10 UNIQUE GIFTS AND SOUVENIRS FROM CUSCO-PERU
If you are headed to Peru you’ll want to leave extra space in your bag for souvenirs. As you tour the country you will find markets full of beautifully crafted goods in eye-catching colors and motifs. Below are the top 10 best gifts and souvenirs from Cusco.
1. Alpaca clothing
I think sweaters, hats, scarves and blankets make for a long lasting souvenir, and you will find markets and stores everywhere stocked with them. Alpaca products are as insulating as cashmere, they’re also lightweight, hypoallergenic, and best of all, they don’t itch. Baby alpaca clothes are made from the fleece of the first shearing of alpaca, which is supremely soft. Many products are advertised as 100% baby alpaca, but chances are, they are blends of alpaca wool or even acrylic and synthetic fibers.
If you want the real thing skip the markets around cusco city and visit Chinchero where the prices will reflect the quality. Chinchero-Cusco is where many of the products are manufactured and if you are passing through, this will be the best place to buy alpaca products.
2. Textiles
Traditional Peruvian clothing and products ranging from shoes to tote bags are made out of bright, bold textiles. There are stacks of beautiful fabrics for sale at local markets that you can buy as tablecloths, table runners, placemats, and pillowcases. By the time you leave Peru you just might be imagining a bolder paint scheme for your home to match the patterns you fell in love with.
3. Chullo hat
A chullo is an Andean style hat with earflaps that can be tied under the chin. These hats are made of brightly colored vicuña, alpaca, llama or sheep’s wool and make a great accessory when passing through the high altitudes of the Inca trail or Salkantay treks or any alternative treks. Miniature sized chullos can also make a cute key chain or bottle topper for Pisco.
4. Paintings
Perhaps the best way to remember a trip to Peru is to take home some artwork you can admire every day. Women in native dress make for great subjects as does the unrivaled landscape of Machu Picchu. Visit one of the many galleries or stop one of the many street vendors selling prints around Plaza de Armas in Cusco.
5. Musical instruments
Peruvian music is beautiful to listen to and has Andean, Spanish and African influences. If you are musically inclined, you may wish to bring home a new instrument. Choose from a wooden flute, a panpipe made of eleven graduated reed tubes known as a zampona, beat a bombo drum, or strum a ten string charango.
6. Retablos Altar Piece
Retablos are brightly colored wooden boxes which depict religious, historical, or everyday events that are important to Peruvian people. The delicate figures in these boxes sometimes appear on two levels: the upper level symbolizes heaven and the sacred Andean animals, while the lower lever portrays life on earth. Sizes and prices are as varied as the scenes inside.
7. Carved Gourds
The traditional Peruvian art form known also as ‘mates burilados’, dates back 3,500 years. The gourds tell a story of the customs, culture, people, history, and animals. Hang them from a Christmas tree or use them as a decorative piece around your home.
8. Peruvian Pink Salt
If you are an avid chef, or just want to impress your dinner guests, then you will want to add this unique item to your spice rack. Peruvian pink sea salt is hand harvested from an ancient ocean trapped underground at 10,000 feet in the Andes Mountains. Visit the salt mines in Maras and see it for yourself.
9. Friendship Bracelets
Friendship bracelets are affordable, take up no space in your suitcase, and can be worn with everything. You may notice some backpackers around town sporting a wrist full of bracelets as a reminder of their past travels. Even if you are not a long term traveller, you’ll like the visual reminder of your trip to Peru when you are back home.
10. Inca Cross
These necklaces may just look like a geometric shape but after a trip to Peru, you will know that this is the Inca cross and has deep meaning and importance for the Quechua people. You will see the carving on many of the archaeological sites. In brief, the hole at the center is said to represent the city of Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire, and the Southern Cross constellation. The cross is then divided into four quadrants with three steps each. The first quadrant represents the tiers of the world: the lower world of death, a middle world of human life, and an upper world of gods and celestial beings. The second represents the revered animals corresponding to each world: the snake, puma, and condor. The third symbolizes three commands of the Incas: don’t steal, don’t lie, and don’t be lazy. And the fourth represents human principles: love and well doing, knowledge, and work. Now are you tempted to purchase this sacred and meaningful symbol?
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