Ice roads that can melt,
vertical wooden steps up mountains
and overflowing rivers.
Nope,
this is not some Ironman triathlon.
This is what some
kids go through
to get to school.
And you thought you had
a bad day because you missed
the bus.
If you’re one of the lucky ones,
your future alma mater might be
a few blocks down the road,
or you can catch the bus
to get there.
Unfortunately,
children in some remote
areas of the globe
have to risk their lives
to get an education.
We’re about to show
you the most extreme routes,
filled with obstacles
and bad weather,
that some kids endure
every single school day.
The Philippines
is an archipelago
made up of about 7,107 islands.
It's not uncommon
that your school and home
might be on different islands.
Kids in this rural village
in the Province of Rizal
have to walk more than an hour,
then cross a river
to get to their elementary school.
The river can be as deep
as 9 m (30 ft)
and there's no bridge.
They need an inflatable tube
to make the trip
and paddle across
using their hands.
And since daily rains
can cause flooding and
dangerous currents,
the most important thing
to survive crossing this route
is to judge if the water is safe
enough to get into.
If it is too deep
or there are churning rapids,
you’ll be better off
taking the extra time to walk along
the river's shoreline
and finding a shallower stretch
to start paddling from.
Students in this valley
have two options.
Hike almost four hours
up and down a canyon
to reach their school,
or cross a raging river
riding a steel cable
400 m (1,312 ft) above the ground.
The pulley system
includes a hemp rope
that acts as a seat
and a wooden branch
that serves as the brake.
This is particularly important
since you can reach speeds of more
than 80 km/h (50 mph).
That can be deadly
if things go wrong.
Riding the cable
isn’t an easy task.
You’ll have to hammer at a steel
bolt on the pulley
to make sure
it doesn't get loose.
It is not rare
that accidents occur,
resulting in broken bones.
Sometimes worse.
Despite the cable being
a public utility,
you still need
to bring your own rope.
Learn to make a good knot,
or else that will be a long fall.
This village is located
in the mountains
surrounded by sheer
drops on all sides.
It's remote.
It was once considered
an impenetrable fortress.
To attend school,
kids must leave the safety of home
and face the dangers of nature.
The path is made
of unstable wooden ladders
that lean against
the 60 m (197 ft) cliff.
Imagine having to carry
your notebooks through
all this.
Oh, not to mention
there is absolutely no harness
or safety gear.
To successfully
climb the unstable ladders,
you'll need someone with you
to hold the base
to keep them steady.
Always make sure
that no more than one
person climbing at a time.
Climbing a mountain on your trek
to school is hard enough,
but in this case
you’d have to tolerate
freezing cold temperatures.
This region is so remote
and isolated
that locals claim,
“only their fiercest enemies
or best friends
would want to visit."
The path that children
take to school
is about 100 km (62 mi) long,
so students need almost
10 days to get to class.
Thankfully,
this is a boarding school.
To make the hike,
you’ll need to wait
till the Zanskar River
freezes over
in the - 40 °C (- 40 °F) weather
so you can walk over it.
And even with those temperatures
you’ll see water flowing fast
under the crystal ice layers.
Keep your eyes open.
These layers can break
open every few days.
You survived
the trip through
these extreme conditions
and you think the car
would solve some of your
transportation issues,
but not so fast.
About 3,700 people
around the world
die in traffic accidents
every single day.
Want to know how you could avoid
becoming a statistic?
Keep watching
How to Survive.