DEEP in the heart of the Amazon flows a hot water river that can boil animals alive.

The 100C waterway would scold a person who falls in with third degree burns in just seconds – and they’ll be miles from any help.

Anyone who takes a breath while standing on the edge of the river will feel their nose and lungs burn.

The mysterious river is in the central Mayantuyacu region of Peru in the Andes and the western edge of the Amazon rainforest.

Animals that fall in are cooked alive.

The river is named Shanay-Timpishka in the indigenous language – which means “boiled by the heat of the sun”.

But the sun is not how the water heats up.

Instead, the cold jungle river runs over the top of fault zones where hot underground water flows from deep within the earth.

Andrés Ruzo, an explorer and geothermal scientist, said the hottest water temperature he has ever measured is 210F (100C).

He said: “You stick your hand in, and you will see second or third degree burns in a matter of seconds.

“The first thing to go are the eyes. Eyes, apparently, cook very quickly. They turn this milky-white colour.

“They’re [animals] trying to swim out, but their meat is cooking on the bone because it’s so hot.

“So they’re losing power, losing power, until finally they get to a point where hot water goes into their mouths and they cook from the inside out.”

Ruzo brought the world’s attention to the river in a viral 2016 Ted Talk.

As a Peruvian, he had long heard stories about the river’s existence and set out to prove it and measure it.

He had also heard stories of Spanish conquistadors encountering a river that boiled from below while they were attempting to kill the last Inca emperor.

In 2011 he went on a hike, led by his aunt who claimed to have swam in the river before.

They battled through the jungle and found it, leaving Ruzo amazed to see the legendary river with his own eyes.

“It has forced me to question the line between known and unknown, ancient and modern, scientific and spiritual.

“It is a reminder that there are still great wonders to be discovered.”

The river area is home to the Amazon communities Santuario Huistin and the Mayantuyacu who have long considered it a sacred site.

There are two other boiling waterways in the area, including the Salt River (a salty thermal stream) and the Hot River (a thermal freshwater stream).

Scientists think rain water falls down the earth’s crust and heats up, before being pushed back up to the surface.

The closest volcanic area is some 430 miles away.