Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Shopping
San Blas - the plaza itself, Cuesta San Blas, Carmen Alto, and Tandapata east of the plaza
- offers Cuzco's best shopping. It's the artisan quarter, packed with the workshops and
showrooms of local craftspeople. Some offer the chance to watch artisans at work and see
the interiors of colonial buildings while hunting down that perfect souvenir. Prices and
quality vary greatly, so shop around and expect to bargain, except in the most expensive
stores, where prices are often fixed. Some of the best-known include Taller Olave
Offline map Google map ( 23-1835; Plaza San Blas 651) , which sells reproductions of
colonial sculptures and pre-colonial ceramics. Taller Mendivil Offline map Google map (
23-3247); San Blas ( Cuesta de San Blas, Plaza San Blas); city center ( cnr Hatunrumiyoc
& Choquechaca) is nationally famous for its giraffe-necked religious figures and sun-
shaped mirrors, and Taller and Museo Mérida Offline map Google map ( 22-1714; Car-
men Alto 133) offers striking earthenware statues that straddle the border between craft
and art.
The same area is also home to an ever-evolving sprinkling of jewelry stores and quirky,
one-off designer-clothes stores - a refreshing reminder that the local aesthetic is not con-
fined to stridently colored ponchos and sheepskin-rug depictions of Machu Picchu. These
and other mass-produced tourist tat from textiles to teapots are sold from pretty much
every hole-in-the-wall in the historic center, and at the vast Centro Artesenal Cuzco
Offline map Google map ( cnr Avs El Sol & Tullumayo; 9am-10pm) .
If you're the type who likes to get your souvenir shopping done fast, Aymi Wasi
(Nueva Alta s/n) is for you. It's got everything - clothes, ornaments, toys, candles, jew-
elry, art, ceramics, handbags… Your friends and family will never suspect you bought all
their gifts in one place! And it's all handmade and fair trade.
Cuzco is not known for its clothes-shopping, though there are a few cool stores hidden
away in the Centro Comercial de Cuzco Offline map Google map ( cnr Ayacucho & San
Andrés; 11am-10pm) .
Tatoo Offline map Google map ( 25-4211; Calle del Medio 130; 9am-9:30pm) has
brand-name outdoor clothing and technical gear at high prices. Many shops in Calle
Plateros and Mercado El Molino have a good range of lower-quality, much cheaper gear.
Textiles
Centro de Textiles
Tradicionales del Cuzco
HANDICRAFTS
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