Mercado Central de San Pedro, Municipal marketplace in central Cusco, Peru
Mercado Central de San Pedro is a covered marketplace in central Cusco, Peru, where stalls offer fresh produce, cooked food, textiles, spices, and regional goods. The market is divided into sections spread across several aisles, drawing both locals and visitors every day.
The market opened in 1925 in a building attributed to French engineer Gustave Eiffel. It was built on a site that had served as a trading point since Inca times.
Many vendors speak Quechua and sell medicinal herbs that have been used in Andean healing for centuries. Walking through the aisles, you can see dried plants, flowers, and roots arranged according to traditional knowledge passed down through families.
The market sits a short walk from Plaza de Armas, at the corner of Tupac Amaru and Cascaparo streets. Going early in the morning gives you the widest choice of goods before the aisles get crowded.
Among the stalls, a row of cooks prepares simple lunch menus that are very popular with locals, featuring soups and stews made from local ingredients. These makeshift kitchens are a good place to eat what residents of Cusco actually put on the table every day.
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