer,
covered in dust.
That's Josef Stalin, dated 1951,
just two years before he died.
MEN SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE
This room has just got all these bottles from the '50s and '60s,
newspapers, ink bottles, completely untouched.
THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE
What's that? Spirits? Yes. From the 1950s?
Yes. 100%...
So we can have...
You can have a party in the evening.
You can still smell it. Is that an original one, is it?
Yes, yes.
They used to sell those in pharmacies like that.
MAN LAUGHS
I'm in the Islamic republic of Dagestan,
travelling from Russia to Iran.
My guide, Rasheed, and I have been invited to lunch
by a local builder we've just met in the town of Chokh.
THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE
His mum is doing the cooking.
Can I...? Can I help with anything?
RASHEED TRANSLATES IN OWN LANGUAGE
Let's just sit down. Thank you very much.
You're very kind.
I really don't like gherkins.
But Mrs Bakharov isn't taking no for an answer.
Mm! Delicious.
Mm.
Literally the worst thing in the world.
I pull them off my Big Mac.
You must be very proud of your son, who's restoring the village.
All of my six... I have six sons.
You've got six sons? Wow.
When you were 48?!
Congratulations.
She's in school.
She's at school. Congratulations.
Are you going to eat with us?
Of course I will. Fantastic.
Great. Well...
I'll take a seat then, and do as I'm told.
THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE
It's like the whole family has turned up.
Wrestling champion.
The champion of Dagestan, eh?
The champ is Zahr's cousin Mahaj.
And it seems his title is up for grabs.
We've just finished lunch and now Mahaj,
the Dagestan's champion wrestler is
challenging me to a fight.
It's not really what you want on a full stomach, is it?
He says he won't hurt me. Look at his ears.
They're... OK.
Right. Bloody hell.
OK, so you go through the legs. Right, that's it. Here we go.
There you go, man. There you go.
OK, let's do this.
Round three. Time to teach this whipper snapper a lesson.
I used to be 20 once.
All right, fair won.
PANTING
So I was chatting with Zhar over lunch about the history of Chokh,
and he made the suggestion that we come
and have a look at this abandoned village.
This is what I love about travelling
is you come to a village picked randomly on the map,
you bump into random people,
and then they take you on to these undiscovered places.
Places that foreigners just never come to.
This is the village of Gamsutl.
Locals say it was inhabited for over 2,000 years -
until the final resident died just two years ago.
Down there is...
..one of the most remarkable views you can ever imagine.
You've got settlements that are thousands of years old.
You've got raging rivers.
Stunning forests.
Snowcapped peaks.
And then out there just pristine wilderness.
This place is unbelievable.
PRAYER CALL SOUNDS
Back in Chokh, it's time to go.
And the best way over the mountains from here
is on a Dagestani four by four.
DOGS BARK
The one thing we have been told is that, because this valley has
got lots of wolves and bears, we are going to have to go armed.
Farmer Yakob is happy to rent us these horses.
I think the white one looks like a good one.
And we'll be protected by a local hunter.
THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE
Zurab looks exactly like weekend of guys
that we'd been told to avoid.
He's wearing his combat gear and he's armed with an assault rifle.
Hopefully we're in safe hands.
Go on, Rasheed.
HORSE WHINNIES
That's it. Saddled up. Good to go.
Straight out into the wilderness and over the mountains.
With 100 miles still to go in Dagestan,
we're crossing the mountain step east on horseback.
We're aiming for one of the oldest cities on earth - Derbent,
once a pit stop for travellers on the silk Road,
and on to Azerbaijan, and its oil-funded metropolis, Baku.
So we set off on this glorious morning,
and my horse is called Lord.
Lord of the manor.
Although he seems to be a bit of a slothenly one.
I'm now sat here at the back
while everyone else is storming away up front.
You all right there, Lord?
HORSE WHINNIES
You've got a feisty horse there Yes.
I love him. Having fun?
Yes, very suitable with my character.
Rasheed's from the Karachay people -
famous horseman from the Western Caucasus.
And by the way, this is Karachan horse. Is it?
Yeah, we brought it from Karachan.
So I got lucky.
You knew, didn't you? Yes.
Your brother. Yes, exactly.
Our armed escort, Zurab, is an Avar -
one of the 30 ethnic groups in Dagestan,
and he's spent his whole life in this mountain wilderness.
So we're just stopping for a quick five minute break.
Somebody has been having a feast here.
I don't know if it's the humans, though, or the wolves.
Before we go any further, Zurab invites us
to prove we can handle a weapon.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Right, ready?
This is where my marksmanship comes into practise.
LAUGHTER
You got it. You got it.
How's your marksmanship? Are you good..?
Are you a good sniper? I could say probably 50-50.
HE LAUGHS
I got it.
I'm surprised you can see with that hat on.
Yeah, it's good.
It seems like it's scalding, but it's all right.
Like that, you see. Sh.
What are you looking for, Zurab?
I can't see any. They're a long way away.
Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah. Right in the distance.
As you probably noticed, here in Caucasus,
not many people wear glasses.
Just a few, because we have to always look very far.
This way, our focus, pupil...?
Pupil? Yeah.
..has to work all the time.
So the muscles are working all the time instead of, for example,
if you sit in front of the computer all the time,
your pupil doesn't work any more.
So there you go.
If you want to save your eyesight, come to the Caucasus,
and keep your eyes peeled for wolves.
Apart from our eyesight, good eyes work,
we also have another instrument good work.
And our women are always satisfied and happy.
LAUGHTER
Because we ride horses a lot here and when you ride horses,
of course, as you probably already noticed, Levison, your prostata,
prostrate is always massaged.
Another cracking theory.
Yes, exactly.
I'm crossing the infamous Republic of Dagestan with my guide, Rasheed.
Beautiful day.
This mountainous region is a known hide out for Islamist insurgents,
but we're travelling with Zurab, a local hunter who was born here.
I don't think views get much better than that.
Phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal.
I can't stop grinning.
Top of a mountain with nothing but the eagles for company.
So, Zurab has just told us that he can only go as far as the next
ridge line because from then on in,
we enter a different part of Dagestan
and because it's a different tribe, it's disrespectful to turn up on.
Thank you very much.
Have a safe journey home.
We bid farewell to Zurab and continue alone on foot.
There's still 90 miles of wild terrain between us
and the ancient city of Derbent.
So I want to cover as much distance as possible before sundown.
Right there, Levison. Over that ridge.
If we will make it tonight hopefully, it will be great,
but if we don't, we'll just stay in the woods.
It's going dark pretty quickly now.
It'll be dark in the next 20 minutes,
so I think what we're going to do is just bivy out under the stars.
Well, there you go, there's a good little fire.
What a spectacular night. Night, Rasheed.
Have good dreams.
So we're just trying to remember the last time we had a shower
and it was at least a week ago.
Yeah, but we haven't.
LAUGHTER
Mmm, pleasant. I'm getting a bit stinky.
Hey. What's your name?
Probably Snoop Dogg. Snoop Dogg?
Looks like we've found a new friend on the road.
We reach the village of Balhar, still 80 miles from Derbent
and plan to hitch from here.
As-Salaam-Alaikum. Much obliged, sir.
What does he say? Any chance of a lift?
Yes, he says I'll be free in one and a half hours max, from here.
What do you do in a mountain village in central Dagestan
when you've got 90 minutes to kill?
Have a look around.
So the dog here's half wolf, apparently. Is it friendly?
Friendly? It's OK? It is OK to stroke it?
DOG BARKS
No idea who this guy is.
So this is village life in Dagestan.
You sit down here in the central square and before you know it,
you're inundated by old men wanting to come and tell you their
life story or just chat away and take the piss out of you.
After nearly two hours hanging out with these likely lads,
our ride finally turns up.
Right, looks like our lift has arrived.
And it is the village ambulance.
What's the name of these kind of cars? Bukhanka.
It looks like a loaf of bread, you see.
That's why, so we call them a loaf of bread.
How are you doing?
All right, and off we go.
Is this OK? This is perfect, yeah.
I'll tell you what, I wouldn't want to be a patient in this.
The roads are quite bumpy, and to be honest,
it ain't that comfortable.
Note to self - don't ever have an accident here.
Otherwise you'll end up in one of these
and get bounced around the place. Yeah.
Finally, we make it to the historic town of Derbent.
Located on the ancient trade routes of the Silk Road,
it's been a melting pot of religions and cultures for over 2,000 years.
THUNDER RUMBLES
Saturday morning in Derbent
and it's a grey, wet day,
but it's nice to be on the frontier now
between east and west.
Derbent is one of the oldest continually inhabited
cities in the world.
HE SINGS
Derbent has been an Islamic city since the eighth century,
but today one Western tradition seems to have been fully embraced.
Do we have the chocolate first or second?
So, we just met these guys walking down from the Citadel
and we're now having home-made cognac out of here.
I've already had one and this is number two.
Everyone's a little bit on the hammered side.
You made this?
It's a factory, but it's not the one that it goes for sale.
And now for the road.
LEVISON LAUGHS
And now I'm going to run away.
A little one, ready?
Nostrovia.
Mmm.
Wonderful. Thank you very much.
Spasibo.
With a spring in our step,
we hit the final leg of our journey in Dagestan.
We're now heading for the border of country number two, Azerbaijan.
Well, we're almost at the border,
but there seems to be a bit of a party going on over there.
Let's go check it out. TRADITIONAL MUSIC PLAYS
What on earth is going on? HE LAUGHS
There seems to be a bloke doing tightrope walking with,
sort of, tin pots on his feet.
These guys are from a mountain village called Tsovkra.
Historically, all villagers born there learn to walk the tightrope
to cross the region's fast-flowing rivers.
It's a good send-off from Russia before we go into Azerbaijan,
that's for sure.
On expeditions, I'm always saying goodbye.
Mate, thank you very much. Look after yourself. You too, then.
Take care of your family, get married as soon as you can.
LEVISON LAUGHS And have babies.
Thank you for looking after me.
Thank you very much for everything. Thank you.
This region is said to be one of the most dangerous in Europe,
but what I'll remember is the warm welcome.
Well, there we go. I'm through customs and into Azerbaijan.
Here we are. Country number two.
I'm 870 miles into my journey to cross the Caucasus
from Russia to Iran.
And now I need to make contact with my next guide.
I've been in touch with a guy whose name is Namin,
a local Azerbaijani ex-soldier who has agreed to come with me.
So I'm going to try and hitch a lift and get to the first main town,
which is called Quba,
and that is where I'm supposed to be meeting Namin.
Right, let's beat the competition.
This is really the sort of crossroads
of where Europe does meet Asia.
Azerbaijan is a fledgling democracy born in the post-Soviet era.
The ruling party have been accused of curbing press freedom
and rigging elections, but rich in oil,
they've presided over an aggressive, expanding economy
and everyone's hustling to make a buck.
Hello.
You're going to Quba?
Er...Quba. 50?
He's definitely a businessman.
It's not like in Dagestan where you get people
literally throwing their hospitality at you.
It's quite a different way of doing things.
Yeah?
Well, progress has been made,
we're going in the right direction at least.
In the town of Quba, I track down my guide.
You must be Namin. Yes. How are you doing? Good to meet you. Lev.
Good to meet you. How are you?
Perfect. You? Excellent. Yeah, very well, thank you.
We hit the road and it's over 100 miles to the capital city, Baku.
But I think it's in Europe.
DOG BARKING Shh-shh!
And you're in the Eurovision Song contest? Yes. Yes.
That's the main thing, right? Yes, and we took the first place.
What was the song like? Was it a good one? Let me think.
Come to me, come to me... No, no, no. Now I forgot.
I thought you were going to give me a nice song then. I cannot sing.
It's very rare that a soldier can sing, I agree with that one.
I'm terrible at karaoke.
After five hours, we've climbed to 2,300 metres.
Namin has brought me to the remote but renowned village of Xinaliq.
For a small place, the residents make a big claim.
They say it was here that Noah's ark came to rest.
Namin here has got a friend who lives in the village.
What's your name?
So the people here think that they're actually Noah's descendants?
Despite the remote setting, the people of Xinaliq have a proud,
scholarly tradition.
Oh, this is... Wow. He lives in a museum.
This is the oldest one, is it? Wow.
Where are these from?
He's even got a brand-new English £5 note
with Churchill on the front.
Really? Yes. Which one is the Spartan...?
So he thinks that's Roman? Yes. Spartan, yes.
Very cool. Good museum.
We get introduced to Hajibala's neighbour. Yusuf, nice to meet you.
Then we're sucked into a long-running village dispute.
So do people think that Noah's ark is here and not in Turkey? Yes.
Well, that cleared that one up.
Back in Hajibala's house, he sticks on a brew.
Thank you.
And Namin shows me his rather alarming hobby.
More than 150 metres high. No ropes. No ropes, nothing.
You're off your head.
Turns out Namin used to be a special forces officer.
Now he's a professional mountaineer who thinks he knows what he's doing.
This is most dangerous because you cannot have a good hand grip here.
But it still looks bloody stupid.
75 metres high building.
You're not holding on to much there.
That's five fingers.
Are you sure you're sane?
I'm not sure I'm in safe hands with you.
LAUGHTER It's OK.
I'll show you one more.
Thank you very much. Thank you.
As we leave the next morning,
we discover how residents of Xinaliq power their village.
What's your name?
Bakhma.
So basically Bakhma here is making shit bricks.
With few trees at this high altitude,
they're forced to burn manure instead of wood.
So what do you use these for?
So this is just from the cows then, not from the sheep or anything?
Any old shit will do.
Bakhma, can I help?
OK, just step on it. Just stand on it, squash it up a bit.
Right, this is...
In the name of exploration...
Yours seems a lot more solid than mine. Is that OK?
I reckon you're going to squash it up and start again,
aren't you, when we leave?
All right, we'll leave you to it, Bakhma. Thank you very much.
Cox sag ol. Cox sag ol. Have a nice day.
There's still 100 miles of road between us and the capital,
but only one in 10 Azerbaijanis own a car.
These guys must stop. It's the only car we've seen all day.
How are you doing?
We're in luck. This guy is going our way.
Love it.
You've dressed up very smart.
Not like us.
After miles of empty horizon,
the signs of Azerbaijan's energy industry appear out of the haze.
Nearly 90% of the country's exports are fossil fuels
and the capital city is a boom town, dripping with oil money.
So far, so good. With Baku it seems to be a beautiful city.
Lovely day. It's a bit like Paris in the sunshine.
But while we're here, Namin
wants to try something you certainly don't find in Paris.
How are you? What's your name?
Hashim, Doctor. Dr Hashim.
Dr Hashim is in charge of a health treatment
popular with Azerbaijanis - an oil bath.
This is the most unusual medical I've ever had.
Brain good? Brain's good.
I don't want to question your qualifications or anything, but...
Not good? My heart's not good?
Normal? Thank goodness for that.
I've never seen anything quite like that.
This looks like something from a horror film, genuinely.
Look at this.
Lose conscious?
GURGLING
Hm. Beautiful.
I'm having second thoughts about this.
OK. Right, time to get naked.
Etien has the undesirable task of getting me submerged.
OK. Yeah?
This is just quite unique, isn't it?
Put it on my face? Yes, yes, yes.
The 13th century adventurer Marco Polo wrote about oil baths.
Apparently they can cure everything from skin conditions to impotence.
I've had quite a few, you know,
grooming experiences around the world,
but this definitely stands out as one of the weirdest.
I've got no idea how the oil comes off.
Poor Etien's day isn't getting any better.
Not the most gentle of scrubber downers.
I think he's scraping off my dignity.
He's still alive?
That was weird.
I'm not sure I'm feeling anything other than a deep sense of nausea.
That's what they say, isn't it?
If it smells bad, tastes bad and looks bad,
then it's probably good for you.
Still to come - volcanic deserts...
It's like we've arrived on the surface of the moon.
..treacherous roads...
This is BLEEP scary.
One loose boulder, the entire cliff can come down.
Nice to meet you.
..I search for a hermit monk...
The biggest long drop in history.
..and a secret world.
Our minder's still following us everywhere we go,
watching our every move.
Subtitles by Ericsson