Extreme Dreams: The Ultimate Challenge

In this new series, Ben Fogle is on an epic South American adventure from the Equator to the Tropic of Capricorn, supported by teams of deserving heroes who will help him take on the world's toughest environments.

Ben's journey begins in Ecuador where he leads his team through the Avenue of Volcanoes to summit Mount Chimborazo - the closest point to the sun on Earth. Ben and his team of heroes launch their summit attempt in darkness on the final day but with icy blizzard conditions battering the team and the constant threat of debilitating altitude sickness, it's one of Ben's most challenging expeditions.

A new team of deserving heroes joins Ben on the second leg of his Andean journey through the uncharted Peruvian jungle. The team must cut their way through unexplored virgin rainforest in their quest to reach the sacred Incan inscriptions known as the Petroglyphs of Pusharo. Illness and delays put the expedition behind schedule from the start and the tough tropical conditions cause heat exhaustion and trench foot but Ben and his team must push on if they want to reach the ancient inscriptions.

Leg 3 of Ben's epic South American adventure takes him to southern Peru where he leads his team of heroes into the remote Cotahuasi Canyon - the deepest gorge on the planet - in search of the lost Incan city of Marpa.

The team rafts the deadly rapids of the Cotahuasi River where their boat runs aground, Ben is forced to send one of the team home with a broken ankle and then discovers that he too has been struck down by a mystery illness. With terrifying drops either side, the team risk life and limb on dizzying 3,000m climbs and descents of the sheer canyon walls as they pursue their dream of making it to Marpa.

The final leg of Ben's epic journey from the Equator to the Tropic of Capricorn is across the legendary Atacama Desert in Chile, the driest place on earth, in a bid to summit Volcano Corona. It's a baptism of fire for the team who must battle crumbling scree slopes and perilous knife edge ridges in the 40 degree heat.

Exposed in this vast desert with no shade from the scorching sun, Ben leads his team across the Atacama salt plains with their razor sharp salt crystals and as they climb into thinner air, the crippling effects of altitude brings a medical emergency. On the eve of the team's summit ascent, Ben is forced to evacuate another team member and the climax of his Andean adventure is suddenly in jeopardy.