FACTUAL
EARTH’S NATURAL WONDERS
BBC1, 9pm
More extraordinary insights into life in far corners of the world in this final episode.
Most jaw-dropping is footage of villagers in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, whose belief in a higher power leads them to climb a 400m vertical mountainside to reach their church – it’s all about getting closer to God.
And spare a thought for poor Ngisti, who had a difficult birth 40 days ago and must now take her newborn son Dawit up the treacherous cliff-face to be baptised.
“I am scared for my children if I fall,” she says. In fact, Dawit is strapped to his grandmother’s back instead because Ngisti does not feel strong enough.
Watch in disbelief as they troop across a narrow ledge with a 200m drop on each side – just one slip would be fatal, and there have been deaths before.
A simply astonishing way of life.