It is a practical knowledge system that has been tested against the reality of the tepui world over many generations, and that contains information about that world that may not be captured in the scientific literature.

The Pemón guides who accompany trekkers to the Roraima summit are not simply logistical support for foreign visitors.

They are the inheritors of a tradition of knowledge about the mountain — knowledge of trails, of weather patterns, of water sources, of the best shelter locations, of the ecological features of the summit — that has practical value and that represents a distinct way of knowing the landscape.

This is not to claim that Pemón traditional knowledge is equivalent to scientific knowledge in every respect, or that the two systems never conflict.