Documentary AreaSimply the best Documentaries

Iain explores man's relationship with fire. He begins by embarking on an extraordinary encounter with this terrifying force of nature - a walk right through the heart of a raging fire. Fire has long been our main source of energy and Iain shows how this meant that the planet played a crucial role in Britain's industrial revolution, whilst holding China's development back. Along the way he dives in a mysterious lake in Oregon, climbs a glacier of salt, crawls through an extraordinary cave in Iran and takes a therapeutic bath in crude oil.

In the far south west of Japan, there is a chain of islands stretching towards the tropics - a place where all life is influenced by the power of the sea, and where volcanoes and typhoons are forces to be reckoned with. The journey begins at an island at the top of the chain and travels south, revealing unexpected stories of isolation, unique wildlife and unsolved mysteries.

As the journey continues, there's beauty and danger in equal measure for Charley Boorman and Ewan McGrego. The duo ride their electric Harleys through the exotic and breathtaking Bolivian countryside in a tough ascent. The sixth episode showcases some of the challenges the hosts and the crew face when they scale the terrain. One of the Rivians runs into trouble while sandy roads and a heavy breeze sees Boorman take a tumble. Apart from all the accidents, the chapter also shows some quality work done by UNICEF when it comes to educating and working with the children in Bolivia.
The altitude sickness hits Taylor, their logistics man real bad and McGregor starts feeling it as well. The episode ends with a doctor heading to his hotel room to check up on him.

Through the mountains and jungles of Colombia, Cooper goes in search of the truth behind one of the greatest stories ever told - the legend of El Dorado. His journey takes him from Bogota to the Caribbean coast, through territories once dominated by two cultures, the Muisca and the Tairona, who flourished for centuries before the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century. Cooper reveals forgotten peoples who valued gold in a way the Western world still struggles to understand, travelling to an astonishing lost city and meeting the last survivors of an ancient civilisation.

Award winning wildlife photographers Jonathan and Angela Scott have travelled the world, always returning home to Kenya. There they introduced the world to the big cats of the Maasai Mara and now they are part of its fight for survival.

Earth's surface is covered in weird and wonderful patterns. The Australian outback is covered in pale spots, the work of wombats; a clearing in the endless green canopy of the Congo rainforest has been created by an incredible elephant gathering; and the twists and turns of the Amazon make a home for rehabilitated manatees. This is our home, as we've never seen it before.