What to Eat in Cusco: Essential Traditional Dishes (2026 Guide)

Cusco’s food isn’t a side note to your trip — it’s part of the experience, and unlike other tourist destinations, eating well in Cusco doesn’t have to be expensive. This guide covers the dishes that genuinely define the local cuisine, with real prices and where to find them, so you don’t end up settling for pizza on the Plaza de Armas.

Main dishes you need to try

Chiri Uchu

Cusco’s most representative dish, literally “cold spicy” in Quechua. It’s a combination plate that brings together guinea pig, chicken, sausage, cochayuyo (a river algae), toasted corn, cheese, rocoto pepper, and fish roe, all served cold. Traditionally eaten during the Corpus Christi festival (June), but several restaurants serve it year-round.

Cuy chactado / roasted guinea pig

Guinea pig (cuy) is Andean meat dating back to pre-Hispanic times, not an “exotic” dish invented for tourists. It’s served fried (chactado) with crispy skin, or roasted, usually alongside potatoes and mote (hominy). The flavor is intense, somewhat similar to duck. If you’re curious but not ready to commit to a whole animal, many tourist-oriented restaurants offer it in smaller appetizer portions.

Lechón al horno (roast suckling pig)

A whole pig roasted in a wood-fired oven, traditionally a Sunday dish. Served with tamale and mote.

Chicharrón

Pieces of pork fried until crispy outside and juicy inside, served with mote, cancha (toasted corn), and an onion-and-chili salsa. It’s more of a late weekend breakfast dish than a weekday lunch.

Adobo cusqueño

Pork marinated overnight in chicha de jora (fermented corn drink) and spices, then slow-cooked. Along with chicharrón, it’s the quintessential Sunday breakfast in Cusco — some say it also cures a hangover.

Sacred Valley trout

Trout is farmed in the rivers and lakes of the Sacred Valley (Urubamba, Pisac), and it shows up on almost every menu in the area, usually fried or grilled with native potatoes on the side. It’s a gentler option if cuy or chicharrón aren’t for you.

Soups and starters worth ordering

• Caldo de gallina: a hearty chicken soup with noodles, potato, and egg. It’s the informal remedy for altitude and chilly Cusco mornings.
• Quinoa soup: nutritious and light, a good option while your stomach is still adjusting to the altitude in your first few days.
• Kapchi de habas: a fava bean stew with cheese and egg, typical of rural Andean areas near Cusco.

Traditional drinks

• Mate de coca: coca-leaf tea, the most recommended remedy for altitude sickness. It’s served for free at almost every hotel in Cusco. If you want to understand why it works and what else helps, we have a complete guide: Altitude Sickness in Cusco: Symptoms, Prevention, and What to Do.
• Chicha de jora: a fermented drink made from germinated purple corn, low in alcohol. Houses in the countryside that sell it typically mark their door with a red flag or bag (“chichería”).
• Pisco sour: the national cocktail, made with pisco (grape brandy), lime, simple syrup, egg white, and bitters. It’s not originally from Cusco, but you’ll find it at every bar and restaurant.

How much does eating in Cusco cost?

Type of place	Price per person
Daily menu at a neighborhood restaurant (soup + main + drink)	S/ 10 – 15
Individual dish at San Pedro Market	S/ 8 – 22
Local picantería (full traditional dish)	S/ 15 – 35
Tourist restaurant near the Plaza de Armas	S/ 40 – 80

San Pedro Market is the most authentic and affordable option to try several traditional dishes in one place. If it’s your first time in a Peruvian market, choose stalls with good turnover of local customers — that’s the best sign the food is fresh.

Practical tips before you try everything

• If you have a sensitive stomach, start with small portions of new dishes your first few days, especially while you’re still acclimatizing to the altitude.
• Always drink bottled or boiled water, including for brushing your teeth if your hotel doesn’t confirm its tap water is safe.
• Alcohol (including pisco sour) hits harder at 3,400 meters than at sea level — go easy the first couple of days.
• At markets or street stalls, choose the ones with more local customers, not just tourists.

Pair good food with your itinerary

If you already have your Cusco and Sacred Valley route planned, take the chance to stop at the local picanterías along the way — they usually have much better food (and better prices) than restaurants built just for passing tourists.

Need to coordinate your transfer to make it to that reservation in the Sacred Valley on time? Message us on WhatsApp and we’ll plan the transport around your day’s plans.