Pre-Columbian drinks are still part of daily life in the Andes, and Peruways’ guides can route a Cusco day around the classics. Chicha morada — a purple-corn infusion with pineapple, cinnamon, and clove — is served at every mercado and most restaurants, nonalcoholic and genuinely good. Chicha de jora (the fermented maize version) is harder to find commercially but is the real pre-Hispanic drink; small producers in Pisac still make it in clay vessels. Mate de coca — coca leaf tea — is still the standard altitude remedy in Cusco, offered on arrival at most hotels. Each one carries a different piece of Inca-era food culture, which Peruways‘ Cusco guides can walk you through properly.
