Make a Journey into Peru’s First Indigenous Urban Community! In the 1990s, the Shipibo-Konibo people arrived from the Amazon to Lima and settled on Cantagallo, a neighborhood located on the banks of the Rímac river. Nowadays, the members of this urban community still identify as indigenous and maintain their language, folklore, knowledge, and culture as part of their daily coexistence.
To start this experience, your tour guide will pick you up from your hotel in Lima at 9:30 am (changeable) and drive you to Cantagallo, located near the Historic Center of Lima. Here, you will visit the Shipibo-Konibo community, and you will learn about its culture and current reality after moving to the city.
At the end of 2016, a fire destroyed everything in the community, including the machinery and tools necessary for their craft production. During your visit, you’ll see some remnants of what is left after the fire and get in touch with the local families still trying to recover from the tragedy and get back to their normal lives and businesses. You will see how they are rebuilding their community and understand how important your visit is to support them.
The people here have found a good way to get ahead by showing and teaching visitors about their folklore. The Shipibo-Konibo are known for their unique arts and crafts, particularly the geometric or “Kené” designs that cover their ceramics, fabrics, and even skins. It beautifies them, heals them, cleanses them, and strengthens them.
“Kené” is the design of the sacred, spiritual, physical, and cultural expression of the Shipibo-Konibo people. A reference to the elements that make up their universe, which they access through visions resulting from introspection. It is a typically feminine art. On your visit, you’ll meet strong women artisans and learn about their work. Feel free to try out the Shipibo-Konibo art techniques yourself, as well!
At lunchtime, you will enjoy Amazonian dishes at the home of a Shipibo-Konibo family. In case you have any dietary restrictions or allergies, please let us know in advance, so we can plan an alternative for you.
Around 2:30 pm, you will return to your hotel, after enjoying a unique experience out of the ordinary. This is off the beaten path tourism at its best!
Looking for more experiences in Lima? Check out all of our Day-Tours in Peru’s capital! Here, you won’t get bored so fast.
Your visit supports the resilient Shipibo-Konibo community in Lima, both financially and emotionally. It gives them a chance to start anew after the tragic incidents of the last decade, such as the fire that left more than 2,000 people homeless and destroyed virtually every home in the community in late 2016.
The Cantagallo community has also been involved in the ups and downs and changes in local politics.
With your presence during this Journey into Peru’s First Indigenous Urban Community, you will not only encourage them to continue with the craft trade but also preserve their indigenous traditions.
We can pick you up from hotels in central areas like Miraflores, San Isidro and Barranco (or close-by) at no cost. While pick-up at other locations, cruise shuttle stop or airport are available for an additional fee.
No, they don’t. But your tour guide does! Our host families are very used to having guests that don’t speak Spanish, and their Spanish is easy to understand for those who speak other Latin languages.
Of course, learning Spanish beforehand is always a good idea! Use an app like Duolingo to learn the basics before leaving and enhance your experience whilst traveling.
This is a private excursion. But we can manage to make it a shared experience for you and other travelers.
Through the workshops and lunch included in this tour, the Shipibo-Konibo people generate additional income that supports everyone involved and the community.
Moving across Lima certainly requires a certain level of caution, but don’t let this to discourage you from experiencing this very particular destination, as with the right attitude you won’t be bothered by the thought of not feeling safe. Tourists attract attention, that is a fact, so it is wise to travel ‘low profile’ and avoid showing valuable items (big cameras, flashy cellphones, bulky wallets, expensive watches). Also, keep an eye over your personal belongings at all times.
For questions about booking a tour, prices, preparation for your trip, health and safety or other themes, please check our Frequently Asked Questions page. If you can’t find your question & answer, email us and we’ll add it!
I’m an expert tour leader and founder of Social Andean Expedition, an initiative that provides solar energy to schools in vulnerable communities, through sustainable tourism programs. I graduated in Communications in Peru, and lived and studied in different Asian countries, where I worked as an advertiser, journalist and chef.
My long stay in other culturally rich countries encouraged me to take a deeper look into my own people, embrace my own culture, and return home to work for the less privileged in Peru.
I firmly believe in the transformative power of responsible tourism to strengthen the economies and dignity of the most vulnerable peoples of Peru, and I see the same values in Impactful Travel.
