Calca doesn’t have a lot to offer tourists, which is part of its charm. It’s a sleepy little town with a leafy Plaza de Armas and small market. Most people in Calca are farmers, with small family plots called chacra that they walk to in the morning to work before they walk home for lunch.

The market is a great place to get fresh fruit juices and smoothies. If you want to treat yourself to excellent coffee and food, go to Pisonay, the best café in Calca and certainly in the top 3 in the valley.

The plaza is one of the greenest in the valley and you can see wild parakeets and plenty of other birds in the trees that shade dozens of benches around the plaza. Also, don’t miss the rabbits that live in the church yard. Just peek through the gate and you can’t miss them.

If you’re interested in development work, check out the Andean Alliance for Sustainable Development, which is based in Calca.

Practicalities

If you are staying in the Sacred Valley, it’s worth a day to visit Calca and see how traditional it still is. This is also the starting point for most treks up Lares.