Walking the Himalayas

'Walking the Nile' explorer Levison Wood takes on a new challenge in this 5-part series: to walk the length of the world's highest mountain range from Afghanistan in the west to Bhutan in the East. His four-month journey of some 4 million steps sees him trekking 1,700 gruelling miles across the roof of the world, teaming up with local guides and meeting monks, soldiers and nomadic tribes, as he passes through some of the most remote, beautiful, and perilous regions on earth - places few outsiders ever get to see.

In this new series – marked by the same intimate and authentic approach that made his previous series stand out – Levison again tests his limits. He confronts snow and ice, altitude sickness and earthquake-devastated landscapes, and treads carefully through one of the most fought-over areas of the world, navigating isolated Afghan valleys and the Line of Control between Pakistani and Indian Kashmir. The trip is also interrupted by a serious car crash in which Lev broke his arm and had to be flown back to the UK for surgery.

Amidst the hardship, though, Levison experiences the extraordinary beauty of Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor, discovers a lush hidden paradise in Northern Pakistan, and tracks tigers through the Bardia national park, before ending his journey at the forbidden holy mountain which is now the world's highest unclimbed peak. It's also a more personal journey for Levison as he is reunited with the Nepalese man who saved him and gave him shelter when, as a 19-year-old visiting the Himalayas for the first time, Levison was caught up in the country's political violence. (Channel 4)