How Tiskita Grew

Tiskita grew slowly from rainforest, orchard, family life and a deep connection to Costa Rica’s southern Pacific coast.

Tiskita’s story begins with a love of wild places. Peter Aspinall grew up exploring the forests, farms, rivers and beaches of Costa Rica, learning to ride, plant, fish and move through the natural world from a young age. As a teenager and young adult, he began exploring the southern Pacific coast, first through the Osa Peninsula and eventually farther south toward Punta Banco and Punta Burica.

In the early 1970s, Peter homesteaded his first piece of land near Punta Banco while studying tropical fruits. His dream was to create a tropical fruit farm. Later, after selling that first farm, he bought the land that would become Tiskita: a mix of rainforest, old farmland, beachside areas and hills overlooking the Golfo Dulce.

Much of the rainforest was left standing, while areas that had once been cleared for slash-and-burn agriculture, corn, beans and cattle were actively reforested. Peter planted native trees, large rainforest species, hardwoods and what he calls “wildlife trees” — trees chosen because they attract birds, monkeys and other animals back into the landscape. At the same time, he continued planting and collecting tropical fruits, creating the orchard that is still part of Tiskita today.

Lisbeth Núñez joined Peter in 1980 and they both began raising a family and welcoming guests in the mid-1980s, when Tiskita was still reached by small plane, shortwave radio and a long journey along the coast. Around the same time, Costa Rica was beginning to move away from older ideas of land “development” through agriculture and cattle, and toward a growing national and global awareness of conservation. What began with simple cabins for family and friends slowly grew into a small jungle lodge rooted in that shift.

Today, Tiskita is still family-run. Lisbeth loves to welcome people to her home show them the magic of the forest, and Peter is still planting everywhere he can. For us, the lodge is not just a place to stay, but a way of sharing a life shaped by rainforest, ocean, wildlife, food, family and a sense of belonging in nature.