Chinchero Town, Main Attractions, and Photo Gallery

Chinchero is located 30 kilometers northwest of Cusco, in the province of Urubamba, at 3,762 m.s.n.m. With a view of the snowy Salkantay, Veronica, and Soray.

The inhabitants of Chinchero live in the almost intact Inca constructions they inherited from their ancestors. Typical structures imply doors and windows with greater width underneath and narrower from above.

Archeology in Chinchero is another of its attractions. Platforms, a warehouse, and an irrigation system can be seen, suggesting that it was an agricultural production area.

It is one of the few places in Cusco that conspicuously preserves the Inca urban trait. The Inca Tupac Yupanqui founded Chinchero in the middle of the most beautiful countryside to provide rest.

The Inca ordered the erection of shrines, baths, platforms, and the grand royal palace in 1480.

Among the main attractions of Chinchero is the church of Our Lady of Monserrat (1607), located in the main square. It was built on the Inca walls of the palace of Tupac Yupanqui, which are part of the foundation of colonial construction that can be seen today. Its decoration with paintings and murals of religious figures demonstrates religion’s great importance for the inhabitants of Chinchero, devotees of the Lady of Monserrat, today virgin of the Nativity, to which they dedicate an altar.

If you wish to participate in the Mass in Chinchero, you should approach any Sunday morning, the only day the church opens its doors.

Another tourist attraction that presents Chinchero is the house of Mateo Pumacahua, Inca chief, during the XVIII century. In one of the revolutions under the indigenous cause, he was captured, tried, and decapitated, his remains being dismantled and exhibited in Arequipa, Cusco, and other regions. You can also visit Piuray Lagoon, located 28 kilometers from Cusco, which supplies water to Cusco from Tahuantinsuyo times thanks to the great work and knowledge of the Inca empire, who, through underground aqueducts, transported their waters to the imperial city.

The market of Chinchero takes place on Sundays in the main square. The native settlers are presented with their typical colorful clothes.

Initially, the market exchanged products among the town’s settlers (an economy based on barter). At the moment, they maintain this custom. In turn, they sell their crafts and fabrics of pre-Columbian style to the people who approach the city exclusively to know and obtain these majestic products in the Market of Chinchero.

One of the typical characteristics of the inhabitants of Chinchero is their dress, as many of them continue to wear the garments that their ancestors wore.

The women wear polleras and dark vests, mainly black, with red and green decorations. Their hairstyles consist of fine braids.

The men wear sheepskin shawls, vests, bayeta pants, and colorful chullos. On their feet, they wear the typical leather or rubber sandals.

Their textile ability characterizes the inhabitants of Chinchero. The whole process of washing to the final product is produced in the workshops of the associations of artisans. The garments are made from sheep wool and little alpaca.

To achieve striking colors in their garments, villagers use cochineal and plants that grow in the same district.

Chinchero is an ideal place to learn the techniques of spinning, dyeing, and weaving and also to taste their dishes: tasty stuffed rocotos, puchero, rabbit or guinea fowl, olluco with meat, kapiches cheese, chuñocola, law, and kapchi; and beverages such as artisanal beers, chicha, and fiery water, among others.

Entrance cost:

• The visit to the tourist site of Chinchero is included in the tourist ticket.
• Partial Entry: S/70 Nuevos Soles.
• Schedule: Every day from 7.00 to 17.30hs.

Photo gallery: