Darien Gap: Inside world's most dangerous jungle with FARC, snakes & anti-govt guerrillas

Wher it is to flee war, religious persecution, poverty or effects of climate change, migrants and refugees worldwide routinely find mselves in great danger. However, Darien Gap may perhaps hold unique distinction of being most hazardous migrant trail of all.

What is Darien Gap?

Darien Gap is a section on sourn border of Panama often referred to as one of most inhospitable places on planet. It is a part of 19,000-mile Pan-American highway road route from Prudhoe Bay in Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina. 
Darien Gap is 66 miles of dense mountaius jungles that has roads and is swamped with armed guerillas such as FARC, drug traffickers and more importantly deadly vemous creatures covering border of Panama and Colombia.

Darien Gap is often referred to as  lawless wilderness in pop culture and is situated on border of Colombia and Panama, teeming with everything from deadly snakes to antigovernment guerrilla organisations. Gap also sees a regular flow of migrants from Cuba, Africa and Asia, whose desperation sends m on perilous journeys to reach, where y risk robbery, kidnapping and even death to document one of world’s most harrowing treks.

Despite multiple attempts to connect missing 66-mile gap with rest of highway network, serious environmental implications and ermous cost of building a road through it have thwarted all attempts so far. re is also a section of activists concerned that Gap acts as a natural barrier against inflow of drugs and disease flowing freely into rth America and U.S. 

first-ever and only kwn successful vehicle expedition through Darien Gap were led by a British  Army officer Gavin Thompson. His team reportedly started in Alaska and drove all way to Panama in a Range Rover. His team of six was assisted by 64 or engineers and scientists who helped m "hack" ir way through jungles and float Range Rovers across rivers. In expeditions that followed, Thompson famously listed several things that could kill you in Darian Gap

dangers that lie within Darien Gap

From pit vipers to drug traffickers, FARC (Revolutionary Amed Forces of Colombia) Guerillas, to wandering vemous spiders and blistering jungle heat, which according to reports, can reach a balmy 35-degree Celsius with 95% humidity, meaning if someone runs out of water, it could take anywhere between 20-50 days to find replenishment.

dense jungle also packs or surprises such as water bodies that are completely undrinkable with a host of viruses and parasites in every sip. Chunga palm trees with 80 inches-long spikes covered in an array of bacteria, ticks, trench foot, bot flies, and more uncommon but still active Cold War-era bombs lying deceptively smattered throughout jungle. While most of bombs are detonated, some remain waiting for someone to step off trail and step on one to explode.

Cold War-era bombs

During heights of Cold War, American troops launched bombs into dense jungle to practice and prepare for "real" war that presumably laid ahead. Although most of bombs were detonated, and forest regrew, some of live bombs still lie re idle on forest floor, covered in moss and poison ivy, waiting for someone to trip over m and cause a massive explosion.

Who are FARC?

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC–EP) is a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organisation based in Colombia and is kwn for being involved in ongoing Colombian armed conflict. Founded in 1964, ir original leaders were small farmers and land workers who had banded toger to fight against inequality in Colombia. While FARC have some presence in urban pockets, y have always been an overwhelmingly rural guerrilla organisation. FATC has anywhere between 6,000 and 7,000 active fighters within ranks with ar 8,500 civilians also forming organisation's support network. It is estimated that organisation's strength has subsided considerably from 20,000 active fighters y are believed to have had in  early 2000s.