El Mercado de San Pedro: In front of the train station of Cusco, this market is a good place to see a wide variety of regional products. For locals, it’s a living tradition, with everything from foodstuffs to handicrafts. For visitors, it’s a place to see more than to make purchases, and it’s wise not to take valuables with you (while the market isn’t dangerous, it is known to be frequented by pickpockets).

Mercado El Baratillo: A popular market, which opens only on Saturdays, with a variety similar to San Pedro but also featuring very nice textiles and even singular antiques from communities in the area around Cusco. Ideal to go early.

Tipón & Andahuaylillas: Great ruins infrequently visited by tourists, to the south of Cusco, with excellent Inca stonemasonry and agricultural terracing. A steep path (1-hr climb) leads to the ruins. The 17th-century church of San Pedro de Andahuaylillas, 20 km (12 miles) south of Cusco, though modest on the exterior, has been called the “Sixteen Chapel of the Americas” for its dazzling baroque, gold-leaf interior and painted ceilings. The church, a gem of colonial art, is located on the large and attractive Plaza de Armas, known for its large trees and red flowers.

Cusco’s South: The region south of the city of Cusco may not be very well known to many tourists, but it possesses several authentic attractions, such as Oropesa, a small town known for its bread-makers still using traditional antique ovens and a lovely small church, La iglesia de Huaro; Saylla’s restaurants serving chicharrón, or fried pork; Lucre, a fascinating place with a lagoon, first-rate pastry shop and an abandoned textile factory; and Raqchi (118 km to the south), whose magnificent early 16th-century Inca Temple (dedicated to Wiracocha) -- 92m (302 feet) long and 25m (83 feet) wide – is alone worth the journey. The charming community of Raqchi is a model for communal living and tourism, with the residents organizing short walks to demonstrate how they make their ceramics, including visits to studios.