National Geographic

NGC goes inside one of the greatest natural marvels on the planet - a giant crystal cave described as Superman's fortress, with magnificent crystals up to 36 feet long and weighing 55 tons. A team of experts venture into the cavern, enduring scorching-hot temperatures that could kill a human after just 15 minutes of exposure. They'll push the boundaries of physical limitation to explore a crevasse that could lead to another - and perhaps more spectacular - crystal cave.

In China, there exists an astonishing place. A burial ground to rival Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, where pyramid tombs of stupendous size are full of astonishing riches. In 221 BC, China's first Emperor united warring kingdoms into a nation that still exists today. To memorialise this achievement, he bankrupted the national treasury and oppressed thousands of workers to build one of the world’s biggest mortuary complexes. China's second dynasty, the Han, inherited the daunting challenge of building larger tombs to command respect and establish their right to rule without running the nation into the ground. Although no Han emperor's tomb has been opened, the tombs of lesser Han aristocrats have revealed astonishing things: complete underground palaces (including kitchens and toilets) and at least one corpse so amazingly well-preserved some believe Han tomb-builders knew how to "engineer immortality".

Glacier National Park is undergoing dramatic changes. As the glaciers that give this wilderness its name rapidly melt away, it is clear the park will never be the same. Explore the backcountry of this scenic region s pristine forests, alpine meadows, rugged mountains, and spectacular lakes to discover a dramatic transformation and witness a defiant new environment as it emerges.

Follow the close analysis of an ancient fight master's manuscript depicting combat techniques and devices used over 500 years ago.

It's the most famous military installation in the world, yet it doesn’t officially exist. Area 51, a site for covert Cold War operations, has long been a magnet for crackpots, conspiracy theorists, and the overly curious. While there may not be truth to the rumors that Area 51 is a haven for UFOs and extraterrestrials, it's clear that our government has been up to something in Area 51 for decades, and it turns out there is a kernel of truth to even some of the wildest speculation. Now, after years of silence, for the first time Area 51 insiders spill their secrets and reveal what has really been going on inside the most secretive place on earth.

It's the most famous military installation in the world, yet it doesn’t officially exist. Area 51, a site for covert Cold War operations, has long been a magnet for crackpots, conspiracy theorists, and the overly curious. While there may not be truth to the rumors that Area 51 is a haven for UFOs and extraterrestrials, it's clear that our government has been up to something in Area 51 for decades, and it turns out there is a kernel of truth to even some of the wildest speculation. Now, after years of silence, for the first time Area 51 insiders spill their secrets and reveal what has really been going on inside the most secretive place on earth.

In the heart of Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, the waters of Lake Urema explode with the thrashing of a giant crocodile tail. Gorongosa was once known as the place where Noah left his ark: 1,500 square miles of lush floodplains in central Mozambique, packed with wild animals. All around, enormous buffalo, soaring fish eagles, and countless antelopes roam freely. But on closer look, something strange is going on. Fifteen years of civil war has taken a heavy toll and many species have been almost completely wiped out. All the usual top predators and prey are virtually missing, except for one - giant crocodiles and thousands of them. Discover what is being done to bring this African oasis back to its former glory, including perhaps the most ambitious restoration effort ever attempted, with elephants, hippos and scores of zebra, wildebeest, impala and buffalo, being relocated into the park.

A new scientific expedition follows the King Cobra into the wild for the first time.

National Geographic presents a comprehensive view of the spectacular California coastal area known as Big Sur—through the eyes of three intrinsically connected native creatures. Fly with the California condors and capture the panoramic view of Big Sur’s many topside layers, and dive with California’s sea otters to investigate life below the waves. Then, follow the stealthy mountain lions and see how the scavengers, the key-stone species and this top predator are all critical contributors to Big Sur’s unique habitat

The Taj Mahal: Symbol of India, architectural jewel, and monument to a grand passion. Built in the 17th century by the Great Mogul Shah Jahan in honor of Mumtaz Mahal, the love of his life. Before she died, legend says, Mumtaz Mahal made a wish for a mausoleum, more sublime than any the world had seen. Built on the banks of the Yamuna River in Agra, it is said to have required over 20,000 workers including the best craftsmen of the Empire. Millions of bricks were baked on site only to disappear forever under flawless white marble. A heavenly memorial to the Queen of the World, or as a poet described it: "A teardrop on the cheek of time". A love poem set in stone and the most perfect building in the world.

While dinosaurs may have been some of the mightiest creatures ever to have walked the earth, they also could have been among the most bizarre. With extreme, exaggerated body parts, some predators were loaded with outlandish or disproportionately sized appendages. Join world-renowned paleontologists and travel the globe to unearth some of the lesser-known but most surprising members of the dinosaur family: Mamenchisaurus, whose neck alone was longer than the rest of its body; Chasmosaurus, adorned with a fashionable crown of frilly spikes to attract the eyes of potential suitors; Spinosaurus, with massive extensions from its vertebrae that could have supported a sail or a hump; and Parasaurolophus, whose tube-like head crest may look odd to us, but was a mating magnet back in the day. Why did these animals ever adopt such strange appendages? What was their purpose - and why did these evolutionary changes die out?

For over 100 years the Tudor dynasty ruled over England, and in that time they changed the face of the country. Featuring stunning aerial photography, this fascinating documentary gives us a unique vantage point to understand how this family imposed itself onto the very fabric of the land with battlefields, ruined monasteries, powerful castles and the beautiful symmetry of the era’s grand houses and palaces. Swooping above the landscapes and buildings behind some of Britain’s best-known events – places where Sir Francis Drake, Henry VIII, Shakespeare and Elizabeth I once walked – this beautifully shot programme explores history from a whole new angle.

Located between the warrior kingdom of the Hittites and the powerful empire of Egypt, the ancient city of Qatna was wiped off the face of the earth as it grew too powerful ? its role in the rise of the Egyptian empire lost in the desert sands. Qatna and its many treasures lay hidden from humanity until now. In ten years of archeological digs, the lost city has been rediscovered and a team of international scientists has excavated its long-held secrets. Egypt's Lost Rival unearths the ground breaking discoveries hidden from the world for millennia.

In one single, epic camera move we journey from Earth's surface to the outermost reaches of the universe on a grand tour of the cosmos, to explore newborn stars, distant planets, black holes and beyond.

The Serengeti is Africa's largest nature reserve and one of its most notable inhabitants is the cheetah, also called cheetah. A young cheetah tells of his carefree childhood on the Serengeti Plain in Tanzania, thanks to his wonderful mother. She takes care of food on the shelf and with her he and his brothers and sister have nothing to fear. Lesson one: tripping the calf, lesson two: choking and biting to death, lesson three: Catching a calf yourself. Mother cheeta allows her boy to practice on a gazelle calf she has caught for them. One day, the young cheetahs will have to hunt themselves. Without Mommy's help.

Jane Goodall has spent five years observing the chimps in Tanzania (formerly Tanganyika), Africa. One of her discoveries is that they use primitive tools. The film shows the life of the chimps. Retrospective note: This documentary features remarkable historical footage of Goodall, her original camp, and the Gombe chimpanzees. It shows the early years of Goodall establishing the site before it went on to become a world-renowned research center.

The special follows award-winning actor Mackie in his hometown of New Orleans, where he grew up boating and angling and still practices the sport to date, a passion he now shares with his four sons. Throughout the documentary, Mackie is on a personal mission to keep the peace between coastal communities and sharks. Diving fin-first, he comes face-to-face with the ocean’s apex predators, swimming with several enormous sandbar and silky sharks and tagging a formidable 7-foot bull shark.

Diego Calderón was researching birds in a remote area of Colombia when he was kidnapped by FARC. Now, years later, he’s decided to return to meet former FARC members and hopefully find some meaning in what happened.

Lions rarely hunt baboons because they are hard to catch and usually not worth the risk or effort. But there is one place in Africa's Great Rift Valley where baboons are plentiful and lions have learned to catch them.