Visiting the Closest Town to Space (Life with 50% less oxygen)

La Rinconada, the closest inhabited place to the sky on Earth, where people are living above the clouds. Life on the highest habitable altitude is tough.

At this extreme altitude of 5,100 meters, the atmosphere significantly thins and the locals are living with only 50% of the usual oxygen levels. Their bodies have evolved to produce two times more blood cells than ours. On this barren land, not even a single tree can survive because of the low air pressure.

This town in the Peruvian Andes is even 300 meters higher than Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps of Europe.

Far from the modern world, it is a place where crime and danger are always nearby. People come to these harsh lands for only one reason: gold. About 50,000 people have settled here, among piles of trash, all dreaming of wealth.

Camera: Bayram Taşçı
Project Assistant: Barış Kaan Baş
Editor: Ayşe Beliz Kurhan
Animation: Önder Darendeli
Video Editor: Ahmet Berkay Sabırlı
Video Editing in English: Ahmet Berkay Sabırlı
Project Manager: Esra Öner
Producer & Director: Ruhi Çenet