6 Best Places to Shop in Cusco and the Sacred Valley, Peru

If you're looking for something truly unique, you must make your way here. Part museum, mostly a store, this has been a labor of love for many years as Rosie Barnes and Walter Rodriguez Mamani painstakingly made their way through the legal mire of renovating a colonial manse. The result is simply gorgeous, not least owing to the plethora of one-of-a-kind items that you simply won't find elsewhere, due to locals from all over Peru and Bolivia bringing their heirlooms to sell over the years before the store finally opened.

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.

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.

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.

Long-established and übermodern KUNA has alpaca garments and is one of the only authorized distributors of high-quality vicuña scarves and sweaters. It's run by Peruvian design company Alpaca 111, which has eight other shops in Cusco, including at the Plaza Regocijo, the Monasterio hotel, the Marriott hotel, the Palacio del Inca hotel, and the airport.

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.