In Peru, shopping bargains depend on which town you are in and its specialities.
However, if you are limited to exploring too far, Lima offers an excellent selection of products to visitors along with the national drink, Pisco sour.
Gold, silver, copper, colourful textiles of differing wools, ceramics and pottery, antiques and wood carvings are all typically souvenirs of Peru.
The best place to hit the shops in Lima is the Miraflores district where you can find antiques, jewellery, textiles of clothing, rugs and throws, ceramics and carvings. The San Isidro area, the heart of the business district, has a great number of shopping opportunities too. As well as shops laden with souvenirs for visitors, Lima also has a number of small shopping centres. Plaza San Martín, El Alamo and El Suche are worth checking out too.
The best Cusco shopping area is in the Barrio de San Blas where you can often see the artists and craftspeople at work. Around the Plaza de Armas you can pick up woollen and alpaca clothing as well as silver jewellery and in the old town area you will see people selling from the streets throughout the evening.
Pisac market can be found around the Plaza de Armas or main square of Pisac. Rugs, souvenirs, handbags, masks and musical instruments, all of which are hand crafted can be found in this Sunday market of over 100 stalls at some of the cheapest prices around. But, the main attraction is to see the natives come to town for the market dressed in their Sunday best from their villages.
At Lake Titicaca, the Taquile islanders are known for their incredible quality textiles and clothing. They operate a co-op in the main plaza but their offerings not as cheap as other textile options in the country due to their notably superior quality.
In Arequipa there is a great selection of warm Peruvian clothes to be found made from alpaca, vicuña and wool. The Mercado de Artesanía (handicrafts market) is also a great place to shop, although the quality is usually lesser than that in the shops.
The Iquitos Artisan Market is a great place for handicrafts and textiles. There are many products produced by the Shipibo tribe who live in the Amazon. The waterfront market in the Barrio de Belén sells absolutely everything and is a great place to try out some of the more exotic Latin food and juice offerings.
Urubamba is the place to visit on a Sunday if you want ceramics rather than usual tourist gifts. Whereas Sunday in Chinchero tends to be a busy affair as the tourists are in town for the market which is also on a Tuesday and Thursday. The quality of handicrafts at Chinchero is high and the traders wear traditional dress.
Note: Alpaca 'bebe' is not baby Alpaca wool. It is wool from the throat of the animal which is the softest and finest. Alpaca products should be hand washed with great care as they are delicate.
