Art journeys to one of the earth's most extreme environments—the high, rugged, and remote Altiplano. More lunar than earthly in appearance, Bolivia's high plain is a land lost in time. The Altiplano's dazzling dreamscapes include the world's largest salt flat, an island of golden cactus, scarlet-tinted lakes, twin volcanoes, and surreal skies.
The beautiful, protected waters in southeast Alaska are filled with islands and bays rich with wildlife. The concentration of diversity in this secluded environment is remarkable. Art goes by boat on a voyage of discovery, encountering dramatic calving glaciers and Sitka forests, breaching orcas and migrating humpbacks, eagles, and barnacle-eating bears.
Torres del Paine Park in the far southern Andes of Patagonia is remote and inaccessible. For adventurers it's the "edge" destination. Art's images tell a story of nature at its wildest—of a place where jagged peaks scrape the sky, icebergs catch the light, guanacos watch for pumas, and Andean condors rule the skies.
The remote Katmai Coast is the largest intact stretch of uninhabited coastline left in North America. Art takes advantage of the long days of Alaska's short summer in Katmai National Park, spending time with the largest population of grizzly bears in the world. Joined by bear biologists, he gets up close and personal with Ursus arctos to provide a fresh look at the behavior of these powerful predators in the wild.
Eighty million years ago, Madagascar split off from Africa. Separated from the mainland, the sturdy and lucky creatures that reached Madagascar's shores intact took off on a wild and bizarre evolutionary journey. Art documents Madagascar's most famous inhabitants: it's a who's who of the weird and wonderful, including dancing sifakas, rainbow-colored chameleons, a forest of upside-down trees, and a spiny desert.
America's Serengeti? Wilderness or wasteland? Art rafts down the icy Kongakut River to document America's last pure and untamed wilderness. He chronicles the desolate, yet abundant beauty of the tundra and the rugged landscapes of the Brooks Range. He turns his lens on the delicate birds and animals for which the Refuge is a vital habitat and intersects the great Porcupine caribou herd on its annual migration to the coastal plain.
It's a place where clouds conceal rare birds, animals blend into the forest, predators hide in the shadows, and native peoples are disappearing. Manu, in southern Peru, belongs to the largest area of protected rain forest in the Amazon. Art goes downriver and encounters the spectacular birds, animals, and peoples of the Amazon, who together are struggling to survive.
East Africa is a vast stage on which the circular, never-ending journey known as the Great Migration has played out for millions of years. After going eye to eye with thousands of wildebeest and zebra, Art enlists an old friend and bush pilot to help him capture aerial patterns of migrating herds and flocks of flamingoes. On the ground, he pursues giraffe on horseback and tracks rhino on foot.
Rugged Patagonia offers Himalayan-quality drama in a small package. Just above El Chalten, South America's unofficial trekking capital, rises the jagged silhouette of Mt. Fitz Roy—revered and iconic in the world of mountaineering and photographed thousands of times. Art sets off in search of a different and unique view of the peak. En route, he treks through an ancient forest, fords an icy river, goes under a glacier, and traverses one of the largest ice caps in the world.
The American Southwest is a geological time machine. Its bizarre and beautiful rock formations are the result of eons of erosion. In Utah's Zion National Park, Art explores surreal slot canyons carved from wind and water and encounters the strange rock spires—hoodoos—that punctuate the landscape like giant exclamation points. In Arizona's Canyon de Chelly, he goes by horseback with a Navajo guide to discover petroglyphs hidden in tribal lands. With its brilliant light, red desert rock, cobalt blue skies, golden cotton woods, and white-barked Aspens, the American Southwest is a photographer's playground.
Allahabad and Varanasi are India's holiest river towns. Allahabad hosts the largest religious gathering on the planet at the confluence of its sacred rivers. Art joins nearly 20 million pilgrims for a dip in the Ganges and captures images of Hindu holy men, ascetics, who have renounced all worldly pursuits. Downstream, in ancient Varanasi, the sacred and the ordinary meet in a swirl of color, fire, and ritual. Hindus strive to visit this spiritual epicenter at least once in their lives to bathe in the Ganges and cleanse their karma.
Lying between wind-ravaged Cape Horn and Antarctica, South Georgia Island is an icy oasis with an abundance of wildlife. Stunningly beautiful and rugged, this island sanctuary protects thousands of sea birds and marine mammals. Art returns to his favorite place on earth to explore its emerald bays and fjords and visit colonies of king penguins, wandering albatross, and elephant seals.
Ethiopia is like no other place in Africa. Some of the isolated animist tribes who have lived there for centuries are still unaware that they reside in a country called Ethiopia. In this episode, Art ventures into the Omo Valley, Ethiopia's nearly inaccessible and richest tribal zone. After enduring muddy, impassable roads and swollen rivers, he makes his way to the Hamer, Karo, and remote Surma tribes. He documents the tribes' unique body painting, elaborate adornments, and timeless ceremonies.
The image manyu of us have of Japan is congested and kinetic. But Japan has a wild side. In winter, beyond its crowded cities, the country delivers quiet, unexpected natural beauty. In the second season opener, Art Wolfe ventures north to the remote region of Hokkaido to view iconic red-crested cranes; south to the mountains to folm the mischieveous mcaque snow monkeys; and journeys on to the sacred temples of Mt. Fuji and Koyosan on photographic pilgrimage.
Australia's Northern Territory is an immense, untamed wilderness as brutal as it is beautiful. For the Aboriginal people, it's the place of the 'Dreamtime', where land and story meet. In episode two, Art Wolfe captures images of rock art intricately painted over thousands of years ago; discovers canyons carved by wind and water; and witnesses an ancient aboriginal dance as he chronicles the connection between the region's first people and the natural world.
It is a fabled land of sand, salt and nomads. But Mali is more than the Sahara; it is a place where the Niger River flows passt some of Africa's unique tribal and architectural wonders. In episode three, Art Wolfe follows the river road to the camoflaged villages of the cliff-dwelling Dogon people; floats downriver to Djenne's fantastic mud mosque; heads into hte desert with nomadic Tuaregs; and finally travels on to Timbuktu where he meets up with a camel caravan.
It is spring on the Antarctic Peninsula and the frozen wilderness is a veritable nursery for penguins, shore birds and seal pups. In episode four Art Wolfe crosses the infamous Drake Passage the treacherous body of water south of Cape Horn to explore the Falkland Islands and the Antarctic coast in search of wildlife and landscapes inherent to this pristine and unforgiving land.
Located in the heart of South America, the Pantanal is the world's largest wetland and home to one of the densest concentrations of wildlife on the planet. It's a unique place where human activity and wildlife coexist. Here Brazilian cowboys ride herd alongside toothy caimans, giant otters, capybaras, macaws and toucans. In episode five, Art Wolfe arrives just as the seasonal floods have receded and discovers both an ecological paradise and a vibrant cowboy culture.
West Africa is the birthplace of Voodoo; in Togo and Bernin ancestors commingle with the living. Whether it's vulture heads for sale at a fetish market or sacred bloodstained altars, Voodoo is always front and center. In episode six, Art Wolfe visits villages known for their vibrant inhabitants and intense rituals and discovers frenzied trances, powerful masked dances and an extraordinary fire-eating ceremony -- all part of everyday life.
New Zealand's extreme beauty is central to its identity. Here indigenous Maori people see themselves as guardians of the land. In episode seven, Art Wolfe captures portraits of contemporary Maori artists who wear their stories on their faces in the form of sacred tattoos, and convey their sense of stewardship through their art. Then he heads off to the wild South Island to explore the natural history of this pristine and beautifully preserved island nation.
Beyond India and Nepal's crowded cities lie precious remnants of wild Asia where tigers, rhino and bear still roam. In episode eight, Art Wolfe travels by elephant deep into Kipling country in search of the last of the planet's Bengal tigers. Here, through the lens of his camera, he captures images of mahouts—handlers bound to the elephants they've cared for from childhood—as they bathe and tend to their animals. In Nepal, Art encounters exotic wildlife including rare Asian rhinos, elusive sloth bears, and crocodile-like primeval Gharials
Both an ocean oasis and isolated desert, the northern part of the narrow Baja peninsula is home to a surprising variety of plant and animal life. In episode nine, after a voyage on the Sea of Cortez in search of migrating gray whales, Art Wolfe ventures inland through the unforgiving Cataviña desert and discovers a photographer’s playground of light and magical landscapes.
Know as the Land of the Thunder Dragon, Bhutan has survived in isolation for more than a thousand years. As this enlightened Buddhist kingdom greets the 21st century, its greatest challenge is to preserve its soul. In epsiode ten, Art Wolfe finds a photographer's nirvana of mountainside monasteries, sacred festivals and chanting monks in an environmentally and spiritually progressive nation.
Ever wonder what it would be like to travel with world with a renowned photographer? Take a behind-the-scenes peek and go along on one of Art Wolfe's adventures. Meet the small, intrepid Travel crew as they venture through the remote kingdom of Bhutan and Nepal's lowland wilderness. Folow along on their perilous drive over a high mountain pass; track unpredictable sloth bears; and keep pace with Art at a frenetic Buddist festival. It is all in a day's work as the crew works to capture Art's quest for the perfect shots.
Iceland is a land of geysers, glaciers, volcanoes and rough hewn coastlines. Nowhere else on Earth do the four elements collide in such dramaticfashion as in Iceland.Art captures dramatic expressions of the planet's geomorphology using compodition, pattern and light to create a striking portrait of a volatile and dynamic landscape.
Known for its arid steppes, skilled nomadic horsemen and Genghis Khan, a visit to Mongolia feels like a trip back in time. At the annual Naadam Festival, contestants vie to be the victor in the centuries-old pursuit of wrestling, archery and horseracing. In episode twelve, Art Wolfe pursues prehistoric wild horses as they roam the steppe; rides in the mountains with a Kazakh tribesman who hunts wioth golden eagles; and catches up with nomadic reindeer herders at their summer camp near the Siberian border.
