DARIÉN GAP

Stretching 30,000km from Alaska to the southern tip of Argentina, the Pan-American Highway is the world’s longest road. But there is a short section missing on the land bridge connecting North and South America – an area of dense jungle known as the Darién Gap.

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Straddling the Colombia-Panama border, the Gap has a reputation as a lawless, roadless wilderness and hideout for armed bandits and drug traffickers. Most recently, it has been used as a route by migrants making the perilous land journey to the United States. But the 10,000-square-mile expanse of rainforest and river delta is also home to the autonomous Emberá, Wounaan and Guna people, evidence of ancient civilisations and some of the rarest flora and fauna on the planet.

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While most travellers bypass the area by boat, in 2024, Faraz was part of a team that took a dugout canoe deep into the jungle, before continuing the journey on foot. They traversed mountain ranges, crossed rivers and slept in hammocks, following indigenous trails and cutting paths with machetes until they reached Panama's Pacific coast.​​​​​