
This immense 1.5-million-hectare park has successive canopies of vegetation rising from 150 to 4,200 metres above sea level. The tropical forest in the lower tiers contains an unrivaled variety of animal and plant species. Some 850 species of birds have been identified and rare species such as the giant otter and the giant armadillo have found refuge there. Jaguars are often sighted in the park.
Recognized as a natural heritage of mankind and a biosphere reserve by UNESCO, Manu is an example of intact jungle, the virgin Amazon far from civilization.