Tipishca Activities
At Tipishca the native Indians share their culture and their forest. In addition to the Peru Indians, you are accompanied by experienced naturalist guides, knowledgeable about the local wildlife, ecology and conservation issues; your guide acts as interpreter as the Piro demonstrate their expert wildlife spotting abilities and knowledge about the forest. Tipishca guides speak English and Spanish; guides in other languages can be arranged if booked in advance.
Demonstration of Music and Dance
On your arrival at Tipishca lodge the native Piro community presents a short welcome demonstration of their traditional music and dance, inviting you to join their dance.
Craft Workshops
The native Piro indians are skilled at making handicrafts from forest products such as bark , seeds and clay. You can see them at work, have a go yoursef, or buy their crafts at Tipishca. Proceeds go directly to the artisan.
Visit to indian Village
Accompanied by your Piro guide, you are invited to the Piro indians homes and see their traditional way of life.
Catamaran Tours of Lake Tipishca: Daytime Excursions
On lake Tipishca we use a catamaran canoe with comfortable chairs and powered by two local paddlers who keep a lookout for the giant otters and other wildlife on the lake. Tours depart from the boat jetty close to the centre, and last about one hour. The catamaran provides an excellent mobile viewing platform, suitable for photography and telescopes. Lake excursions will normally leave early in the morning or late afternoon.
Catamaran Tours of Lake Tipishca: Night Excursions
A catamaran tour at night after dinner is a good opportunity to experience the lake and forest at night. Flashlights can pick out the eyeshine of the otherwise difficult to see black caiman, and other nocturnal species. Night tours typically last an hour.
Guided Tours of Forest Trails: Day Excursions
Led by your naturalist guide and accompanied by a native Piro indian, you explore the trails around Lake Tipishca and the forest surrounding the lake, learning about medicinal plants, ecology, conservation, and spotting birds, mammals, butterflies and other wildlife. Trails cover a variety of habitats from rich floodplain to stands of bamboo, giving you a broad introduction to the diversity of wildlife in the rainforest.
Guided Tours of Forest Trails: Night Excursions
A short excursion into the forest at night is quite a different experience to a daytime walk. Accompanied by your guide, you experience the sounds and sights of the rainforest at night, with the chance to see elusive nocturnal creatures. A good flashlight is essential for night excursions.
Macaw Clay Lick Excursion
There is a parrot and macaw clay lick just 20 minutes by boat down river from Tipishca. Macaw clay licks are best experienced early in the morning; hence tours usually leave the lodge pre-dawn to catch the best of the day with a few hours of high quality bird watching.
Conservation Activities
Las Piedras Amazon Tours encourages guests to actively participate in conservation. Tipishca has a mahogany reforestation project in which young mahogany trees are grown, transplanted and maintained to augment the numbers of this species which has suffered from the attentions of illegal logging in the past. Tipìshca guests can help with planting and caring for these trees, hence you are directly contributing to the conservation of the forest.
Fishing Demonstrations
Fishing is not a major activity for visitors at Tipishca- we prefer to leave the fish for the giant otters! But our native staff can give a demonstration of their traditional fishing technique with bow and arrow, and if you want to see that famous Amazon fish, the pirahna, the guides can try and catch one- returning the live fish after the demonstration.