The Sacred Valley is home to beautiful handicrafts that are produced in abundance and are available in markets, shops or even on the street. Sweaters, woven bags, rugs, tapestry, ponchos, ceramics, and small handcrafted items are all popular with tourists. You can also find shops that offer unique local art and artefacts that use pre-Colombian design. Since the art is so unique in nature, sometimes the prices are high for individual items, but well worth the cost.
Whilst in the Sacred Valley you can shop for wonderful fabric, ceramics, jewellery and clothing of good quality.
This Sacred Valley Shopping Guide will tell you the best places to shop, as well as what to shop for. Check out our Peru Shopping Guide for some general information about shopping in Peru. Also check out our Sacred Valley Restaurant Guide for suggestions on where to find a great meal whilst shopping for that perfect souvenir.
Sacred Valley Shopping Guide
Pisac Market
If you plan to visit the Sacred Valley on a day trip to see the ruins of Ollantaytambo, you can shop at the market at Pisac. It is a place for some skilful bargaining and amazing bargain shopping. The Pisac market is open to both locals and tourists. Hundreds of small stalls sell food, local crafts and supplies. Visitors should expect to haggle in order to lower prices. Traditional dances and music add colour to the market day and are staged for the benefit of the tourists. Samples of local craftwork like alpaca wool sweaters, pottery, brass and iron items, Peruvian dolls and beads can be bought here.
Woollen Items
A visit to the Sacred Valley is not complete without a purchase of an item made from the fur of llamas, alpacas or vicunyas. The locals are adept at fashioning blankets, rugs, sweaters and knitted caps or hats from the wool of these animals. It is a craft that has been handed down through the centuries and the locals are unsurpassed in their artistry and skilled in the production of these goods. The end results of their labour are both pleasing to the eye as well as practical - the blankets are very comfortable, the rugs are good and the sweaters are soft and warm.
Inca Jewellery
Inca jewellery is a combination of naturally formed Andean opals, mother of pearl, sodalite, spondylus, quartz, Peruvian turquoise and amethysts set in silver. The brand Ilaria is extremely popular in the Sacred Valley of the Incas and consists of a set of remarkable collections where precious and semi precious stones along with silver are fashioned into jewellery that is both harmonious and aesthetically pleasing.
Ilaria also has a line of silver home decor articles which combines a number of varying styles. Though the line has no significant hallmarks, it is characterised by elegance, pleasing proportions and flair. Ilaria has been able to revive the ancient art of Peruvian silver smithy, allowing it to regain its former prominent position at the top of Peruvian arts. The Ilaria flagship stores have glasswork, porcelain, jewellery and watches on sale. They also stock a good range of traditional Andean textiles in shops in the Sacred Valley.
Religious Art
Visitors can buy religious art at many of the shops in Cusco - this includes ornately decorated statues of the Virgin Mary and other icons. Shops here also sell T-shirts of high quality cotton with quaint designs of serpents, birds and pumas.
Pottery
The Sacred Valley of the Incas also has beautiful pottery. The local potters prefer to use replicas of the heads of different local animals on the pots they create. A number of pots can be seen sporting heads of birds on the top. Shallow dishes adorned with a figure of the head of a bird are another popular buy.
