Peru Guide
Around Cusco
Chinchero
CHINCHERO ("Village of the Rainbow") lies 3762m above sea level, 28km northwest from Cusco and off the main road, overlooking the Sacred Valley, with the Vilcabamba range and the snowcapped peak of Salcantay dominating the horizon to the west. The town itself is a small, rustic place, where the local women, who crowd the main plaza during the market, still wear traditional dress. Largely built of stone and adobe, the town blends perfectly with the magnificent display of Inca architecture, ruins and megalithic carved rocks; relics of the Inca veneration of nature deities. The best time to visit is on September 8 for the lively traditional fiesta. Failing that, the market has good local craftwork.
The market (Sunday morning) is in the lower part of town, reached along Calle Manco II. Uphill from here, along the cobbled steps and streets, you'll find a vast plaza, which may have been the original Inca marketplace. On the western perimeter of the plaza, the raised Inca stonework is dominated by a carved stone throne, near which are puma and monkey formations. The plaza is also home to a superb colonial adobe iglesia (daily 7am–5.30pm; entry by Cusco Tourist Ticket, available here or in Cusco). Dating from the early seventeenth century, it was built on top of an Inca temple or palace. The church itself boasts frescoes, murals and paintings, though decaying, still very beautiful and evocative of its colonial past.
Buses leave Cusco from Av Grau 525 ( 
805639) for Urubamba ($1.20) via Chincheros (80¢) every fifteen minutes from about 5am daily until early afternoon usually; car or minibus colectivos can also be found around the Puente Grau for Chincheros, Urubamba and Ollantaytambo. You'll need to keep an eye out for the town or ask the driver to let you know when to get off because the road only passes the outskirts of Chinchero (with a two-hundred-yard walk into the village).
There are just two places to stay in town, of which the Hotel Los Incas (Price: $5-10) is the better value, with a typical, rustic restaurant. It's also possible to camp below the terraces in the open fields beyond the village, but ask someone local for permission or advice on this. There are several restaurants, all cheap and cheerful, though Camucha, Av Mateo Pumacahua 168, at the junction of C Manco Capac II and the main road to Cusco, has a particularly good set lunch.