Mariano who runs the Puskana Wasi textile store along with his family, explained the symbology in a ‘cachín’ blanket to me. It tells the story of the famous Tupac Amaru and his quest to end the poor treatment of indigenous people. The red colour represents the spilling of blood and black the violence and slavery. These frazadas are a real piece of history with most blankets at least twenty to thirty years old.

Mariano and the Mogollon Holgado family travel to isolated rural communities around the region where they source these colourful frazadas and weavings. The Puskana Wasi store in Pisac has by far the best selection of these frazadas and traditional weavings in town. Frazadas can be used as blankets, throws and rugs and are a nice meaningful souvenir to take home from Cusco and the Sacred Valley.

They also have a selection of more commonly found souvenirs including woven purses, scarves and jewellery but the biggest draw are the frazadas and weavings.

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• The shop is packed from floor to ceiling with textiles and weavings, but don’t let this put you off! Find Mariano or his wife Asunta and ask them to show you some of their best pieces. You will leave with a little piece of local history between your hands!

Click here to see more great places to shop in Pisac.

How to get to Pisac.

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A large section of the market is dedicated to tourist-oriented souvenir stalls where you can find weavings, jewellery, ponchos, hats, Andean instruments, ceramics, alpaca products and a whole range of other gifts and souvenirs to take home with you. The handcraft market is open every day from 9am to 4.30pm and is a good place to pick up some gifts all in the one place.

If you want a more authentic and colourful experience, try and plan your trip to visit the market on a Sunday when the local quechua communities set up shop on the main square. Dressed in their colourful clothing, they sit cross-legged with their wares laid out giving the market an authentic feel. It’s definitely worth a visit but be warned this is a tourist hot spot so be prepared for savvy vendors, tour buses and tour groups.

The more unusual products you can buy at the Pisac market include natural powders in a variety of eye-popping colours that can be used as watercolour paint, colourful weavings and alpaca clothing.

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• It’s easy to get carried away and want to take lots of photos at this colourful market but do be respectful when you do so. Some of the vendors at the market don’t like having their photo taken. Our advice is to always ask first and a good rule of thumb is to pay S/.1 (Approx. US$0.35) per person in the photo you take.

• On days other than Sundays, the fruit and vegetable market is held at the rather characterless municipal market two blocks from the main square on San Francisco Street and is worth a visit if you have twenty minutes to spare.

How to get to Pisac Market

Click here for more things to see and do in Pisac

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Tawa Apu Kuntur is a rustic store that is packed with over 100 varieties of plants in all their forms. Their vision is to share the healing properties of plants and the traditional relationship between plants and the local Andean communities with everyone who walks through the door.

They stock a range of organic essential oils from the Andean region including muña (Andean mint) rosemary, sage, palo santo and hierba luisa. A range of all-natural cosmetics including balms, creams and emulsions are lovingly hand-crafted by Laksmi using organic beeswax, jojoba, olive, coconut and brazil nut oils and a variety of essential oils. They have also created a range of aromatherapy sprays, massage oils and soaps that are completely organic, natural and will leave your senses soothed and relaxed.

Baskets of palo santo, asmachilca, sage and other sweet-smelling local plants are on display and can be bought by the kilo. Tawa Apu Kuntur have spent the last 15 years developing relationships with the San Pedro de Casta community in the Lima highlands and several indigenous Q’ero comunities in the Cusco highlands to source and sustainably harvest many Peruvian plants which were being forgotten. These plants are used to create their fragrant floral baths, herbal pillows and their range of ten different medicinal herbal tea blends including a relaxation blend and a blend to aid digestion.

Tawa Apu Kuntur provides floral baths and scented herbal pillows to the luxury Palacio Nazarenas hotel in Cusco and they are also one of the original participants in Lima’s Eco-feria. If you can’t make it to Pisac, you can find the Tawa Apu Kuntur stall at the Bio-feria in Miraflores on Saturdays and in San Isidro in Lima on Sundays.

Tawa Apu Kuntur is an herbalist’s dream. They love sharing their knowledge so stop by if you are interested in discovering Andean medicinal plants and the traditional healing methods used in the Andes or if you just simply want to find a delicious natural massage oil or face cream.

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• They also stock their own home-made yoghurt, lentil burgers and delicious vegan chocolate for snacks. With over twenty years of experience in the hindu tradition they weave this magic into their range of spices including rosemary and thyme, massala and salt blends as well as their super foods and cosmetic products.

Special announcement:

We’re delighted to share that Tawa Apu Kuntur have just opened a new store in Cusco. You can visit them at Calle Plateros 369A in the heart of Cusco just half a block from the Plaza Mayor or Main Square from Monday to Friday between 09.30am – 18.30pm. They stock the same great range of their beautiful natural products you can find in Pisac including skincare crafted with love, as well as a selection of herbal teas, essential oils, nutritional supplements and organic ingredients from the Andes region of Peru.

Click here to see more places to shop in Pisac

Information on how to get to Pisac

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This colourful store is packed with the Mullu brand of modern t-shirts with logos, images and phrases that represent modern Peruvian culture. The walls are adorned with Eugenia’s contemporary art – a modern twist on traditional Peruvian culture with art deco style portraits of indigenous quechua people a key feature.

Other items include ladies handbags and mens satchels as well as a wide range of silver jewellery which is very different from the other silver jewellery found throughout Pisac. Definitely worth a visit if you want a break from the hundreds of typical Peruvian souvenir stalls in Pisac.

See other places to shop in Pisac here

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