Ilya Varlamov

My friends, this is what the driest desert in the world, the towering Andes, rainforests, fjords, and harsh glaciers look like. Spectacular, right?
And no, this isn’t a set of tourist postcards from different nooks of the planet — it’s all in one country: Chile. Here you can feel like Matt Damon in The Martian, and the next day chill out with penguins. Chile lives on contrasts, and that’s exactly what blows your mind: you keep catching yourself thinking, “This can’t be real,” but it actually is — right there in front of your eyes.

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1 day ago | [YT] | 77

Ilya Varlamov

I visited a community in the USA where cars are forbidden, but buggies cost $3,500.
They don't use the internet, yet their population doubles every 20 years.
Are they stuck in the past, or do they know something we don't?
Watch the new documentary 👇

2 days ago | [YT] | 18

Ilya Varlamov

Would you want us to cover more "where to go" content?

4 days ago | [YT] | 19

Ilya Varlamov

I visited the "Island of Freedom" and found something completely different.
Mansions turned into slums, pharmacies with no medicine, and a train with a concrete floor.
This is the reality of life in Cuba today.
Watch the new video 👇

5 days ago | [YT] | 19

Ilya Varlamov

Which forgotten corner of the world should we explore?

1 week ago | [YT] | 26

Ilya Varlamov

This crime shocked Russia. Now it will shock you too.
There is a town that was secretly run by a gang for 20 years. They owned the police, the courts, and the land. It took a tragedy to expose the truth, but has anything actually changed?
Watch the new video.

1 week ago | [YT] | 19

Ilya Varlamov

The other day I went out on a raid with the army and the police in some pretty dangerous neighborhoods. It was an experience. You’ve probably heard the news. Earlier this week in Mexico they took down one of the world’s most wanted drug lords — El Mencho, the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

The whole underworld of cartels and gangs in Latin America is actually really fascinating. Despite all the government efforts, they still control certain areas, sometimes even entire cities. Years pass, generations change, but the problem remains. The question is: why?

Sure, there are plenty of reasons. But trust me, the main ones are money and plain incompetence. Police and government officials are often simply bought off. And if someone refuses, they simply get killed. For example, a few months ago in Mexico the mayor of Uruapan was murdered after pushing for a crackdown on drug cartels. The same goes for journalists. Those who try to investigate what’s going on often meet the same tragic fate.

Or take Guatemala as an example. Two gangs dominate the country: MS-13 and Barrio 18. Barrio 18 is currently led by a man known as El Lobo. He’s 41 and has been in prison since 2003. Yes, he was sentenced to nearly 2,000 years for multiple murders, but he still runs the gang from behind bars, mostly by phone. It’s a familiar story in this part of the world: the streets, petty theft, extortion, murder, and prison, where people like him still end up pulling the strings and running those same streets anyway.

According to authorities, in January 2026 El Lobo organized coordinated riots in three prisons at once. When police refused to meet his demands, the gang responded by killing about a dozen officers across the country in a single day.

Let that sink in for a second. The guy has been in prison for 23 years, and no one can throw him in solitary, take his phone away, and cut him off from the outside world. And believe it or not, it gets worse. The Fraijanes II is supposed to be one of the maximum-security facilities in the country. Well, on paper, at least. In reality, the prison didn’t even have a proper system for counting inmates or verifying their identities. On October 11, 2025, twenty members of Barrio 18 escaped from the Fraijanes II. The breakout took several days. One or two inmates at a time walked straight out the main gate, with help from the guards. No tunnels. No violence. They simply paid the guards and left.

But you can be sure of one thing: someone else will take El Mencho’s place, and the whole thing will just keep rolling.

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1 week ago | [YT] | 45

Ilya Varlamov

What's the ONE thing about daily life in Russia that shocked you most from our videos?

1 week ago | [YT] | 21

Ilya Varlamov

Imagine sleeping in a tent at -76°F (-60°C) where if the fire dies for just 15 minutes, you freeze. I spent the night off the grid with Siberian reindeer herders at the 'Pole of Cold' to see how they survive.
Watch the new video 👇

1 week ago | [YT] | 20

Ilya Varlamov

Be honest — watching these Russian towns, do you ever think about YOUR town's future?

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 23