Machu Picchu Tickets Guide: Circuits, Routes and How to Book

Buying a Machu Picchu ticket means choosing a circuit, a route, a date and an entry hour. Get one of those wrong and you might miss the view you came for. Here's how to do it in order.

1. Understand the circuits

Since June 2024 the site has been divided into three circuits containing ten routes. You walk your route one way and can't switch.

• Circuit 1 (panoramic): the high terraces and the classic view. Its routes add Machu Picchu Mountain, the Sun Gate or the Inca Bridge, or just the upper terrace on its own. You see the city mostly from above.
• Circuit 2 (classic): the fullest walk through the ruins, including the viewpoint, the temples and the residential areas. This is the one for a first visit.
• Circuit 3 (royalty): the lower part of the city, with the Temple of the Sun seen from below and the royal quarters. Its routes add Huayna Picchu, Huchuy Picchu or the Great Cavern (the Temple of the Moon). It does not include the classic viewpoint.

A popular combination is Circuit 2 one day, or in the morning, plus a Circuit 3 route with Huayna Picchu later. That means two tickets.

2. Buy from the official site

Tickets are sold by Peru's Ministry of Culture at tuboleto.cultura.pe. Many other websites have names that look official and resell at a mark-up. Check the address before paying. Enter your name and passport number exactly as they appear in your passport, because both are checked at the gate. Prices vary by circuit and nationality, so check the official site.

3. Book early for the hikes

The site has a daily cap, which is higher from mid-June to early November and on a few holiday dates. Standard circuit tickets for the dry season go weeks ahead. Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu Mountain have much smaller quotas and go first. Some routes, such as the Sun Gate and the Great Cavern, are seasonal and don't appear every month.

4. If it's sold out

A limited number of same-day tickets are sold in person at the Cultural Centre in Aguas Calientes, usually for the next day. The queue forms early and there's no guarantee. We'd only rely on this with a flexible schedule and a spare night in town.

Tour operators and hotels can also include tickets in a package, which suits people who'd rather not handle the booking themselves. For the train and the bus up, see our getting there guide, and for how to use the tickets on the day, our 2-day itinerary.