THE mighty Amazon River conjures up images of adventure and mystery.
Piercing the world's largest rain-forest, the 6,700-kilometre-long river has more than 7,000 tributaries and is the largest moving liquid mass on Earth.
The Amazon's average width of 3.6 km expands to 50 km during the rains and produces one litre of water for each inhabitant of the world every 28 seconds.
European explorers found the Amazon five centuries ago, but only in recent years has it become accessible to tourists seeking one of the most exotic destinations.
Manaus, capital of Amazonas state, is the stepping-off point for a peek into this majestic jungle world.
In the heart of the Amazon, 2,000 km up river, the city - known as the 'Paris of the Jungle' - has a history as exotic as the surrounding rain-forest.
Founded in 1669 as a trading post, it generated enormous wealth during the late 19th-century rubber boom. Throughout this golden age, incongruous monuments to decadence were built that remain standing as historic monuments.