Featured image credit: YouTube/Yes Theory
The town is located at an altitude of approximately 17,000 feet in the Andes Mountains.
Published on May 8, 2024 18:13 GMT+1
If you've ever wondered what the highest town in the world is like, this guy will get you there.
Intrepid explorer and YouTuber Ammar Kandil, co-founder of the successful travel channel Yes Theory, recently published a video of his trip to this unique destination.
The town, which is said to be home to as many as 50,000 people, is located approximately 16,700 feet above sea level, so those who live there have to deal with low pressure.
La Rinconada is the highest town on earth. (E Michael James/Getty)
It is estimated that approximately 25 percent of the population suffers from hypoxia, a condition in which not enough oxygen is available at the tissue level to maintain proper homeostasis.
But apart from the worrying health effects of living in this Peruvian town called La Rinconada is its “lawless” community.
In a short documentary released on Yes Theory YouTube last month, Ammar hailed the trip as one of the most dangerous trips he had ever taken.
The town is located in the Andes Mountains, and one moment Ammar is admiring panoramic views and the next he's surrounded by bags of trash.
“There were some great views along the way, but then there was a sea of ​​garbage everywhere,” he mused.
Peruvian towns are experiencing large-scale pollution problems. (Jesus Theory/YouTube)
“So this is what happens when you settle 50,000 people in a place they shouldn't be living without the necessary infrastructure and there's illegal mining going on all over the place. Man, this breaks my heart. is.”
Arriving in La Rinconada, Ammar learns that there are only three hot showers available in the entire town.
Meanwhile, due to mining, the town's water is heavily contaminated with mercury.
In the documentary, Ammar talks to a friendly local miner who says he believes up to 1kg of gold is mined every day. This is worth about $75,000.
However, miners are unlikely to see this cash with their own eyes. Most miners work in mines owned by Corporación Ananea, and under the Cacoleo system, instead of working one day for themselves, they work for 30 days without pay.
During that one day, you can bring back as much ore as you can carry, but for the remaining 30 days, everything will return to Corporación Ananea.
In 2018, Corporacion Minera Ananea reportedly exported approximately $1.2 million in unspecified goods to Switzerland.
According to Reuters, 6.8 million grams of gold was produced that year.
Despite poor working conditions, the promise of finding gold for themselves draws thousands of people to La Rinconada.
Meanwhile, the city is said to become more and more dangerous under the cover of darkness.
While talking to locals, Ammar learned that he had witnessed someone being shot just two weeks earlier.
In La Rinconada, if the high level of crime does not kill you, you will most likely die from the “toxic” water and pollution that surrounds its residents.
Topics: Travel, World News, YouTube
