ArticleCusco, PeruJun 13, 20266 min read

Eating in Cusco: Markets, Picanterías and Pisco

A trekker's guide to the old Inca capital's kitchens

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Camila Mamani

forPublisher Andes Trails

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Fruit stalls inside Cusco's San Pedro market — Juice stalls and fruit at Mercado San Pedro. Photo: Ashim D’Silva

From fresh juice at Mercado San Pedro to chicharrón and chicha in a picantería, how to eat well in Cusco before and after the trail.

Start at San Pedro

Every Cusco morning we spend in town starts at Mercado San Pedro, ten minutes' walk from the Plaza de Armas. The juice ladies at the back of the hall blend papaya, mango, maracuyá and a raw egg if you ask for it, and refill your glass from the jug until it is empty. Beyond them are soup stalls serving caldo de gallina, bread from Oropesa the size of a hubcap, and more potato varieties than most people knew existed.

Lunch is for a picantería, the old working-class eating houses of the Andes. Look for a red flag or a bunch of flowers on a pole above the door, which means fresh chicha de jora is ready. Order chiri uchu if it is Corpus Christi, chicharrón with mint and corn on any Sunday, and rocoto relleno if you can take the heat.

Save your celebrations for after the trek. Cusco's restaurant scene has grown up around Andean ingredients: alpaca, quinoa, river trout and tarwi. And no one should leave without a proper pisco sour.