Guide · Cusco
The Cusco Tourist Ticket
This is the ticket that opens 16 archaeological sites and museums across the region, and the one listed as "not included" on almost every day tour. There are four versions, and choosing the wrong one costs money or leaves you at the gate.
What it costs
It is charged by COSITUC, a public body, not by the agencies. The prices are identical at every ticket window in Cusco.
| Ticket | What it opens | Validity | Foreign | Peruvian |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Integral (BTCI) | All 16 sites, all 3 circuits | 10 days | S/ 130 | S/ 70 |
| Partial · Circuit I | The four ruins above the city | 1 day | S/ 70 | S/ 40 |
| Partial · Circuit II | City museums and the South Valley | 2 days | S/ 70 | S/ 40 |
| Partial · Circuit III | Sacred Valley | 2 days | S/ 70 | S/ 40 |
Rates from the official COSITUC tariff list. Students aged 18 to 25 with a valid card or ISIC, and children aged 10 to 17 with a document, pay S/ 70 for the integral. Under-10s go free.
The sum that settles it
Two partial tickets cost S/ 140. The integral costs S/ 130 and opens all three circuits for ten days. If you are doing more than one of the tours that use the ticket, there is no decision to make: the integral is cheaper and you have room to spare.
The partial only wins when you will use a single circuit, which in practice means someone whose only tour is the afternoon city tour.
What each circuit opens
Circuit I
The four ruins on the hill above the city. This is the city tour one.
Valid 1 day only
- Sacsayhuamán
- Q'enqo
- Puka Pukara
- Tambomachay
Our tours that use it
Circuit II
The museums in the old town, plus the two South Valley sites.
Valid 2 days
- Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art
- Regional History Museum
- Qorikancha Site Museum
- Museum of Popular Art
- Centro Qosqo de Arte Nativo
- Monument to Inka Pachacuteq
- Tipón
- Pikillacta
Our tours that use it
Circuit III
The four archaeological parks of the Sacred Valley.
Valid 2 days
- Pisac
- Ollantaytambo
- Chinchero
- Moray
Our tours that use it
What the ticket does not open
All of this is paid separately, at the gate of each site. It is where a good share of the first day’s arguments come from.
The Qorikancha temple
The costliest mix-up on this list, because two different things share the name. The Qorikancha Site Museum — underground, facing Avenida El Sol — is indeed in Circuit II. The temple with the Inca walls inside the Santo Domingo convent, which is the one everybody actually wants to see, is paid separately at its own ticket office.
The Cathedral and the churches in the centre
These are run by the Archbishopric, not by COSITUC. They have their own Religious Circuit ticket at S/ 30 for a foreign adult, covering the Cathedral, the San Blas church, the San Cristóbal church and the Museum of Religious Art. You buy it at the door of any of the four.
Machu Picchu
Nothing to do with this ticket. Entry to the citadel is sold by the Ministry of Culture, with an assigned circuit, an assigned time and a daily quota.
The Maras salt pans
Run by the community of Maras, who charge their own entry at the gate. Moray, on the other hand, is inside Circuit III, even though the two are visited on the same day.
Frequently asked questions
- Why does no agency include it in the price?
- Because it is issued in your name against your document, and because each traveller needs a different one depending on how long they stay. If we bundled it, everyone would pay the S/ 130 integral, including someone who only does the city tour and needed the S/ 70 one. It sits in the "not included" list of each tour and we tell you which one to buy before you go.
- So which one should I buy?
- If you are doing more than one of the tours that use it, the integral. Two partial tickets already cost S/ 140 and the integral costs S/ 130, so from the second circuit onwards it wins outright. If your only tour is the afternoon city tour, the Circuit I partial is enough.
- How long is it valid, and from when?
- The integral is valid for 10 calendar days from your first entry, not from the purchase. The Circuit I partial is valid for a single day; the Circuit II and III partials for two. None of them is extended or refunded.
- Is there a student rate?
- Yes. University students aged 18 to 25 with a valid student card or ISIC pay S/ 70 for the integral, and under-18s from 10 to 17 pay the same on production of a document. Below the age of 10 there is no charge. The card is checked at the ticket office and again at each site, so carry it with you for the whole trip.
- Where do I buy it?
- At the COSITUC offices in Cusco and at the ticket office of most of the sites. Bring cash in soles and your passport, because the ticket is issued with your name and document number and is non-transferable. If your tour leaves early, buy it the day before.
- What if I lose it?
- It is not replaced. It is a paper booklet and a coupon is torn out at each site, so losing it halfway through means buying it again. Keep it with your passport, not in your trouser pocket.
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