Tipishca Detailed Itinerary
For 3 Days / 2 Nights
(Standard Tour)
Day 01:
After the arrival in Puerto Maldonado of your morning flight from Cusco or Lima, we drive 20 minutes to the Madre de Dios River, where our especially equipped motor-canoe awaits us.
Initially we pass the lush farmland bordering the Madre de Dios river, soon reaching the Las Piedras confluence where we begin our adventure up the Las Piedras river. As we go further from town, we begin to leave the farmland behind us until soon there is only the occasional sign of human colonisation with small scale subsistence farms bordering the river in places.
The 80 km river journey to the Tipishca Lodge will take 3 ½ -5 hours, depending on river conditions, so just sit back and relax in your reclining seats and enjoy the beautiful Las Piedras scenery; huge river-cliffs, tight meanders with river beaches, tumbling waterfalls and green canyons. Keep your binoculars to hand, because during the journey there are excellent opportunities for seeing wildlife on the river and forest edge. On the river, frequently seen species include side-necked turtles, caiman, capybara (the world’s largest rodent!), sun bittern, wattled jacana, egrets, white-necked heron, horned screamer, black skimmer, Amazon kingfisher and other riverside birds. In the trees at the forest edge we pass red howler monkeys, squirrel monkeys and dusky titi monkeys; beautiful red and green macaws and noisy toucans are often seen, and hawks and vultures pass overhead.
Your guide will serve you lunch, snacks and chilled drinks, as well as spotting wildlife and entertaining you with jungle stories.
When we arrive at the TIPISHCA LODGE port, our indigenous Yines Piros hosts welcome us and then invite us to enjoy a small presentation of dances and music. You then have time to relax on the lakeside veranda whilst dinner is prepared, and perhaps get your first sighting of the wildlife stars of lake Tipishca- the resident family of giant otters.
After dinner, we can take a night walk through the forest to look for night monkeys, armadillos, tree frogs, brocket deer, giant crickets and other nocturnal wildlife. At night one becomes more aware of the sounds of the rainforest. The calls of the crickets and frogs are usually the loudest, but owls and potoos are also heard and even Jaguar occasionally! Headlamps are recommended for night hikes and cameras with flash a must.
Day 02:
Early in the morning after breakfast our Yines hosts guide us to one of their trails to observe fauna and to find many medicinal plants. The mammal highlights in the forest at Tipishca are the four species of diurnal monkeys. The most commonly seen monkey species is the brown capuchin, usually seen foraging for fruit, insects and nectar at mid to low canopy levels. They often allow us to watch their antics at close range. The beautifully coloured red howler monkeys are often seen and heard in the early mornings. Other commonly seen monkeys include the small squirrel monkeys, who are often seen following the capuchin monkeys, and dusky titi monkeys. Birds often seen on the introductory walk include scarlet macaw, Cuviers toucan and the elsewhere rare blue-headed macaw.
In the afternoon after lunch and a brief siesta we visit the Indian community to learn some of their traditional customs and to participate in the elaboration of fine crafts with materials from area such as seeds, lianas and leaves.
We return to the Lodge in good time for our evening meal.
In the evening there is another opportunity for an after dark walk to look for wildlife and experience the rainforest at night.
Day 03:
Before breakfast we take a lake tour in the catamaran. Lake Tipishca’s giant river otter family is currently made up of 3 individuals; an adult breeding pair and their offspring. When the young reach three years old, the young otters will leave the family in search of their own territory. Adult giant otters consume 4kg (9lbs) of fish a day and the fish-rich Tipishca lake ensures their continual presence. Such is their strength and team play that even large black caiman and anacondas will keep their distance from the giant otter family. Otters are very territorial, but also very sensitive. The Tipishca giant otters are accustomed to the presence of our catamaran, allowing us extended viewing at a comfortable distance, although they will sometimes come closer to investigate us, which is wonderful for photography! (Note: the giant otters fish on Lake Tipishca every day of the year, apart from when it is flooded by the river Las Piedras: a rare event, happening once or twice a year for a few days at a time).
Bird watching on Lake Tipishca is excellent, for specialists and for those of us with a more general interest in wildlife. The birds are diverse, interesting, and easily visible and the catamaran is just so relaxing! Commonly seen species include scarlet macaw, Cuviers toucan, hoatzin, agami heron, rufescent tiger-heron, green ibis, sungrebe, snail kite, black-collared hawk, black-capped donacobius, rufous and green kingfisher and blue-headed macaw.
After a good breakfast we will leave Tipischa for our final boat journey, speeding down-river to Puerto Maldonado. En route we will see a clay-lick located just 20 minutes down river from the lodge. The clay-lick is a large area of bare clay at the edge of the river, which attracts parrots and red and green macaws who come to eat the clay. The spectacle may include up to 200 parrots and a dozen or more red and green macaws. The clay-lick affords excellent opportunities for photography, especially in the months of September and October. Macaws and parrots are attracted to eat the clay for a number of reasons, but principally it is the kaolin in the clay that combats the toxins found in their seed diet. But it’s easy to see that the parrots and macaws enjoy the social aspect too! Sat in the trees waiting for their numbers to grow sufficient for them to go down to the clay-lick, we can watch them in the trees playing, fighting, squawking and being affectionate with each other.
You arrive in Puerto Maldonado in good time to catch your onward flights to Cusco or Lima.