Travel Documentary
The Highest Settlement (5,100m)
La Rinconada sits at 5,100 meters above sea level in the Peruvian Andes, making it the highest permanent settlement on Earth. Here, thousands of miners risk their lives daily in search of gold, living in conditions that would be unthinkable anywhere else. My documentary explores the raw reality of life at the edge of human habitation.
Film Snapshots
Expedition Log
COORDINATES
-14.6319° S, 69.4556° W
ELEVATION
5,100m / 16,732ft
DURATION
24 Hours
CREW
2 People
EQUIPMENT
Lumix S5, Gopro Hero 13, DJI Mini 4 Pro
The Arrival: Pushing the Limits of Existence
5,100 meters. Crime, extreme poverty, and half the oxygen level at sea level. We travel to a place where the rules of civilization cease to exist.
The System: Gold, Poison, and Despair
Behind the facade of the Cachorreo system lies exploitation and environmental disaster. A place poisoned by mercury, where the glacier remains the last shrinking source of drinking water.
The Conclusion: Humanity Above the Clouds
Between the trash and the mines, we found unexpected warmth. La Rinconada is not just a place of misery, but a testament to human resilience under extreme conditions.