La Ruta Maya was once was the centre of the great Mayan culture, which stretches back 4000 years, and covers Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsular (South Eastern tip of Mexico), Belize and Guatemala. The Mayans were one of the western hemisphere’s greatest but least known civilizations, and the sites of their impressive stone pyramids, temples and buildings are set against a backdrop of tropical jungles and stunning beaches.

Ian Wright travels to Morocco on the Northwestern tip of Africa. It's a country of stark desert, high mountain ranges, and some of the most richly cultured cities in the world. He begins his journey in the port of Tangier, where most travellers enter the country. He shares a ride with an American businesswoman far as the small market town of Chaouen, and picks up some valuable tips about travelling in Morocco. He then hitches to the walled city of Fez, through the Rif mountains, the country’s main Hashish growing region. Fez remains the most complete medieval city in the Arab world, and is Morocco’s religious capital. Ian spends a day exploring the Medina and winding back-alleys, before heading for the hammam, where he experiences a violent Moroccan massage. Ian continues his journey to the village of Tamtachoute in the High Altas Mountains, where he’s invited to stay the night with a local family - to a Moroccan a guest is a gift from Allah, and he’s made to feel very welcome. Next day he witnesses Aid El Kabir, one of the Islamic world’s oldest and most important religious festivals celebrating the time when Abraham was asked by God to slaughter his son, Isaac. Every family that can afford to buys a sheep and slaughters it at home. Ian hires a motorbike and heads down the Dades Valley to Zagora, following the route of a thousand Kasbahs, an ancient caravan trail that runs out to the desert. He embarks on a two day camel trek form the village of Tinfou, but unfortunately a sandstorm is brewing and Ian spends the most of the trip with his head wrapped in a shash to screen out the blasting sand. Ian heads for Marrakech, the imperial city which is the largest market centre in southern Morocco. The streets are teeming with performers, artists and hawkers. From here he hires a guide and attempts a challenging climb up the highest mountain in North Africa, Mount Toubkal. He’s elated to reach the summit, but is suffering from the effects of

Traveller Ian Wright begins his Jamaican journey in the once famous hippy hangout and renowned beach resort of Negril. He travels through the centre of Jamaica to visit a plantation house, then heads down the south coast. At Black River Ian travels through the swamp with a crocodile expert and feeds a crocodile himself, before heading further along the south coast to Treasure Beach, a hideaway paradise. Up through the centre of Jamaica, Ian catches a bus from Mandeville to Bob Marley's mausoleum and arrives in Hope Bay, where he stays with rastas who run a guest house and a school for orphaned kids. Ian's payment for staying at the guest house teaching a few lessons at the school - a common arrangement. Ian visits Port Antonio, an old fashioned resort full of colonial buildings. Jamaica has more churches per square mile than any other country in the world, so Ian attends a lively, traditional service. He is invited to share a typical Sunday lunch with a Jamaican family. Between Port Antonio and Kingston are the Blue Mountains, a relatively unexplored part of Jamaica. Ian hires a motorbike and rides up to visit a Maroon Village. Maroons are descendants of runaway slaves who made their escape to the hills of the interior and hid out for centuries. Their culture is more African than Caribbean. This is where the famous Jamaican jerk chicken was invented. Ian attends their drumming ceremony and visits the headman or colonel. Early in the morning Ian climbs the Blue Mountain Peak to watch the sunrise, and catches a glimpse of Cuba. He ends his journey in Kingston, where he celebrates Jamaican Carnival.

Traveller Mark Crowdy starts his Indonesian journey in Bali and takes a ferry from the Port of Padangbai to Lombok (sometimes called the new Bali) and the Eastern Islands. Lombok has a drier climate than Bali and its population is predominantly Moslem as opposed Bali's Hindu majority. Tourism is developing fast here but the animist culture still survives, especially amongst the local Sasak tribe. Mark attends a stick fight or Peresehan, a traditional form of combat. Local spirit magicians known as Dukans put spells on the sticks to protect the fighters from injury. Indonesia has some 400 volcanoes and Mark spends a day making a steep climb up Mount Rinjani to the rim of the crater lake just below the summit, where people of all religions come to pray and meditate. Mark takes a boat ride to the island of Komodo to see the famous Komodo dragon, the world's largest lizard. Its razor sharp teeth can tear apart the hindquarter of a deer in seconds. It was feared that the dragons were facing extinction but money earned from tourists watching the grizzly spectacle has been used to ensure their survival. From Komodo Mark takes a peaceful boat ride to Flores, one of Indonesia's largest islands. He sees the dramatic sight of the sulphuric lakes of Kelimut, which locals believe the souls of the dead go into the brilliant coloured lakes: the young to the green, the old to the blue and the criminals to the black.

Traveller Ian Wright begins his journey in the town of Eagle, on the banks of the Yukon River. Eagle is home to the Athabascan Indians who live a subsistence lifestyle, eating salmon in the summer and moose in the winter. From Eagle, Ian travels to the town of Chicken (population 25) which has no running water, electricity or telephones and is completely isolated in the winter. He parties with the locals and goes on a tour in a 1946 light aircraft made of wood and fabric. While he’s in town, Ian also goes gold-dredging in the Fortymile River. Ian continues his journey north, to the twin towns of Kennicott and McCarthy, situated in the Wrangell-St Elias National Park. Kennicott was once the richest source of copper in the world, but when copper prices collapsed in the 1930s, the 800 miners were made redundant and Kennicott became a ghost town. Just outside McCarthy, Ian goes glacier climbing on the Root Glacier. Next, Ian heads for the coast. He travels up Prince William Sound on the state-run marine ferry and eventually arrives in the town of Seward. This is the departure point for a sea kayaking trip, and Ian encounters whales, dolphins and sea lions. En route to Homer, Ian stops off on the Kenai River for a spot of fishing. He discovers he’s not a natural fisherman however, as he doesn’t manage to catch even one salmon. Arriving in Homer, Ian goes sky trekking in a Cessna 185. Lori, the pilot takes him out to remote lakes and mountains and they spend the afternoon watching grizzly bears and catching salmon in waterfalls. The final leg of the journey takes Ian north, past Mt McKinley, the highest peak in North America, and up above the Arctic Circle to the land of the midnight sun.

an Wright visits the Pacific Islands of Fiji, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands, once infamous amongst explorers for head-hunting and cannibalism. He begins his journey in Fiji, where he is welcomed by a local tribe with a Kava drinking ceremony. The mild narcotic is often offered to guests as a sign of friendship, and is also used to seal alliances, start chiefly conferences and commemorate births, deaths and marriages. He also goes diving on the Astrolabe Reef, which stretches unbroken for 30 kms along the east side of the small island north of Kadavu. With a vertical drop off of 10 metres in the inside and 1,800 metres in the outside and a visibility of about 75 metres, it is known as one of the finest dive destinations in the world. On the Fijian island of Manna Ian goes feeding sharks with a local man named Api. Api comes from a family that believes it has an affinity with sharks, and has been training the sharks to fed from him for the last two years. From Mana, Ian flies to Vanuatu – a group of islands christened the New Hebrides by Captain Cook in 1774 , because it’s ruggedness reminded him of the Scottish Islands. On the island of Ambryn he meets with the chief of a tribe that used to practice cannibalism, and witnesses the traditional Rom dance, where the dancers pretend to be a spirit which lives inside their costumes. These costumes are burnt after the ceremony in case the spirit takes it over and haunts the dancer. He also visits the hot spring on the island of Sesivi, and Tanna island, where he climbs the massive Yassur volcano. It’s the most accessible active volcano in the world, and has three large vents which bubble away at a temperature of 4000 degrees Fahrenheit, constantly showering the crater with red hot pumice and lava. Ian continues his journey to the Solomon Islands. During World War II the islands were used as a battle ground between the Americans and the Japanese, and thousands of abandoned ships and tanks now litter t

Ian Wright’s antipodean adventure begins at the huge international Country and Western festival in Tamworth, New South Wales. After sampling the music, dancing and rodeos, he hitches to Byron Bay on the North coast of the province, where he hang-glides high above the miles of golden beaches. He also runs into some bikers and comes away with the ultimate souvenir of his trip – a tattoo. Ian heads south, via Sydney to Albury and the vast Mount Buffalo National Park. His riding skills are put to the test as he embarks on a horse trek through the High Plains. He views of the blue mountain ranges ate breath-taking, and it is the perfect setting for bush camping and sleeping out under the stars. Ian hops on a train to Melbourne, where he finds work in a coffee bar. After a few altercations with the cappuccino machine he saves enough to invest in an old car, with which he hopes to explore Victoria. Things don’t quite go according to plan, however, as the car breaks down and he’s forced to go on alone. After going rock climbing in the Grampian Mountains, Ian takes a flight to Tasmania. The Asbestos National Park in the north of this island is home to large communities of Australia’s national animal, the kangaroo. Ian also comes face to face with wallabies and wombats. Mountain bike is his preferred mode of transport, and he starts on a tour all around the island. Near Bicheno he stays with a farmer in Tasmanian Devil country. Ian journeys to the South West Wilderness National Park, where he is taken on a tour through the mysterious black lagoons and estuaries teeming with local wildlife. His journey ends on a more sombre note, with a visit to Port Arthur, the prison in which Australia’s first white settlers, the British convicts were incarcerated.

Justine Shapiro travels to Vietnam, a country which stretches 1000 miles along the east coast of the Indochinese peninsula. She begins her journey in Ho Chi Minh City (called Saigon until the coming of communism in 1975), where she explores the Cholon quarter, where a vibrant market takes place every day. She’s in town for the new years TET festival, and that evening she joins the crowds letting off firecrackers in the streets to scare away the evil spirits. No American can visit Vietnam without confronting the war issue, and next morning Justine travels 22 miles northwest of Ho Chi Minh to Cu Chi District. Here she sees some chilling reminders of the conflict, such as the 100 mile network of underground rooms and passages where the Viet Cong both hid and lived. She also visits Cao Dai in the province of Tay Ninh – the centre of one of Vietnam’s new religions, which combines the beliefs of Buddhism with Cofuscism, Taoism, Christianity and Islam. Their god is represented by one huge eye. From Tay Ninh Justien travels by bus to Vietnam’s premier seaside resort, Nha Trang. She finds a room for the night at the Bao Di Villas, once the private seaside residence of the Emperor. She takes an all day boat trip to some of the islands off the coast, all including a fantastic lunch, comprising squid, tofu, stir fry noodles and fresh fruit. Justine travels into central Vietnam on the Reunification Express. After North and South Vietnam united in 1975 one of the government’s first programmes was to replace the rail Practicing Tai Chi on the beach at Nha Trangsystem that had been destroyed in the war. It takes 16 hours to reach her destination, a peninsular in the middle of the country called Lang Co. It’s one of the most tranquil spots in Vietnam with miles of unspoiled beaches. She also visits the nearby city of Hue, where the Emperors lived from the beginning of the 20th century until the second world war, but most of the splendid buildings they constru

Ian Wright travels in the North East of Brazil. He starts his journey in Salvador, the colonial capital of Bahia, where he samples the famous Brazilian coffee and participates in Capoeira - a traditional martial art combining ballet and acrobatics. Travelling into the interior of Brazil, Ian attends a Candomble ceremony, the fastest growing religious cult in Brazil. He also explores the stunning Chapada Diamantina National Park near Lencois. Ian flies to Recife where he chances upon a traditional wedding ceremony. It just so happens that he is invited to join in the festivities at the wedding of the great Brazilian football legend, Pele. Travelling up the coast, Ian visits the multi-coloured sandhills of Morro Branco, where intricate sand paintings are made. He joins in the party at a carnival in Fortaleza, and stops off at the isolated fishing village of Jericoacoara, where he stays with a Brazilian family. The final leg of Ian’s trip takes him to the mouth of the Amazon, and the port of Belem, where local food specialities are on sale at the thriving market.

Justine Shapiro begins her journey in Guayaquil, Ecador's main port and the largest city in the country. She embarks on a 9 hour train up into the Andes, to a small town called Alausi. Here she discovers that the locals Indians are on strike in protest at recent land reforms. From Alausi Justine heads to Banos, a spa town which lies on the edge of the Andean foothill and the Amazon jungle. She bathes in thermal baths, which are heated by the nearby volcanoes and goes biking and hiking in the Pastaza Valley. After climbing snow-capped Cotopaxi, the highest active volcano on earth, Justine stops off in Quito, the capital of Ecuador and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. From Quito she journeys a few hours north to Otavalo, Ecuador's most famous market town where you can buy all sorts of crafts made by the local Ottovalo Indians. Here, Justine is invited to eat guinea pig - a great delicacy of Andean cuisine dating back to pre-Inca times. She also attends the festival of San Juan (Saint John the Baptist) in the largest hacienda in Ecuador, owned by the famous Plaza family. Justine flies into the jungle to spend a few days with the Siecoyan Indian community. During her visit she treks in the jungle, watches a traditional dance, learns the art of canoe making and samples a couple of the local beverages: chicha, made from yucca and fermented human spit, and Ayhuasca, a hallucinogenic drink made from the Ayhuasca vine. Justine concludes her trip with 6 days in the Galapagos Islands on board a magnificent sailing boat called the Angelique. The Galapagos Islands are renowned as a spectacular wildlife haven and Justine sights sea lions, penguins, frigate birds, marine iguanas, blue footed boobies, flamingoes and pelicans.

Ian Wright goes on an unusual journey to the Southern Islands of Japan - from Kyushu down to the Yaeyama Islands, Japan’s westernmost point, only 110 km from Taiwan. Using a combination of flights and ferries, Ian island-hops through the Pacific Islands and proves that even Japan can be done on a budget. He begins his trip in Tokyo, with it’s congested sprawl of high rises, narrow alleys ablaze with neon lights and surging crowds of office workers. Ian takes refuge in one of Japan’s many hostess bars, where European girls are paid large amounts of money just to sit and make polite conversation with Japanese businessmen. No trip to Tokyo is complete without experiencing the Japanese youth scene at Yoyigikoen Park. Bands ranging from hip hop to heavy metal compete to create a cacophony of noise pollution. Ian has a bit of a run in with some Rockabillies, after inadvertently treading on their turf. The bullet train whisks Ian out of Tokyo at 200 mph to the skiing resort of Zao Onsen. Here he becomes the terror of the slopes and tries his hand at that peculiar Japanese tradition of skiing after nightfall. After all his exertions he takes an open air bath surrounded by the slopes and snow capped mountains. Ian flies to Kyusho, the largest of Japan’s Southern islands. He takes a trip to Mount Aso, exploring the volcano at the centre of the island. It’s then a short overland journey east to Nagasaki, where Ian learns about the city’s unfortunate fate as the second target of the atomic bomb, that was to signal the end of hostilities during World War II. A flight south takes him to Kagoshima, where he samples the lively night -life and traditional fish restaurants. In nearby Beppu, Ian experiences a sand bath – the heat rises from the hot springs the create a boiling beach where the locals lie down in a shallow trench and are buried up to their necks. The sauna-like properties of the sand contain many therapeutic properties for all types of aches a

Andrew Daddo begins his intense journey through North India with a dawn boat trip on the holy River Ganges in Varanasi.

Andrew Daddo explores three very different countries in the south of this great continent, from tranquil serenity of the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe to amazing wildlife in Botswana’s parks and the unspoilt landscapes of Namibia.