21 Best Places to Shop in Cusco, Cusco and the Sacred Valley
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Cusco is full of traditional crafts, artwork, and clothing made of alpaca, llama, or sheep wool. Beware of acrylic fakes. For the best-quality products, shop in the higher-end stores. The export of artifacts would require a government permit, so banish any thoughts of waltzing off with the Inca ruler Pachacutec's cape for a song.
Vendors, often children, will approach you relentlessly on the Plaza de Armas. They sell postcards, finger puppets, drawings, and CDs of Andean music. A simple "no, gracias" is usually enough to indicate you're not interested; if that doesn't work, just keep walking and say it again. Going to art school is a popular thing for students, so you may find some nice paintings in the mix. Several enclosed crafts markets are good bets for bargains.
Galería Mendívil
Religious art, including elaborately costumed statues of the Virgin Mary, is sold at the shop at the Galería Mendívil. The popular Museo Hilario Mendívil is located across the plaza.
Galería Mérida
In San Blas, the Galería Mérida sells the much-imitated ceramics of Edilberto Mérida. His characters are so expressive you can practically hear them as you browse through the gallery, which doubles as a museum where you can learn more about this award-winning Peruvian artist and his work.
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Ilaria
This is Cusco's finest silver store, with an ample selection of replicas of colonial-era pieces, as well as some really creative and elegant originals. The internationally recognized shop is based in Lima, though there are multiple locations in Cusco, including ones in the Monasterio, Casa Andina Private Collection, and JW Marriott hotels.
KUNA
Long-established and ubermodern KUNA has alpaca garments and is one of the only authorized distributors of high-quality vicuña scarves and sweaters. Run by Peruvian design company Alpaca 111, they have shops at the Plaza Regocijo and the Libertador hotel and at the airport.
Seminario
The Cusco shop of famed ceramics maker Pablo Seminario is now housed in the MAP museum building. Known around the world, it is an ideal place to get a locally made gift that is truly special. Prices are lower at the source, in the Sacred Valley town of Urubamba.
Alpaca's Best
With several stores in Cusco, Alpaca's Best sells quality knits but also has a good selection of jewelry.
Andean Treasures
This reasonably priced crafts shop has many original pieces including tapestries, ceramics, and alpaca clothing.
Arte y Canela
If you're looking for modern twists on folkloric crafts, check out Arte y Canela, which sells a variety of high-end silver jewelry and household goods, all with a regional artistic flair.
Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco
Sweaters, ponchos, scarves, and wall hangings are sold at fair-trade prices at this nonprofit organization dedicated to the survival of traditional weaving. Weavers from local villages work in the shop, and the on-site museum has informative exhibits about weaving techniques and the customs behind traditional costume. There are additional branches in MAP and Museo Inka.
Centro Artesanal Cusco
The municipal government operates the Centro Artesanal Cusco, containing 340 stands of artisan vendors. This is often your best bet for buying those souvenirs that you've seen everywhere but not gotten around to purchasing. Prices are typically negotiable (and often cheaper than you will find in Pisac), and the more you buy at one stall, the better discount you are likely to get.
El Palacio de Las Lanas
If you'd rather knit your own sweater than buy one, there are many places where you can buy yarn. Take a walk over toward the San Pedro market, where you will find a number of yarn stores, such as this one, where you can buy packets of the famous baby alpaca yarn.
Ethnic Peru
For fine alpaca coats, sweaters, scarves, and shawls, check out this shop; there are two other central locations at Santa Catalina Ancha and Limacpampa Chico.
Healing House
After a day of touring, climbing up and down hundreds of steps, you may be ready for a massage. Healing House is the place to go for a professional treatment with European- and American-trained therapists. This nonprofit also offers yoga classes, a variety of other therapies, as well as seminars, and provides low-cost or free treatments and workshops to locals with limited resources. Limited rooms are available to rent in shared housing for those wanting a more spiritual place to stay.
Hilo
Like to find fun and unique clothing wherever you travel? This is the store for you. Not remotely Peruvian, Hilo is a boutique shop where you'll find all original pieces unlike anything you've ever seen. Irish-born Eibhlin Cassidy is more artist than mere dressmaker, and if you have the time, she's more than happy to design something especially for you.
L'atelier by Grid
If you're looking for a different kind of souvenir from Peru, check out the jewelry at this boutique shop in San Blas. The creations of French transplant Ingrid include a variety of one-of-a-kind items, some of which feature Peruvian materials such as antique coins. The rotating display of clothing is also worth a look.
La Casa de la Llama
Alpaca gets the camelid's share of attention for use in making fine garments, but this store sells a fine selection of expensive clothing made from the softer hairs sheared from its namesake animal's chest and neck. It's difficult to tell the difference in texture between llama and adult alpaca, at least in this shop. There are some nice gifts for little ones here as well.
RKF
Forget to pack your winter jacket for the Inca Trail? No problem: check out RKF, where you'll find a variety of quality (mostly imported) outdoor goods from the top brands like Mountain Hard Wear and Columbia.
Sol Alpaca
Offering fine garments made from alpaca and vicuña fibers, this store is part of the Michell Group, which has more than 75 years of know-how in processing alpaca and is the leading alpaca producer and exporter in the world. There are also stores on Calle Espaderos, Portal de Mantas, Santa Catalina Ancha, and in the Plaza Nazarenas.
Speedy Gonzales
Although the shop sells camping equipment, it's also the first place to check if you get to town and want to rent something for your trek. They also do repairs.
The North Face
There are three locations for this well-known supplier of outdoor wear. In the center, there is one right on the Plaza de Armas and another at Plazoleta Espinar 188. There's a third store in the Real Plaza, Cusco's mall. It's best to buy directly from the company, as there have been problems with inferior knock-off products being sold with the North Face label in Peru.