Locals in the highest town in the world live above the clouds and are so far from civilisation that it has become lawless.

La Rinconada, Peru, is an incredible 5,100 metres above sea level.

It has become a hub for crime because, while there are some laws there, its isolation means criminals are often able to avoid consequences for their exploits.

The town is also close to a gold mine that allegedly operates illegally.

A YouTuber called Yes Theory went to the town and described it as "essentially as close to a lawless town as it gets". 

He added: “I think they just end up gravitating towards a place like this, where you end up with some pretty rough personalities."

Many people who go to La Rinconada struggle with the altitude.

The YouTuber was no different. He said: “Like waking up at the bottom of a glacier, seeing the most beautiful view but being up during the night and hearing what was going on in the town.

“And hearing gunshots, and hearing people scream, and hearing people drunk, breaking bottles.

“Being in one of the most beautiful places that you can be on our planet, but also seeing the worst of what human beings can do to our planet.”

Author Peter Koenig also visited the town.

In an article for Dissident Voice, he described his experience there, saying: “La Rinconada looks and smells like a wide-open garbage dump, infested by a slowly meandering yellowish-brownish mercury-contaminated brew – tailings from illegal gold mining – what used to be a pristine mountain lake.

“The thin, oxygen-poor air is loaded with mercury vapour that slowly penetrates people’s lungs, affecting over time the nervous system, memory, body motor, often leading to paralysis and early death.

"[The] average life expectancy of a mine worker is 30-35 years, about half of Peruvian’s average life expectancy.”

Life is also difficult in the town because of the lack of basic infrastructure. There are just three showers to be shared between 50,000 people, for example.

Rubbish is also dumped outside the town, harming the surrounding environment.