Voyay walking tour

Saints and Studios of San Blas

Meet Cusco’s makers along steep, story-filled whitewashed lanes

Cusco, Peru
12 stops
127 min
2 km
Art

Free in the Voyay app

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San Blas is often presented as Cusco’s prettiest hillside viewpoint, but its real character lives behind workshop doors. This route follows the people, materials, beliefs, and family traditions that made the quarter famous for much more than white walls and tiled roofs. You will move from contemporary Andean tapestry and colonial religious art into the steep Cuesta de San Blas, where parish life and workshop commerce meet. Along the way, meet the visual legacies of the Olave and Mendívil families, encounter Amazonian artists at Xapiri Ground, and see how a neighborhood market supports daily life beyond the galleries. The upper lanes add humor and intimacy to the story. Angels and little devils inhabit street names, quiet courtyards hint at domestic workshops, and Sapantiana’s stone arches reveal the water infrastructure underlying textile, ceramic, and household production. This tour suits art lovers, curious shoppers, photographers, and travelers who want to understand who actually makes the objects sold around Cusco. Come ready for steep cobbles, changing family schedules, thoughtful conversations, and a richer definition of tradition.

Try the first stop

Free sample · Stop 1

Mercado de San Blas

A lively neighborhood market connecting everyday ingredients, labor, and local craft culture.

Step beyond San Blas’s galleries into the neighborhood’s everyday rhythm. Produce stalls, juice counters, and lunch stands reveal the working community behind the picturesque lanes. Notice the colors and raw materials that echo through local textiles and ceramics, then pause for a fresh juice or a simple Cusco meal.

The route

12 stops, in order.

1
Stop 1 · Free sample
Mercado de San Blas
A lively neighborhood market connecting everyday ingredients, labor, and local craft culture.
2
Stop 2
Xapiri Ground
Amazonian artists bring bold contemporary perspectives to the heart of highland Cusco.
3
Stop 3
Galería de Arte Olave
Meet the family tradition behind San Blas’s remarkably expressive Niño Manuelito figures.
4
Stop 4
Museo Máximo Laura
Immersive tapestries transform ancient Andean symbols into vibrant contemporary textile art.
Stop 5
Museo de Arte Religioso
Colonial paintings reveal the sacred imagery that inspired generations of Cusco artisans.
Stop 6
Cuesta de San Blas
Climb San Blas’s steep stone spine past white façades and working shopfronts.
7
Stop 7
Museo-Taller Hilario Mendívil
Elongated saints turn one artist’s bold invention into a beloved family tradition.
Stop 8
Templo de San Blas
A legendary carved pulpit anchors the sacred life of this artisan quarter.
Stop 9
Calle Carmen Alto
Quiet whitewashed walls conceal courtyards where domestic life and making once mingled.
Stop 10
Calle Siete Angelitos
Seven Little Angels carries sacred imagery from formal churches into neighborhood folklore.
11
Stop 11
Calle Siete Diablitos
A mischievous stairway preserves San Blas tales of secret meetings and romance.
12
Stop 12
Acueducto de Sapantiana
Stone arches reveal how water sustained hillside households, workshops, and material traditions.