Travel Channel | Lost Amazon: Project Z

OPI | Trafigura – Catalina Huanca Mine

13 April, 2022

EXU | Search for the Afterlife

13 April, 2022

Cañon del Pato: 35 tunnels on a 40km (65mi) road

Welcome to November's newsletter. Here you will find information about shooting in Peru as well as some of our most recent work.

This amazing route was built on the Pato Canyon during the 1800s overlooking the Santa River. Back then a train carried coal between the Chimbote and Huallanca region. After the 1970 earthquake, the rails were damaged and they turned this path into a dirt road. The road is extreme as it crosses through over 35 tunnels, most of which are one lane and rough cut through the mountainside. The road, which has been recently paved, rises from 500m to over 2000m. It gets narrower and narrower with the succession of the tunnels.

What is amazing is how narrow this valley is, sometimes the two mountain chains of Cordillera Blanca and Negra are 12m apart! We shot on this road for the Warner Bros. Holland edition of the "World's most dangerous roads". It was definitely an experience for the Dutch drivers as it was very demanding and risky at points.

Travel Channel - Lost Amazon: Project Z

This project required a lot of pre-production as it included historic sites located outside the traditional tourist routes. Getting to these sites required hours of trekking and preparation as horses and porters were needed for the shoot days. Weather in the Leymebamba area always includes rain, which made the traveling more dangerous on mountain dirt roads. One day Lightning stroke one of the Kuelap gondola's transformers and it put it out of operation. Fortunately, we had gone with our own vehicles. Nevertheless, this was a great adventure!