Chinchero Market and Ruins - Sacred Valley, Peru
by Rebecca Hollman
updated April 20, 2019
Chinchero Market + Ruins - Sacred Valley, Peru
The town of Chinchero lies in the Sacred Valley of Peru between Cusco and Urubamba. It actually sits at a higher altitude than the city of Cusco. The ruins in Chinchero consist of agricultural terraces and temples built of massive stone blocks. It is thought that one of the Incan emperors used the area as a “country resort” but it was mostly used for farming and agricultural purposes. At the corner of the ruins is a Spanish church, built in 1607 on top of the Incan temple foundation. Beside the church is a marketplace where people sell textiles and food grown from the surrounding area.
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Chinchero Ruins
The ruins were built by the Incan emperor Tupac Yupanqui as a country home, but in reality were mostly just used as agricultural terraces to grow crops. It is easy to walk around the ruins in about 30 minutes to an hour. Entrance into Chinchero is included in the price of your Boleto Turistico. This ticket costs $25 and includes your entrance into Moray, Chinchero, Ollantaytambo and Pisac. You can purchase the ticket in Cusco or at entrances to any of the ruins included in the ticket. Please note that it is only valid for 2 days. I highly suggesting hiring a cab driver from Cusco to take you to Chinchero, Moray, Maras and Pisac all in one day and waiting for you at each of the ruins.
Chinchero Church
At the edge of the ruins, there is a Catholic church that was built directly on top of the Incan foundations. You can see where the Incan blocks end and the Spanish colonial church begins on the side of the building. This church was built in 1607 on top of the Incan foundation as a pretty clear message saying that Catholicism is now the new way of life. The church is still in use to this day and has many beautiful paintings and motifs on the walls inside.
Chinchero Market
The marketplace takes place on the plaza inside the Chinchero ruins. The market is open on Tuesdays, Thursday and Sundays, with Sunday being by far the most popular. People and families from surrounding areas come to Chinchero for the Sunday market to trade goods. You can find a mix of fruits, vegetables, foods and also textiles and crafts. This market is mostly local, which is one of the appeals of visiting here over Pisac. There are maybe a handful of other tourists, but for the most part it is just locals.
Interpretation Center of Andean Textiles
Chinchero is famous for it’s weaving and the town is home to the Interpretation Center of Andean Textiles. At this area, women in traditional clothing give demonstrations on how to clean the alpaca hair, how to dye the fibers, how to spin the fiber into yarn, etc. After the demonstration you are free to wander around and look at the products they have for sale. The demonstration is free but it is nice to either buy something or tip the ladies if you opt not to buy an alpaca sweater. The ladies here are super nice and are happy to answer questions.
Getting There
Chinchero is 40 minutes away from the city of Cusco. It is easy to take a collectivo from Cusco to Chinchero for a couple of dollars. Get on a collectivo headed to Urubamba or Ollantaytambo and tell the bus driver to let you off at Chinchero. You will have to walk about 15 minutes from the bus drop-off to the ruins. You can also hire a driver in Cusco to take you out on a tour of the Sacred Valley for the whole day - stopping at the Chinchero ruins, Chinchero market, Moray, Maras and possibly also Pisac. You can have a driver take you for the full day for about $80-100 USD. This can actually be reasonable if you split the car with 1-2 other people and it gives you great flexibility to go when and where you want without having to rely on catching collectivos.
