Michael Palin: Travels of a Lifetime

Leaving the towns and cities of Pakistan and India behind, Michael ascends into the mountains, to encounter the societies who live at the top of the world. This is one of the most spectacular landscapes in the world, but also home to a diverse range of people. Michael seeks out remote inhabitants across this extraordinary region.

This episode sees Michael revisit his fourth, and in some ways most personal, travel series. Inspired by the apparent emptiness of the desert as seen from a flight, and by boyhood dreams of exploration, Michael sets off to find out what this 'blank space' contains. He is delighted and inspired by the societies he encounters there - nomads, refugees, artists. He also confronts some harsh realities - the effects of war, the migrant crisis, and the rise of militant Islam.

Michael took on his longest and most gruelling journey yet - a 80,470km route around the Pacific Rim taking in Russia, China, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, and North and South America. This huge undertaking stretches him and the crew to their limits, and it sees him adopt a more investigative role, as he seeks to get under the skin of the places he visits - from a booming South Korea, to Colombia with its drug wars and poverty.