The best episodes of Man vs. Wild
Ranked by viewer rating, highs first. Lit marks on the season rail place this list across the run. Vote on a placement to back it or contest it.
- 01
Host Bear Grylls parachutes alone into a remote area of the Rocky Mountains equipped with only the clothes on his back.
- 02
Grylls travels to Panama, where he travels in the equatorial heat through mangrove swamps and rain forest, and endures more than 100 mosquito bites and one painful snake bite.
- 03
Men vs. Wild with Jake Gyllenhaal
Bear brings along a companion, actor Jake Gyllenhaal, to test how he measures up to unpredictable and unforgiving Mother Nature.
- 04
Grylls parachutes into the Sierra Nevadas, simulating the situation of the hundreds of hikers who become stranded there each year. Equipped with a knife and a canteen, Grylls travels through the alpine, woodland and chaparral areas of the mountains. He unsuccessfully tries to tame a wild horse, and eats a live snake. Using techniques gleaned from the Mono Indians, he brushes his teeth with a manzanita leaf. Most of the ground he covers is traversed by river, using a raft held together by grape vine.
- 05
Grylls parachutes into the Sierra Nevadas, simulating the situation of the hundreds of hikers who become stranded there each year. Equipped with a knife and a canteen, Grylls travels through the alpine, woodland and chaparral areas of the mountains. He unsuccessfully tries to tame a wild horse, and eats a live snake. Using techniques gleaned from the Mono Indians, he brushes his teeth with a manzanita leaf. Most of the ground he covers is traversed by river, using a raft held together by grape vine.
- 06
With temperatures dipping to -50°C, Grylls has to keep warm before hypothermia sets in. He uses snares to catch his food, and a fire to keep warm. He puts up a scenario for the great dangers to walk over a frozen lake, and how to survive without drowning and/or before hypothermia sets in.
- 07
Grylls takes on the deepest river based canyon, Hell's Canyon and the dangerous Snake River.
- 08
Bear Grylls is dropped by a helicopter into the Moab Desert in Utah in almost 45 degree temperatures, with nothing but a knife, a canteen, and a flint. He battles dehydration by soaking his t-shirt in urine, and eats two raven eggs, one raw. Lastly, he demonstrates how to escape from quicksand before swimming across the Colorado River. He also explains how to use the flow of rivers as tools to find civilization.
- 09
Grylls parachutes into a Costa Rican rainforest in the Osa Peninsula, with only his knife and a canteen. He's careful about the water he drinks, but gets violently ill anyway. He climbs down a waterfall using a vine, and floats down a river to the ocean on a raft he crafts out of balsawood to demonstrate how someone lost in the jungle can make it to civilization. He encounters snakes, mosquitoes and dangerous river currents.ve swamps.
- 10
Grylls is dropped in the Chugach Mountains in Alaska, with skis and his usual gear. He demonstrates Glissading as he traverses snow and glaciers, and climbs down a 200ft (61m) waterfall. He catches a salmon, which he eats raw, and finds a skiff from an abandoned lodge. The skiff sinks, but he reaches the shore and is spotted by a ship.
- 11
Grylls is dropped by helicopter at the top of Mount Kilauea. Made up of an expanse of solidified lava which stretches for 33,000 acres, this environment is one of the world's most inhospitable. He first traverses lava fields, which catch his boots on fire, then heads into the jungles of Hawaii. Grylls uses a kukui nut torch to explore a lava tube and finds water, then uses smoke to placate a bee hive to get honey. Ultimately, he finds the sea (and people) by following seabirds.
- 12
Grylls parachutes into the French Alps with a knife, a canteen, a cup and a flint, taking the parachute with him. He demonstrates how to survive falling into a frozen lake, how to build a snow shelter, and how to use a self arresting device to stop from plummeting into a crevasse. He also eats maggots and uses them to catch a trout. He performs a Tyrolean traverse and makes himself a pair of snow shoes out of young trees and parachute lines.
- 13
Grylls is kicked out by helicopter into the water near a deserted island in the Pacific Ocean. He demonstrates long distance swimming, shelter building and coconut harvesting. Grylls builds a bamboo raft to look for ships, and is surrounded by tiger sharks. He fishes off his raft using a fish bone hook, and shows how to signal a ship using the reflection produced by his polished knife.
- 14
Grylls drops into the swamps of Florida's Everglades, where at least 60 tourists need to be rescued each year. He trudges through the swamp and shows how to construct shelter, deal with razor-sharp sawgrass, get out of a muddy sinkhole and avoid alligators and rattlesnakes. He eats frogs and cooks a turtle Seminole-style.
- 15
In Mexico, Grylls must find his way out of Copper Canyon, and his only supplies are a water bottle, a flint and a knife. He demonstrates how to build a simple compass and climb sheer cliffs safely. For shelter, he uses ancient caves and makes fire with a traditional "fire saw." Grylls also demonstrates techniques for finding scorpions or grubs and fishing without a rod or line.
- 16
Grylls paraglides onto the edge of the Andes and follows rivers into the Ecuadorian jungle, is attacked by huge colonies of spear-nosed bats[disambiguation needed], and observes giant weevil grubs and piranhas. He builds a bamboo bridge and a bow and arrow to successfully catch fish, but it doesn't always go his way and he's forced to ride the rapids of the Amazon on a single tree trunk.
- 17
Grylls shows how to navigate the Cairngorms region in extreme weather using ice formations and moss growth, and how to test snow slopes for avalanche potential. He uses moss to purify water and skins a red deer for shelter. For food, he traps a rabbit and cooks it to demonstrate how to prepare it. Grylls also crosses deep marshes and uses fallen trees to cross ravines.
- 18
In the sun-scorched Sahara Desert, Grylls uses survival tactics of the indigenous people, including eating a scorpion and a sandfish. He also explains how to escape from quicksand.
- 19
In the desert, Grylls offers tips on skinning and disemboweling a dead camel for water.
- 20
Survival techniques for Panama's mangrove swamps and jungle.
- 21
Grylls parachutes into Patagonia, the southernmost tip of South America, where he first encounters a vast ice field, then forages in a beech forest, wades through a frozen bog and swims through icy water.
- 22
In Patagonia, Grylls skins a hare, scales a cliff, tracks a puma, drinks dirty water, and crosses the Perito Moreno glacier, a vast frozen labyrinth of ice caves and crevasses.
- 23
In this special film Bear Grylls takes us to nature's kitchen. It seems nothing--except maybe the fat of on a camel's hump--is beyond Bear Grylls.
- 24
Bear Grylls ventures into the landlocked country of Zambia in Southern Africa. Before heading into the bush, he shows you how to survive some of the world's biggest rapids.
- 25
Grylls parachutes into the heart of the Namib desert. He eats a puff adder and encounters the indigenous bushmen.
Shows like Man vs. Wild
The closest matches on shared genres, ranked by match strength and popularity.
- 01Drama·Crime·WesternThe best episodes of Marshals2026–present·CBS
Marshals stars Luke Grimes reprising his role as Kayce Dutton. - 02Drama·WesternThe best episodes of Dutton Ranch2026–present·Paramount+The Dutton Ranch, home to Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler, is a testament to the peace they sought, fought for, and nearly died for, as they've come to cherish their 7,000-acre land.
- 03Drama·Crime·WesternThe best episodes of Justified2010–2015·FX
Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens is something of a 19th century-style officer in modern times, whose unconventional enforcement of justice makes him a target with criminals and a problem for his superiors in the U.S. - 04Drama·Thriller·WesternThe best episodes of Longmire2012–2017·Netflix
Longmire, a contemporary crime thriller set in Big Sky country, is based on the Walt Longmire Mystery novels by best-selling author Craig Johnson. - 05Drama·Science-Fiction·WesternThe best episodes of Westworld2016–2022·HBOWestworld is a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the evolution of sin.
- 06Drama·Western·SupernaturalThe best episodes of Wynonna Earp2016–2024·Syfy
Based on the IDW Comic, Wynonna Earp follows Wyatt Earp's great granddaughter as she battles demons and other creatures.
