Hot Roads - The World's Most Dangerous Roads (2011)

It is a road of mountain passes and India's access to the roof of the world, the Himalayas. This 475 kilometer route at the northernmost tip of the Indian subcontinent connects the cities of Manali and Leh in the Ladakh region.

In Bangladesh, a city with the highest density of population in the world, the daily struggle to survive is everywhere, including the streets. Traffic is brutal and reckless. In Bangladesh, you drive on the road with your life at risk.

The "Adriatic Highway" is one of the most beautiful coastal roads in the world. It was built in the 1950s and 60s, at the time of Yugoslavian President Tito. For many travelers, the highway is the absolute dream road.

The Harmattan, the hot desert wind of the Sahara, is blowing without respite. It has no pity for the people who live here. Whoever wants to go from one place to another has to travel on roads that hardly deserve the name.

The roads at the Arctic Circle are covered in ice and snow for almost eight months out of the year. Conditions that would lead to a total collapse further south are routine for the experienced truckers of the High North.

The Carretera de la Muerte - the road to death. Year after year many people die here. Omar and his co-driver Jaime drive across the Andes, encountering cyclists, mountain bikers, and coca-farmers on the way.

The racing cyclists of Burundi are vital to Burundi's economy, in one of the smallest countries in Africa. Bananas, the staple food in Burundi, are transported from the markets to a banana beer brewing factory.

The Sichuan Tibet Highway leads through fascinating landscapes and remote areas up to the Himalayan Mountains. Truck driver Ren Taiping makes his trip to the Tibetan capital city of Lhasa.

The Halsema Highway, on the island of Luzon, leads right through the Philippine jungle with its frequent fog and heavy rainfalls making it highly dangerous. A bus driver and a taxi driver make the challenging trip.

The Canadian ice roads last for only a few months in the winter, the only time of the year when goods can be transported by road up to Northern Manitoba. Truckers Vlad, Hugh, and Scott make their long journey to a village.

India's state of Rajasthan is known for its ancient palaces, vast landscapes - and wild transport routes. For thousands of years, dromedaries served as the most important means of transport. Today, India's roads are considered fast-paced, chaotic and unpredictable. On a journey through the desert state, we discover its rough roads. We travel by truck, bus, autorickshaw and on dromedaries from the Aravalli Mountains to the Thar Desert, encounter free-roaming leopards, huge flocks of cranes, and of course, time and again, sacred cows that calmly block the highways.

Far out in the "Wild West" of Canada lies Bella Coola. If you want to get to the small town on the Pacific, you have no choice: there is only one road leading there, the Bella Coola Highway. It is constantly monitored and yet remains dangerous. Gravel roads, narrow hairpin bends and steep mountain slopes make the highway in British Columbia a particular challenge.

Tanzania is known for its national parks, vast landscapes and wild roads. They make traveling a real adventure. We travel in trucks, buses and off-road vehicles from the Indian Ocean via the Serengeti to Lake Victoria, accompany huge herds of wildebeest, observe lions and rhinos - and show the lives of the people who live on and along the roads.

In the far north-east of Georgia, on the border with Russia, the Abano Pass leads to lofty heights. At almost 3000 metres it is the highest passable road in the Great Caucasus. It winds its way up dizzyingly steep slopes. On wild paths, it leads through a fascinating landscape. It is a voyage of discovery into a mighty mountain world.

It is one of the wildest roads in Asia: the Trans Sulawesi Highway. The adventurous road leads through Indonesia's fourth-largest island and takes people to spectacular destinations. To beautiful beaches, turbulent cities, or unique primeval forests. If you want to drive on the highway, you need strong nerves: it is loud, crowded, confusing, and sometimes dangerous.

In the extreme north-east of Norway known as the Finnmark region, winters are freezing cold and snowy. Due to the location on the Arctic Ocean, the roads are prone to snow drifts. Every metre is a challenge and a journey into risk. An adventure for all those who set off into the fascinating and unique landscape, through a seemingly endless desert of snow.

The Caribbean Highway runs through the far north-east of Colombia, passing lively cities, the world's highest coastal mountains, rainforests and salt mines on the way to the Guajira desert. The road has its pitfalls — it is periodically washed away by the sea and eroded by wind and sand. The area is home to four indigenous peoples. For them, the road is a constant source of frustration.

In the heart of Guinea, people travel on roads that wind through mountainous regions and endless bushland. During the rainy season, which lasts from May to September, the roads and tracks become particularly challenging. Nevertheless, the locals still need to travel from place to place and market to market during these months.

In northern Pakistan: The Karakorum Highway is one of the highest roads in the world. It winds its way through a fascinating mountain landscape at an altitude of almost 4,700 meters. The route passes rock formations and enormous glaciers. Every kilometer is a challenge for people - regardless of how they are traveling, whether by vehicle or on foot.

The Portuguese island of Madeira, located in the Atlantic Ocean, is renowned for its rugged mountain landscapes and winding roads. Steep climbs and hairpin bends lead to spectacular vistas and get drivers' pulses racing. Even today, travelling into the island's interior is still an adventure.

From the coast of the Black Sea in Turkey, the D915 highway winds its way through steep valleys and high alpine passes into the Anatolian highlands. The regions connected by this road are very different from each other, which is why the challenging route through the Pontic Mountains remains popular and important for people in northern Turkey.

The Carretera Austral is a wild road that runs through southern Chile, a region of gauchos and volcanoes. Stretching over 1,200 kilometres, it winds through fjord landscapes, rainforests and mountain ranges. It is a journey into the unknown, almost to the end of the world. Those who embark on this journey are rewarded by nature with stunning scenery.