How to survive in the jungle? Amazon selva. Nature of South America. survival tips

Many have seen the film, perhaps more than one, about Robinson Crusoe and similar characters. Uninhabited islands or any impenetrable jungle that various movie heroes mastered and adapted. Each of us exactly exclaimed: “... I would have definitely managed and not disappeared!”

A selection of rules for survival in the forest (jungle)

But, unfortunately, as practice shows, in Everyday life any of us can find ourselves in such a "beautiful-paradise" place and simply get lost. What do you need to know to protect yourself, family or friends? Rules for survival in the forest, advice from experienced travelers.

Walking in the forest (jungle)

If it suddenly happened, you got lost or were left alone in the tropical wilds, the main thing is not to panic! Assess the whole situation, relax, plan your actions.

1. if possible, you need to orient yourself on the ground;
2. determine what supplies of water and food you have;
3. Your path must be in one direction, but not in a straight line.

Remember, you have to long haul to the desired destination and every hour you should rest for 10-15 minutes to restore strength. After 5-6 hours, the break should be at least an hour.

Habitat selection

If your location is in impenetrable thickets (or in a forest), it is better to find a place to spend the night in a higher and windy place so that insects and other animals do not pester you.

Your "house" should have at least some kind of roof and bed. For the roof, you can use a parachute (and suddenly it will be with you) or palm leaves.

• To prevent moisture from passing through palm leaves, they must be “roasted” on stones, they will become darker and glossier.
• Do not forget about the bed, it is easy to build from bamboo or any twigs.

Without water, neither here nor there! The main thing in survival in the forest (jungle)

Water and jungle things are very compatible, but you should be very careful when choosing sources!

• water from a stream will do, even better where there are stones
• boil it before use

Self mining

It is necessary to dig a hole up to 6 feet from the edge of the shore of a stream or lake, then wait for the water to seep and settle.

Extraction from fruits or other plants

Such sources can be: grapes, coconut, bamboo shoots or sugar syrup from flower threads.

When it comes to food, there are plenty of options for snacks and dinners. But don't attack everything at once. Keep your mind and common sense. Before you start tasting, make sure that the fruit or vegetable you choose is not a poisonous food in disguise that wants to encroach on your life.

Check it out! Add to list poisonous plants relate:

• - white mango tree;
• - cow bush;
• - dope;
• - western celtis;
• - laxative nut;
• - pangi;
• - castor beans.

An excellent option for breakfast, lunch or dinner would be fish. Beware not to catch dangerous or poisonous to your health. If you understand and are sure of the edibility of a particular fish, then remember:

• It is better to eat fish in small pieces and small portions. If your body responds well to it, then you can no longer deny yourself.
• fish that is caught in the jungle deteriorates quickly, it is worth preparing and consuming it immediately after the catch.

Clothes for traveling in the forest or jungle

What can I say, if you were heading into the jungle, you should have known and taken with you:

• comfortable, practical shoes;
• outerwear with long sleeves and trousers from burns and scratches, insect bites or other possible wounds;
• cover your head from the sun (cap, bandana, bandage);

Experienced travelers or tourists also know that it is necessary to take changeable shoes and socks.

Even better if you have gloves on your hands that will help you overcome the jungle, build shelter and catch fish.

Take care of your health!

The main thing in the whole journey is to stay healthy! During your stay in the jungle you need:

• save energy. When making your way through the thickets, you should not rush, carefully take each step and follow the direction;
• in case of overwork, stop and rest;
• if the temperature or fever has risen, it is strictly forbidden to continue the journey. You need rest and the opportunity to drink more water.

All of the above is based on advice and feedback. seasoned tourists and must prepare any person to respond correctly and calmly to the fact that you can get lost in the forest or jungle. But you should never despair and give up! Now your life and further actions depend only on themselves. Let's look for the positive in any critical situation!

Imagine - this is participation in the game "Stay Alive" and you will be the winner!

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What to take with you on vacation 2. To-do list or do it all!

1.3. JUNGLE SURVIVAL The "primary" jungle is easily recognizable by the abundance of giant trees. The tops of these trees form a dense canopy over 100 feet above the ground. There is little light or undergrowth under this canopy. It is difficult to move through such jungle, but it is possible. The "primary" jungle was in many areas cleared of vegetation in order to be able to engage in agriculture. This land, if cleared and left uncultivated, turns back into jungle; it turns into a solid carpet of dense shrubs and climbing plants. This is the "secondary" jungle and is much more difficult to cross than the "primary". More than half of the land in the tropics is cultivated in one way or another, and is also set aside for allotments. First of all, this is connected with the production of rubber, tea, coconuts. If you go to a plantation, keep an eye on the people who look after the harvest - they can help you. During tropical rains, the "primary" or "secondary" jungle is an unpleasant place to live or move around. The dry, bushy terrain is more open than the wet jungle, but it is difficult to move around due to the lack of topographical landmarks, population and roads. However, they can be navigated using a compass with patience and common sense. 1.3.1. Getting around Getting around in the jungle can be done safely if you don't panic. If you are alone in the jungle, depending on the circumstances, the first thing to do is to relax and analyze the situation. You must: - define more precisely general direction moving to a safe place. If you don't have a compass, use the sun and a clock as an aid in determining direction; - take a supply of water and food; - move in one direction, but not in a straight line. Go around obstacles, avoid fighting them. In enemy territory, take advantage of natural shelters and shelters; - regardless of the speed of movement, every hour it is recommended to make a 10 - 15-minute stop for a short rest and preparation of equipment. After about 5-6 hours, a big halt is arranged. 1.5-2 hours will be enough to gain strength, prepare hot food or tea, put shoes and clothes in order; - in order not to stray from the route, even with a compass, every 50-100 m, a noticeable landmark should be outlined; - there are certain ways to move through the jungle; neglecting them only leads to scars and scratches. As needed, work your shoulders, hips, bend, squat or straighten, speed up or slow down the movement. 1.3.2. Shelter *Choice of location*. 1) Try to choose a parking place on a high, open area, away from the swamps. Here, mosquitoes will not pester you like that, the earth will be drier and it is more likely that the place will be blown by the breeze. 2) Nights are cold in the mountain jungle. Avoid windy areas. 3) Avoid dry riverbeds. Sometimes after rains that have gone so far from you that you do not even suspect that it has rained, they can fill up with water within a few hours. *Type of shelter*. The type of shelter you build depends on the time you have to build it and whether it will be permanent or temporary. As a shelter in the jungle can be: - a simple shelter made from a parachute thrown over a rope or liana stretched between two trees; - a shelter made of a frame in the shape of the letter A and covered with a thick layer of leaves of a palm or other tree, pieces of bark or bundles of herbs. Cover the sloped roof with leaves, like tiles, from top to bottom. This type of shelter is considered ideal as it can be made completely waterproof. To do this, use the broad leaves of a young banana tree. Build a fire pit on a flat stone or on laid out flat small stones. When the stones are well heated, put a leaf on them and let it blacken and become glossy. In this state, the sheet becomes more waterproof and durable and can be used for roofing. Once the shelter is ready, dig a small drainage hole at the bottom of the hill to provide you with a dry floor. *Bed*. Don't sleep on the ground: make yourself a bed of bamboo or small branches covered with palm leaves. A hammock made from a parachute can replace a bed. You can make a hard cover from tree branches, ferns: the bark of dead trees is still better than nothing. 1.3.3. Water Finding water in the jungle is not difficult: - water from a clean stream with fast current, with stones - a good source of water for drinking and washing. Before drinking water, make it drinkable by boiling or chemically treating it; - enough clean water can be obtained from muddy streams or lakes by digging a hole in the ground 1-6 feet from the edge of the bank. Let the water seep out and the dirt settle; - water from tropical streams, backwaters and swamps can only be drunk after it has been processed; - water can be obtained from grapes and other plants. Bamboo shoots and vines are good sources of water. Coconuts, especially when green, provide a milky juice that is both pleasant and nutritious when eaten in small portions. Sugar syrup can be obtained by cutting flower threads. Coconuts are available throughout the year. Sugar syrup can be obtained from the growths on the tree, the fruits of other palm trees. 1.3.4. Food There is an abundance of food in the jungle. But some species are poisonous. Any food eaten by monkeys is basically safe for humans. *Never eat fruits and vegetables raw unless they are completely peeled. Boil all vegetables before eating*. *Fish*. Some representatives of poisonous fish are found in tropical waters, but in general many of their varieties are edible. The safest fish to eat are those that have been caught on the high seas or in deep water behind reefs. For survival, a person can use shellfish, snails, snakes, lobsters, sea ​​urchins and little octopuses. 1) Eat only small pieces of fish. If there are no negative consequences, you can safely continue to eat fish. 2) Tropical fish spoil quickly and should be eaten immediately after being caught. *Never eat the entrails or eggs of any tropical fish*. 3) Well-known methods fishing sure to be successful in the jungle. *Plants*. Some plant species are poisonous and should be avoided. 1) White mangrove or "blinding" tree. This plant is found in swamps, in estuaries or on the coast. When touched, the juice forms blisters. You can go blind if the juice gets into your eyes. 2) Cow bush. This plant is usually found in thickets and bushy areas, but never in ordinary forest. Flower petals and pods cause irritation. Blindness can result from eye contact. 3) Celtis western. This plant is very common, especially in and near ponds. It is poisonous and causes a burning sensation if touched. 4) Datura smelly. It is a weed typical of abandoned and cultivated lands. All parts of this plant, especially the seeds, are poisonous. 5) Pangy. This plant is found mainly in the Malay jungle. Its seeds contain hydrocyanic acid. It is dangerous in its raw form, but if fried, it can be eaten. 6) Laxative nut. The seeds of this plant act as a powerful laxative. 7) Castor oil. This plant is like a bush, often found in thickets and open places, has poisonous seeds and acts as a strong laxative. 8) Vomiting root. This plant is found in abundance in all tropical areas. It has an appetizing white or yellow fruit (it looks like a small orange), it is very common in Southeast Asia. The fruit has an extremely bitter pulp and seeds containing a highly toxic poison. 1.3.5. Clothing If the body is not completely covered, it becomes vulnerable to insect bites, cuts and scratches. You must have: - Loose and long enough clothing to be tucked into gloves and socks; - clothes strong enough to withstand wear in harsh conditions; - head mosquito nets and gloves that protect against thorns; - pockets for carrying items of paramount importance - maps, compass, matches; - army uniform provides special shoes for the jungle. These are the best shoes for the jungle. 1.3.6. Health * General provisions*. Do not think that you will be able to get away from the enemy and stay alive in the jungle areas if you do not keep fit. Even in ideal conditions it is difficult, but the chances can be increased by following some rules dictated by common sense. 1) Don't rush. Never try to beat the jungle with speed - that's impossible. 2) Avoid climbing high places, unless it is related to determining the direction of movement. When crossing flat terrain, take detours. 3) Watch your feet, change and wash your socks more often. Protect shoes from cracking and rotting by lubricating them with grease. 4) If you get a fever, don't try to move around. Wait until the temperature subsides. Drink plenty of water. 5) Ticks, leeches, mosquitoes, insects and other parasites are real danger health and your safety. Fight them by using insect repellant or by avoiding areas where they are especially abundant. 6) Avoid infection. In conditions of tropical heat and humidity, wounds are very susceptible to infection. Try to protect the wound or sore by covering it with a clean bandage. Sterilize the dressing if possible. 7) Prevent exhaustion due to heat, cramps and heat stroke by restoring the consumption of water and salts as a result of sweating. Drink more healthy water, if you have salt, mix 2 salt tablets in a flask of water. If you feel the effects of the heat, rest in the shade and drink half a flask of this salted water every 15 minutes. Continue this treatment until you feel better. Avoid sunburn. 8) A constant danger in the jungle are countless thorns, fragments of branches sticking out in different directions, saw-shaped edges of pandanus palm leaves. Even minor abrasions and scratches caused by them are easily infected, suppurating, if they are not immediately smeared with iodine or alcohol. Cuts caused by razor-sharp edges of split bamboo trunks and stems of some herbs do not heal for a particularly long time. 9) When swimming in tropical rivers or fording them, you can be attacked by crocodiles. In South American waters, piranhas are no less dangerous - small, the size of a human palm, fish of black, yellowish or purple color, with large scales, as if showered with sparkles. The smell of blood causes an aggressive reflex in piranhas, and, having attacked the victim, they do not calm down until only one skeleton remains from it.

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When planning a trip, be sure to tell your friends exactly where you are going when you return. If something goes wrong for you, as planned, they will miss you and will be able to notify the relevant structures that will start the search.
- Before the hike, travel carefully prepare. Get basic geographical information about the region you are going to, get to know the local flora and fauna. Depending on the conditions of the area, take the appropriate equipment, tools, and of course suitable clothing
and shoes.
- Restraint and good calculation. If you get lost, first think where it is better to go, and then go.
Tired - take a rest. Hungry, look for something edible. The goal is to be in good physical and mental shape. After an unusually long fast, the body will become very weak and the chances of a good outcome will be less and less.
- No need to lose heart. Remember the stories of how people managed to get out of the most hopeless situations and the most extreme places. Don't underestimate yourself. You are not the first and you are not the last. Others have done it, so you can too.

The best advice you can give to a person who is lost in the desert is to hide in the shade and wait for help. If there is no chance that they will miss you and begin to look for you, then you will have to actively act.
- The main danger in the desert is heat stroke and dehydration, which come on fairly quickly. First of all, you need to take care of your head. Cover your head with a light cloth, it will reflect Sun rays. Take off your dark clothes, but do not undress completely, otherwise you will get the strongest sunburn. Do not throw away the removed clothes, they can come in handy at night. The air temperature in the desert at night can drop to 5 degrees, and in especially remote parts from the sea it can reach minus.
- It is very important to find running water. Stagnant water in such places is almost always contaminated with decaying corpses of animals that came to the "deadly" watering hole, pathogenic bacteria. Such water can be drunk only after distillation or at least after filtration and long boiling.
- A sign that there is water nearby will be plants.

An unpleasant feature of the jungle is very dense vegetation, which makes movement very difficult and dangerous. And also the presence a large number insects and dangerous animals, snakes. It is more difficult to die of hunger here, but you need to be as careful and attentive as possible.

Look for a river or lake, there will most likely be people there. You can find water by especially dense vegetation, having examined it from the top of a tall tree.

Walking through the jungle is a dangerous activity, so watch your steps. It is easy to flatten out, tripping over a log or getting tangled in a vine, if you are not careful.

In the jungle, it is pointless to waste strength on hunting or setting traps, because there are a lot of edible plants there. Before you go camping, research the edible plants that grow in the area.

Find out which animals you can meet and which ones can be life threatening.

Determine your location on a sunny day, you can understand where is which side of the world using the "sticks and shadows" method. Find a stick, stick it in the ground and notice where the shadow falls. Make a note and wait 15 minutes. Again make a mark, draw a straight line between them, this will be the direction from east to west. Also, the direction can be determined by the moss, by the thicker branches on the trees.
- Often dew collects on leaves and pine needles overnight, so if you experience a lack of moisture, it can save your life. If you are lucky enough to get enough food, make sure that nothing is left uneaten, otherwise there is a risk that bears or other predators will come to feast on the leftovers.
- If you are a bad swimmer but need to overcome water barrier, look for a log with its help you can swim across big lake or a river.

The main threat to the life of skiers in the mountains is avalanches. Therefore, heading to such an area, you need to take a beeper device with you that emits a radio signal). Turn it on, so rescuers can find you in case of a blockage and an avalanche.
- Snow can tell if an avalanche is coming. Check with a ski pole whether the snow is firm or loose. If it's tight, it's ok. If it is stable when hit with a stick, everything is in order. If it settles, it's a danger signal.
- Glaciers are natural markers. If you go down them, you will get out of the mountains to a more comfortable area.

- The air temperature in the mountains can drop significantly. For example, in Alaska it can reach 60 degrees below zero, and you risk getting frostbite. Keep limbs as warm as possible. The signal of frostbite is waxy skin, redness, and then blackening of the skin.

Fundamentals of survival in any conditions

Don't eat raw food

Food is not worth the risk. Before you eat anything, boil or fry your impromptu breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and boil the water. Worms and various worms that are found throughout freshwater fish they won’t kill you, you can get rid of them upon returning home. But you can pick up some kind of harmful bacteria or sticks from the meat of wild animals or dirty water and get very sick
fast. And in the middle of the taiga or the desert, no one will take you to the hospital.

Save your energy

Breathe through your nose, this will save more energy. When breathing through your mouth, you lose more moisture, and it can be very necessary. If possible, during the stop, rest with eyes closed. This will help you relax better and faster, and also save a lot of energy, since a person spends a lot of energy on vision.

Count the days, hours

In order not to go crazy alone, just keep track of the days. If you don't, your brain will start playing bad jokes on you.

Stay slightly hungry

Eat as much as you need to stay fit. Do not fill your stomach by eating to your full, so you will not only waste precious food supplies, but will also feel tired.

Mark your move

Don't rely on your memory. Make notches in trees, break branches, anything, so that you can then return back and not get lost. Or, on the contrary, it is understood that you have already been here and are moving in a circle.

Find shelter

Find a secluded place where you can hide from the sun that penetrates the bones of the wind or cold. You can hide in the shade of trees, a quarry, or in an uninhabited cave. At night, you need to build a hut from branches.

"My Planet" collected seven incredible stories salvations that prove that you should never give up and give up. The fate of these people formed the basis of books and films about the rules of survival in the ocean, snowy mountains, jungle and caves.

75 rub. for a life

The name of Larisa Savitskaya was included in Russian edition Guinness Book of Records as the only person, who survived after a fall from a height of 5200 m, and as a person who received the minimum amount of compensation for physical damage - 75 rubles.

The plane crash happened in August 1981. A 20-year-old student was returning with her husband to Blagoveshchensk from honeymoon trip and accidentally sat in the tail of the plane, although she had tickets in the middle of the cabin. At the time of the An-24 passenger collision with the Tu-16 military bomber, which occurred due to an error by the dispatchers, Larisa was sleeping. Waking up from a strong blow, she felt a burn, as the temperature dropped sharply to -30 ° C. When the fuselage broke, Savitskaya ended up on the floor in the aisle, but managed to get up, run to the chair and squeeze into it, before “her” fragment glided onto a birch grove.

After landing, she was unconscious for several hours. Waking up, she saw the body of her husband and, despite grief, broken ribs, arms, concussion and spinal injuries, began to fight for life. From the wreckage of the plane, she built herself a semblance of a hut to escape the rains, warmed herself with seat covers and covered herself with mosquito bags. Rescuers found her two days after the disaster.

How the survivor Larisa Savitskaya was given 75 rubles. (According to the standards of the State Insurance in the USSR, 300 rubles were supposed to be compensated for damages for those who died and 75 rubles for those who survived in plane crashes). The Soviet press reported the incident only in 1985 as a catastrophe during a test aircraft. Larisa herself claimed that at the time of the crash, she remembered the Italian film “Miracles Still Happen” about a heroine who survived in the same situation.

Nine days in the jungle

Peruvian schoolgirl Juliana Margaret Koepke is exactly the same girl about whom the film "Miracles Still Happen" was shot. At the age of 17, she happened to survive after a plane crash on a domestic flight to Peru: lightning hit the plane, it fell from a height of 3 km, and Koepke was the only one who survived from 92 passengers.

For nine days, the girl, despite her injuries and concussion, made her way to people through the rainforest alone. By a lucky chance, Juliana's father, to whom she flew with her mother for the Christmas holidays, taught her the skills of survival in the jungle.

She went on a hike through the forest after waiting four days for rescue at the crash site, taking some sweets with her. Along the way, she met animals and snakes, due to wounds and insects, Juliana hardly slept, larvae wound up in her abscess - she got rid of them only when she reached the fishing boat and doused the wound with gasoline. On the tenth day, the girl met the fishermen, who helped her. Juliana told her story in the book When I Fell From the Sky, and then the movie mentioned above was made based on it.

127 hours in the canyon

American climber Aron Ralston spent more than five days in a canyon in Utah: during a solo ascent, a large stone fell on him and crushed his right arm.

The 27-year-old athlete went on this trip alone, without warning anyone, and knew that he had nowhere to wait for salvation. On the fourth day he ran out of water and had to drink his own urine. On the fifth day, he began to prepare for the worst: he made a farewell video on camera and engraved his name and the date of his alleged death on the wall.

When there was nothing left to lose, Aron decided to make one last attempt to survive: cut off his hand to free himself. First he had to break it with his own weight, then he proceeded to the operation with a penknife. The painful amputation lasted an hour. Freed, Aron, despite bleeding, descended from the 18-meter wall and walked through the desert area for about 13 km before meeting people. About these events, which took place in 2003, director Danny Boyle made the film "127 hours" based on the book of the same name by Aron.

76 days on an inflatable raft

U.S. yachtsman Stephen Callahan was about to take part in a single race through Atlantic Ocean on the Napoleon Solo sailing ship, but the unexpected happened - according to the athlete, the ship was rammed by a whale and the ship went to the bottom.

Callahan managed to save an inflatable raft and a bag with a survival kit from a sinking ship, for which he had to dive into a flooded cabin. In this bag was a book about survival in the ocean. A yachtsman has speared fish and eaten it raw, fought the waves, survived a shark attack. He saw nine ships pass by, but none noticed the small raft.

The raft made its way from the Cape Verde Peninsula (Senegal) to the island of Marie-Galante in the Caribbean Sea (Guadeloupe archipelago): when it was washed ashore, local fishermen found an emaciated traveler with salt water ulcers on his body.

In total, Callahan spent 76 days at sea and covered 3,300 km. The events described took place in 1982, you can read about them in the memoirs of the yachtsman "In the drift: Seventy-six days in captivity by the sea." Stephen Callahan was a consultant on the filming of Ang Lee's Life of Pi.

Three weeks in the Amazon jungle

Israeli Yossi Ginsberg went with three friends to look for an aboriginal tribe in the jungles of Bolivia. On the way, the company split in two due to a quarrel, Yossi stayed with his partner Kevin, they began to go down the river on a raft and stumbled upon the threshold: Ginsberg's friend immediately swam ashore, and he himself became involved in the flow of the waterfall and miraculously did not die.

Yossi spent the next three weeks surviving alone in the Amazon jungle. He had to eat raw eggs birds and fruits, fend off the jaguar - he managed to scare away with the help of insect spray, which Yossi guessed to set on fire, and at the end of the journey he almost drowned in the swamp. “The most difficult moment was when I realized that I was all alone,” Ginsberg later recalled. “At some point, I decided that I was ready for any suffering, but I would not stop.”

When the traveler was finally found by a local search party, he was covered in insect bites and sunburn, and a whole colony of termites settled on his body. About it an unforgettable journey, which happened in 1981, Ginsberg wrote the book Alone in the Jungle, which was filmed by the Discovery Channel documentary"I Shouldn't Have Survived" and will soon be filmed Feature Film Jungle with Kevin Bacon leading role(Scheduled for release in 2016).

41 days in the ocean

A young couple's journey from Tahiti to San Diego was disrupted by a sudden hurricane. 12-meter waves overturned the sailing ship in which 23-year-old American Tami Ashcraft and her Briton fiance Richard Sharp sailed. From the impact of the wave, the girl lost consciousness. When Tami woke up a day later, she saw that the boat was broken, and her friend's life belt was torn.

Tami built a temporary mast, bailed out the water from the cabin, and continued her journey, guided by the stars. Her voyage alone lasted 41 days, supplies of water, peanut butter and canned food were barely enough to keep from dying of exhaustion.

As a result, the girl alone swam 2,400 km and independently entered the Hawaiian harbor of Hilo. About her sad journey that happened in 1983, Tami Ashcraft told only in 1998 in the book "The sky is purple with sadness."

72 days in the mountains

In 1972, a rugby team from Uruguay, their friends and relatives, flying to the match in the capital of Chile, became victims of a plane crash. The plane crashed on the rocks of the Andes, out of 45 passengers, ten died during the disaster, seven more died some time later. The remaining 28 were forced to survive in the mountains in conditions of cold and lack of food at an altitude of 3600 m.

Among the survivors were two medical students, they made medical splints from the wreckage of the aircraft and treated the passengers as best they could. On the 11th day of the disaster, people learned from the radio that their search had been stopped: the white plane on the snowy peak had gone unnoticed.

When the food supply ran out, it was accepted difficult decision- to eat the bodies of the dead, since it was impossible to get food in these places. Water was extracted from snow: it melted in the sun on metal plates. After some time, an avalanche descended from the mountains into the valley, eight more people died, and the rest were buried under the snow. Only after three days of snow captivity, people were saved by one of the team members - Nando Parrado, who broke the window into the cockpit, and everyone managed to climb inside.

After three months of living in the mountains, only 16 people survived. All of them were saved thanks to the courage of Nando Parrado and his friend Roberto Canness, who made a 12-day passage through the Andes without equipment, maps and warm clothes. After walking 60 km, they went out to the people. More information about the tragedy can be found on the official website of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, from the book of Nando Parrado's memoirs and its film adaptation called "Alive".

You can easily get into the wild tropical forest even in the most cultural country. How civilized and cleaned up the island state of Singapore, but also there there is a piece of real jungle (in the botanical garden). So any country sooner or later will push you against the harsh reality natural nature. Or maybe you yourself want to try yourself in the role of Mowgli. A two-day excursion through a real rainforest - and you will remember it for the rest of your life.

The jungle is not a picnic on the Dnieper. British, American and some other troops have developed a detailed manual on how to survive in the most difficult conditions and with a minimum of resources. You should not be afraid of the jungle to tremble in the knees. You just need to know the rules of conduct and the laws of survival. About them something will be discussed.

If you find yourself in the jungle against your will - do not panic. As you know, this is the first condition for overcoming any extreme situation . Think of the many intrepid travelers who roamed the vast expanse and lived for days and even months in places worse than the rainforest. There you are definitely not threatened with frostbite, dehydration and hungry fainting. In the end, remember your ancestors - they once lived in similar conditions(does not mean monkeys at all). And you will have confidence in your abilities. Later, when you calmly assess the circumstances in which you find yourself, you will realize that nothing particularly terrible happened.

Actually, the jungle can not be called an unpleasant place (where it is more unpleasant to get on garbage dump near a big city). But there are definitely some inconveniences to be faced. For starters, it's usually warm in there while you're in dry clothes. It is worth getting wet - and you can quickly freeze (especially at night). So you have to be ready all the time. sleeping bag and change of dry clothes. The best way to keep things dry is to pack them in plastic bags. Moreover, in the jungle, surprises lie in wait for you all the time: either the backpack fell into the river, or the tropical downpour gushed (the effect is about the same). It is most convenient to stuff the equipment into at least three such bags: one with dry clothes, the other with a camera, a camera, notebooks and the third - with food.

But be prepared for the fact that you still have to wear wet clothes. It's okay: it's unpleasant for the first 10 minutes in the morning. In the heat, it will quickly dry right on you, after which you will still sweat. Or get caught in the rain. Be sure to save a change of dry clothes for sleep.

It's not a sin to sometimes arrange and laundry. The conditions for this are quite suitable. There are many bodies of water, so choose one in which you can not see crocodiles nearby, and wash. It is better to do this on a sunny day - then things can be dried on hot coastal stones for half an hour. Of course, your camp toilet can also be dried over a campfire in the evening. But then in the morning you will have to put on something dry, disgustingly smelling of smoke.

Always wear in the tropics loose clothes. She is you may not be very fit, but the process of constant wetting-drying leads to the fact that your suit instantly shrinks. Cotton is best for walking in the tropics, but good quality so that it does not start to rot and tear too quickly.

For legsbaseball cleats or light canvas shoes with rubber soles are usually recommended. However, on long distances good leather shoes will protect your feet from bruises and blisters much better. In places where leeches live, shoes have to be taken a little more seriously: first they put on special cotton stockings, and they tie them under the knee with a string so that they do not slip, and only then - socks and boots. Above are long pants. Then your feet are completely safe. For all their external unattractiveness, such stockings are an ideal remedy for leeches.

To move in the jungle, two things are especially necessary, big knife or machete and compass. In addition to the already listed, the backpack must have a map, a waterproof raincoat, devices for making a fire (a lighter is better than matches), a camping kettle, tea or coffee, sugar, and powdered milk.

Spend the night in the woods South America adopted in hammocks. Otherwise tropical world for some reason they prefer tents. What is much less convenient: the earth is literally teeming with insects and small animals. If there is no hammock, then making this universal bed from any waterproof cloth is a matter of technology. And take care of hygiene. Small scratches in tropical forest they begin to fester quickly and sometimes do not heal for a very long time. The best prevention is washing and treating wounds at least once a day.

Try to collect on the road such food, which would be light, compact and satisfying. FROM water there will be no problems, but metal containers with a supply of water will not interfere: puddles, rivers, streams and lakes in the jungle are teeming with bacteria. It is better to replenish stocks from plant viaducts, which form vines and rattans (palm). In their leaves, as in the flowers of a water lily, it can accumulate rainwater, which is not too safe, but still better than the usual river. It is quite convenient to drink from such plants, although it is better to filter the liquid through a cloth or piece of clothing so as not to swallow the sediment.

The jungle is full of living creatures, which swarms around the traveler. In streams - often right by hand - you can catch shrimp, turtles, frogs and even fish. And all of them are edible and even tasty. What can not be said about vegetable fruits. Fruit, even ripe ones, even those that animals eat before your eyes - it’s better not to touch. Some edible looking plants and mushrooms can be very poisonous. Never try to taste the honey of wild bees if you do not know how to handle bees. Not only can you be bitten, hornet stings can even be fatal. When preparing food in the tropics, it is difficult to meet hygiene standards. Therefore, be prepared for at least a slight indigestion.

As for the dangers, there are no more of them in the jungle than on the streets of a night city. Predators prefer living creatures much smaller than Homo sapiens as prey, and Poisonous snakes they don't bite very often. However, vial of antidote never hurt. What to hide, there are, of course, places where poisonous snakes too much, the hour is not even, you will come. And no boots will save. For example, in Costa Rica. Most of the other small nasty things (thorns, ants, insects) annoy more than really annoy the pain.

The jungle just not out of habit seems to be a frightening place. Loud, strange screams, a huge number of unfamiliar creepers, flying, biting and stinging midges, and oppressive heat - they all seemed to conspire to make the traveler lose heart. In fact, the jungle is a paradise. If you are irritated, upset, have lost the meaning of life and are close to suicide, go there immediately. The world you will enter will be so unusual and amazing that there will simply be no time left for self-criticism. In addition, in most parts of the world where the jungle has survived, the natives still live. By following their advice and traveling under their careful guidance, you will enrich yourself with the experience of life in natural world and, in turn, you will help restore self-respect, suppressed by modern civilization.