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Peru's Manu is one of the most biologically diverse places on earth. Home to over 1,000 species of birds, 300 species of trees, and countless other life forms, Manu showcases life at its most prolific. But deep within Manu's rain forest also lie stories and histories of Indians and foreign explorers of centuries past. Though their footprints have disappeared over time, these inhabitants and travelers have made deep impressions that have shaped Manu into what it is today.
Home to numerous indigenous Indian tribes, the Peruvian rain forest's most recognized Indian inhabitants were the Incas whose capital was in the Andes but whose empire extended into the cloud forest. With their large empire, the Incas had many contacts with the jungle Indians of Manu. At its height, the Inca empire spanned 3,000 miles (4,800 km) across South America. Inca territory was divided into quarters, with Cuzco, the c