San Pedro Market in Cusco

Peru and especially Cusco are places of incredible colors and shades, and there isn’t a better place to find them than the San Pedro Market of Cusco. Is said that a market is the nude soul of a city, a place where it shows itself truly how it is. Would you like to know more about this place? in this post, you will find everything you need to know about this amazing place.

History:

Until the first part of the XX cycle and from the colony, the merchants that after would occupy the new San Pedro Market of Cusco were located in the same actual main square of Cusco and the San Francisco square, in this same time, the place where is located the actual San Pedro Market was occupied by an old slaughterhouse and orchards that were owned by the beguinage of Santa Clara.

In 1925 is founded and built during the period of the mayor Manuel Silvestre y Frisancho, the actual San Pedo Market, becoming in this way the oldest we have in the city. It was built by the same architect who built the Eiffel tower in Paris. Gustave Eiffel.

In 1950 this market was expanded because of the population growth, finishing al the works whit the structure we can appreciate in this dais.

Architecture:

Its architecture is simple and functional and it could be classified how classic; to overcame the unevenness problem caused by the slope of the location, the land has been leveled whit a lower structure where actually are located the public restrooms and also some commercial stores, the place has 7 gates that access to a big rectangular space surrounded by cement structures finished whit metal bars, that give enough illumination to the place, inside, has been distributed all the variety of shops, under a high gable roof of a metal structure that has three levels, all supported by simple concrete pillars that give a wide look and the necessary ventilation to the place.

Experience

The San Pedro Market was and is also in these days the more important food market of Cusco, even today whit the objective to find some products that don’t exist o are difficult to find in the other markets, people from all over the valley go to this place. Imagine everything you’ll see, we tell a little more about what you can find in this place.

Handicrafts:

The increasing flow of tourism made that big group of merchants change their business and start to sell crafts, that’s maybe why many tourists call this place handicraft market of San Pedro, and indeed is possible to get a big variety of crafts whit very good prices, that’s also why the place is full of different languages that range from the native language, the Quechua, to the English, the French, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish, that go negotiating laws and incomparable memories.

Food:

There are important sections of food, really vary stews that satisfy the demanding Cusco people palates, between them stand out the lamb soups, the roasted guinea pig or the famous Cuy, the dishes that are called “Extras” that are delicious and gigantic dishes for many tourists, finally is necessary to mention the juices of fresh fruits and the classic cusquenian breakfasts always accompanied by fresh milk, the best chocolate, the gigantic Chuta breath, and the inevitable Coca tea.

Please be-careful whit the diet you are costumed if you want to venture into the consumption of this delicious dishes we just described.

Traditional medicine:

We are sure you’ll find shops were are sell many kinds of herbs and plants, in this places the connoisseurs turn to traditional medicine to heal different hills and pains using the ancestral knowledge.

Eventual fairs

Depending on the time of the year, it is possible to find in the San Pedro Market fairs that sell season products for example, during the holy week is possible to find a big variety of sweets and traditional cakes. During the Corpus Christie that is a very big festival which generally coincides whit the festival of Cusco, sells, out of the market exotic fruits for Cusco like the sugar cane, coconuts, and the chirimoya. In the month of November during the days where we celebrate the lives and deads is possible to test the cusquenian “Lechon” and also the delicious “tamal”. Finally is possible to find at Christmas it is possible to find all around the market small shops that sell wine, champagne, toys, and other Christmas Cakes.

Variety of Corn and Potatoes:

During your visit pay attention to the different shops, in them, you will find a very wide variety of potatoes from the many spaces we have in Perú, also a big quantity of corn that was developed in the Incas time.

Location:

The traditional Market of San Pedro doesn’t have an exact address, it is located between the San Pedro square in front of the temple of the same name, the Ccascapara street, the Goherin alley, and the Tupac Amaru Street. It belongs to the district of Cusco and also is located very close to the San Pedro train station.

How to get to the San Pedro Market of Cusco

By your self:

To get to the San Pedro Market take as a reference, the main square of Cusco and take direction to the southwest of the city taking the Mantas street and continuing straight trow the Merced Church, the San Francisco square, and then finally the Santa Clara Church, getting in this way to the San Pedro Market after approximately 10 or 15 minutes.

With a travel Agency:

Taking the services of a travel agency you can make a complete visit to the San Pedro Market of Cusco accompanied by a professional guide who is going to make you live and understand a world that many could not be easy to access by your self.

We offer a complete experience in a service called gastronomical city tour, an exclusive tour designed only for our customers.

Attention Hours:

The San Pedro Market opens the doors at 06:30 hours of the morning and closes regularly at 18:30 hours of the day, however, it is better to visit it between the 9 and 16 hours when the market is in all its glory.