Tarabuco Sunday Market

Sunday is the traditional market day in Tarabuco and a vibrant representation of Latin American life.

Colourful, crowded and chaotic in equal measure, the Sunday textile open-air market in Tarabuco is always a lively affair and a joy to behold. The indigenous Yampura people are fiercely proud of their heritage and the marketplace is the perfect outlet for them to display it. Here they exhibit their finest handicrafts - bags, hats, jumpers, ponchos, jewellery and tapestries - and a visit to Tarabuco remains one of the best ways to grab an insight into life outside the main cities and buy some traditional garments whilst you are at it.

You will also be able to see their traditional dress of multi-coloured ponchos, chuspas (woven bags for carrying coca leaves), elaborate axsu (overskirts) for the women, and helmet-like headgear (apparently derived from conquistadors helmets) for the married men and women.

Your trip could also continue with a visit to a traditional colonial era Spanish Hacienda known for its weavings and handicraft production or alternatively the nearby Quechua village Jatun Yampara, where just a few families live here. The village is very rural, so the dwelling spaces are quite a bit apart and surrounded by lots of farmland. Here you can buy weaving directly from the artisans.