Chinchero Inca Site Travel Guide

The Chinchero market

The traditional village of Chinchero

At an altitude of 3,762 meters above sea level (higher than Cuzco), in the middle of the fantastic Sacred Valley lies the small rural town of Chinchero.

Little known by mass tourism, the town offers several attractions for tourists, from Inca ruins to megalithic remains. But the celebrity is the Chinchero Market, where the famous Peruvian textiles, typical of this area, are sold.

Historical testimonies

There are Inca ruins scattered throughout the city. The remains of an ancient throne with remarkable bas-reliefs are interesting.

Tradition has it that the Inca Tupac Yupanqui, son of Pachacutec, used the town as a kind of country retreat.

He had aqueducts and terraces built, some of which are still in use today, making the soil of Chinchero one of the most fertile in the Sacred Valley.

The soil produces potatoes, olluco, oca, quinoa, and beans and is sold in the local Chinchero market.

The church, built by the Spaniards, dates from 1607. It was built on the remains of an ancient Inca palace, perhaps only the summer residence of the Inca, which blends harmoniously with traditional Andalusian motifs.

The weavings of Chinchero

The Chinchero market is located here, not by chance. Chinchero is the recognized weaving center in Peru, home of the Andean Textile Interpretation Center.

The activity is mainly female, and local women entertain tourists with demonstrations of this ancient art of mixing different colors.

In the textile cooperative, it is possible to see how alpaca wool is washed, dried, and spun to create garments.

During the demonstrations (free of charge, but it is recommended to leave a tip), coca tea is offered for tasting together.

The Chinchero market

All the local textile production is sold in the market. The Chinchero Market becomes a colorful and lively place.

The antagonist of the more famous, but also more touristic, Pisac market, the market is held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Sundays. On Sunday, the market reaches its peak, involving the inhabitants of neighboring countries, who come down to Chinchero to sell goods of all kinds, from handicrafts to agricultural products.

How to get to Chinchero Market

Chinchero Market is located about 40 minutes from Cusco. If requested, collective buses connecting Urubamba and Ollantaytambo can make a stop.

All individual tours of the Sacred Valley may stop in the village, while only some group tours provide this.

The Cusco Tourist Ticket regulates entrance to the town

Sleeping in a homestay in Chinchero

They are artisans and take the opportunity to show the process of natural dyeing with local plants and weaving techniques.

They also show you how potatoes and Andean quinoa are grown.

The rooms are simple but colorful; there is a patio with a small garden, and the welcome is fantastic.

What to see and visit in Chinchero (Sacred Valley)

At 3,760 m above sea level is located Chinchero, a small Andean town that you must stay in in the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

It is charming with white adobe houses, tiny cobblestone streets, colonial arches, and inhabitants who still wear their traditional dress.

Chinchero is renowned for the quality of its textile handicrafts and attracts travelers thanks to its market and workshops where the traditional weaving process is presented.

How to get to Chinchero

As part of one of the seven districts that make up the province of Urubamba, Chinchero is located in the department of Cusco in Peru at an altitude of 3700 meters above sea level, 30 kilometers away from the city of Cusco, which takes a vehicle translates into about 30 minutes drive from the famous Pavitos street of the city of Cusco.

Weather in Chinchero

The climate corresponds to that of the Cusco region, with two distinct seasons, the rainy season between November and April and the dry season between May and October. With a maximum temperature of 18.5 degrees Celsius, which averages 16 degrees Celsius annually, and a minimum of -6 degrees Celsius, with an average of 0 degrees Celsius in a year, rainfall reaches 4533 mm in the year.

Learn more about the history of Chinchero.

Its history officially begins with its mention in Spanish chronicles that narrate the struggle of a young Inca people with the Ayarmacas tribe that possessed this territory and that, according to these narrations, offered fierce resistance during the tribal confrontation.

During the Inca period, it is mentioned as a favorite resting place of the Inca Tupac Yupanqui, perhaps because of its strategic position that communicated Cusco Yucay and Pumamarca and, of course, Machupicchu. Beautiful temples were built there, and later, around 1572, the ruler made a Christian temple as part of the plan for indigenous reductions that would allow better control of the aboriginal settlements. The whole area was declared a national heritage site on December 28, 1972.

Subsequently, essential mention details the escape of Manco Inca, the first ruler of the resistance, who, in 1536, during his escape from the city of Cusco in the direction of Vilcabamba, set fire to the place, which had two food deposits, to prevent the Spanish troops from resupplying and following him during his escape.

One of its most important historical events, not very honorable, is narrated in its frescoes because Mateo Pumacahua, priest of Chinchero, along with the Angulo brothers, during the rebellion of Tupac Amaru II, rose against the pro-independence troops, winning one of the most important battles that would be part of the announcement of the fall of the whole rebellion, which was represented in a fresco of the church symbolized in a puma defeating a snake.

Chinchero Site Museum:

It is located in the square of the district, supply of the pieces rescued from the archaeological site of the same name; it exhibits in another of its rooms old details of agricultural use, as well as its typical clothes in addition to essential pieces of art of outstanding artists of the school Cusqueña.

Colonial church of Chinchero:

Built on Inca foundations of a temple belonging to the Inca Tupac Yupanqui, the church began to be built in 1572 as part of the process of indigenous reductions and was completed around 1607 called Church of Our Lady of Monserrat; this was later decorated with frescoes among which stand out the one of Our Lady of Monserrat and the puma defeating the snake that represents the battle of Pumacahua and Tupac Amaru II, also paintings belonging to Diego Quispe Ttito and Francisco Chillihuani, great exponents of the Cusquenian school of painting. Finally, it also highlights the baroque altar decorated with gold leaf.

Archaeological site:

The one mainly highlights the group of platforms built in the north direction on the hill where the current church of the virgin of the nativity was also constructed later, all around two central squares known as Capellanpampa and town square. In the whole complex, the ten trapezoidal niches that were possibly used for ritual purposes stand out as the magnificent drainage system that still functions today and the urban design that interconnects the entire town through streets and passageways.

Racchi viewpoint:

This viewpoint, located about 5 minutes from the town center itself, offers one of the most beautiful views of the sacred valley, the Vilcanota mountain range, and all the sacred mountains surrounding them.

Do not forget to stop at this magnificent place on your way to the Sacred Valley or Machupicchu itself.

Chinchero traditional fair:

Sunday fair, in which customary trade practices, such as bartering, are still carried out. These are also adorned with the presence of the Varayoq or chiefs of each community.

Culture and Tradition:

Thanks to tourism for our days is part of the regular economic movement of the population, many of the old traditions that were being lost have been revalued to demonstrate them to tourism, which includes its traditional Sunday fair in which the Varayoq or chiefs of the 12 Quechua-speaking communities by which this district is confirmed, as well as its traditional festivities, already mentioned, and mainly the activity of the weaving by which they are primarily known in our days.

Main Holidays:

• Cruz Velacuy (May 03, 2020)
• Virgin Nativity (August 29 of each year)
• Sr de Qoyllorytti and Corpus Christie de Chinchero (June 07, 2020, and June 11, 2020)

Clothing:

The colorful clothing that today is traditional in Chinchero, as well as in many villages of Cusco, was mandatorily instituted after the rebellion of Tupac Amaru II as part of the actions that sought to prevent future rebellions, forcing the people to wear clothing characteristic of peasant peoples of northern Europe to which the natives of the Andes added elements of their own culture. See the photographic description in the following image.

Craft fair:

The handicraft fair in Chinchero works daily offered to the groups of tourists that arrive with the different groups that include as an essential component to this district. Among the most outstanding handicrafts are the famous woven blankets made with the Away technique, reaching levels of quality that the whole world recognizes thanks to the skill of its artisans.

Their processes include the shearing done to the alpacas and sheep that the same population raises and the subsequent washing of the same with the use of clays and a plant known as Saqta; then the dyeing process uses various plants and an insect called cochineal that inhabits the common cacti of the place with which they have achieved a wide variety of colors, the fixing of color is made with urine of young children, the spinning is done with simple spinning wheels, to give way to the fabric of their characteristic blankets finally.

Huaypo Lagoons:

This has a width of 1500 by 800 meters approximately and has a wide variety of fish and birds characteristic of high mountains. Its calm waters make it ideal for the practice of peaceful water sports.

Piuray Lake:

It is the largest lagoon in Chinchero, with a perimeter of approximately 8750 meters and a maximum depth of 50 meters. It currently supplies water to a large part of the city of Cusco.

Snow-capped mountains:

The town boasts beautiful landscapes surrounded by mountains or tutelary apus called Veronica, Salkantay, Pitusiray Sawasiray, and Samay.

When it is best to visit Chinchero:

To visit Chinchero, consider that in the amount you arrive at the place, you can find everything you want to see, that is, within business hours (09:00 to 17:00 hours) or outside them if you’re going to make a more private visit.