A Day in the Markets of Cusco

Photography by Samantha Demangate

Words by Matt Dursum

Spending a day in the markets of Cusco, Perú is what I’ve always wanted.

I’m at my happiest in a market. The warm conversations with strangers and merchants, the colors, smells, sounds, they swoon me. In Cusco Peru, getting lost in the markets is a rite of passage for anyone interested in the region’s food and culture. 

Cusco is a city steeped in history. It was home to powerful civilizations like the Killki, Lucre, and Wari before becoming the capital of the mighty Inca Empire. As the Inca traversed the rugged Andes from Colombia to Chile and forged a powerful empire, they created one of the most advanced agricultural systems on the planet. Terraces built into mountain slopes gave Inca farmers a multi-climate irrigated canvas for growing foods like potatoes and quinoa at high elevations, corn and greens at middle elevations, and coca and fruits at the low elevations near the Amazon Rainforest. 

Even though the Inca’s empire is long gone, their legacy lives on in the culture, politics, and food of South America’s western seaboard and Andes Mountains. Taking advantage of Perú’s diverse climates, the Inca created an inexhaustible hue of ingredients. Perú is now one of the world’s great food destinations and what better place to experience the wide array of products than checking out the markets. 

Wanchaq Market

It’s 9am and I enter the green gates of Wanchaq Market. I make it through a sea of people. Women wearing traditional polleras, businessmen in suits, and people in workout gear grab bags full of produce, meat, and everything in between.

I enter the meat section. Here, a vast array of Peruvian cheeses stands stacked high beside me. Suddenly, a sharp smack to my right. I look over as a woman who I assume is well into her 70s chops cleanly, an entire cow head in half. This place is a cook’s dream, I think to myself. 

Next, it’s time to check out my favorite part, the produce areas. The market separates the areas for vegetables, fruits, and folk medicine. Peruvian markets are full of fruit and produce grown from sea level to over 4000 meters. Nothing represents this diversity like the potato. The Inca were able to genetically modify the perfect amount of potatoes that they could grow throughout the empire, giving them close to 4000 varieties. We can thank them for our common international varieties, as well as the colorful and sometimes strange looking heirloom varieties I pile into my shopping bag. 

Finally, it’s time to load up on fruit. Passionfruit, avocado, aguaymanto—the sweet berry of a species of nightshade, tropical fruits from the amazon, cactus pears from the deserts, and delectable chirimoyas. I chat to the charming vendors who seem excited to talk to a gringo. After chatting and buying the best produce I can find, I walk out with bags weighing several kilos and a smile on my face. 

Saturday Market

Nearby in the Plaza Tupac Amaru Square I visit the Saturday Market. Here, vendors from all over the region set up throughout the park. A live band tunes up and starts playing Peruvian folk hits. 

I do a lap and grab a quick bite on the run, a mixture of steamed blood, greens, quinoa, and rice all covered with a spicy herb salsa. Street food is good in Perú. 

I run up to the busiest fruit vendor I can find. I order a dozen meaty red bananas.”How are those? Are they better for you than those other ones?” asks an elderly woman beside me. I smile and say of course, and they’re tastier too. Not as sweet, but with more flavor. “I think you’ve convinced me to make the change, joven,” she says. “Give me two kilos!”

It’s early afternoon and what could be better than sitting down to homemade food. My girlfriend and I grab a seat offered to us by the charming host. “Dame dos causas por favor,” I say to the man. He smiles and brings us two plates of casseroles made with layers of mashed potatoes, avocado, mayonnaise, roasted peppers, and a fat, juicy olive on top. 

After savoring the wholesome causas, we duck under the umbrellas to find something to wash it down. I grab the first plastic seat available underneath the chicha tent. Chicha, a sometimes fermented corn beverage, is likely the oldest fermented beverage in South America. Before using modern brewing techniques, people fermented it after women macerated the corn in their mouths. The chewed pulp mixed with saliva would allow the starches to convert to sugars. By adding natural yeasts and water, the mixture turned to a slightly alcoholic beverage that could preserve water for the long journeys across the Andes on foot. 

Mercado San Pedro

On a busy weekend, few places are as teaming with energy as San Pedro Market. As soon as you walk in, it hits you. Guinea Pig, cow heads, colorful trinkets, incests, psychedelic cactus, and every shamanic tool under the sun. First the colors, then the smells, and finally the noise. 

Locals and tourists rub shoulders. It’s easy to find whatever you’re looking for. I’m searching for muña essential oil, a Peruvian herb related to sage and mint that helps digestion and clears up the nostrils at high altitude. 

Mercado San Pedro is one of the busiest markets in town, and I’ve had enough of the crowd. I quickly buy my muña oil and head out. But just before I rush out of the crowded market, I decide to buy some cheese. A woman smiles and shows me dozens of beautiful wheels of cheese. I can’t resist staying longer than expected to talk to her and select the perfect Peruvian cheese I could find.