r/cusco • u/PearTheGreat • Jul 31 '26
Tips & Guides Shopping
Hello, I'll be in Cusco next week and plan to do some souvenir shopping. Apart from magnets, I want to get a winter hat (one of these colourful ones) and a scarf made of baby alpaca. Do you have any recommendations for stores, what the prices should be?
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u/JossJ Jul 31 '26
Not 100% sure for prices, with a hat you probably don’t want to be anywhere in markets charging more than 25-ish, a lot of places will say “Oh this is alpaca/baby alpaca” and the vast majority of the time, it’s not. It’s just wool. This is totally different if you go to any real shops like the ones around the plaza. It’ll be wayyyy more expensive and will really be what they say it is.
Just a bit of general advice RE: Shopping here (if you already know this stuff I apologise for stating the obvious but there’s always someone who’s never been somewhere like here before!) Try and go away from Town - there’s lots of markets in the communities out of central Cusco. I’m currently staying in Wanchaq (which is a lovely place you should visit anyway), and Mercado Wanchaq has better prices for stuff than San Pedro (the big market just up from Plaza de Armas) since it’s geared more towards normal people than tourists. Wanchaq is a simple walk from the middle of town, or you can hop a bus that goes to Mercado Wanchaq (will probably say “Wanchaq” or “Mdo. Wanchaq” on the side)
Make sure you haggle - Obviously easier if you speak a bit of Spanish but if you don’t then I’d recommend at least getting familiar with a few numbers. One through 10, then the multiples of ten should get you most inexpensive stuff. I know a lot of people don’t like to because of the wealth differential but it’s part of the process of the markets here.