It’s almost impossible to grasp the vastness of the Amazon, and it’s really only when you fly over it that you get any sense of scale. I have worked in many parts of the Amazon but there’s one place I always return to: <a href="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/peru-guide/" target="_blank">Peru</a>’s Manu National Park. Manu is officially the most biodiverse place on Earth and for an animal lover like me, few places can beat it. This image shows the Manu River winding past an oxbow lake called Cocha Salvador. I have spent over six months filming and photographing giant otters here, but when I took this image I got to see it from the air for the first time and it put its size into perspective for me. It takes nearly two hours to row from end to end, but it looks so small against the backdrop of the world’s largest rain forest.
Manu National Park, Peru
It’s almost impossible to grasp the vastness of the Amazon, and it’s really only when you fly over it that you get any sense of scale. I have worked in many parts of the Amazon but there’s one place I always return to: Peru’s Manu National Park. Manu is officially the most biodiverse place on Earth and for an animal lover like me, few places can beat it. This image shows the Manu River winding past an oxbow lake called Cocha Salvador. I have spent over six months filming and photographing giant otters here, but when I took this image I got to see it from the air for the first time and it put its size into perspective for me. It takes nearly two hours to row from end to end, but it looks so small against the backdrop of the world’s largest rain forest.
Top 10 Wild Places to Photograph
“I had never taken much notice of orangutans before, but when one took my hand and looked into my eyes, well that was it,” says National Geographic photographer Charlie Hamilton James. Here are his favorite places to shoot.
Charlie Hamilton James is a National Geographic photographer and filmmaker specializing in wildlife and conservation. Follow him on Instagram @chamiltonjames.
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