Guide · Cusco
Machu Picchu tickets and circuits
The visit runs on 3 circuits and 10 routes, each with a different path and an assigned entry time. It is the part most people get wrong, and picking the wrong circuit cannot be fixed once you are inside.
The three circuits
| Circuit | Routes | What it covers | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Circuit 1Panoramic | 1-A Machu Picchu Mountain · 1-B Upper Terraces · 1-C Sun Gate · 1-D Inca Bridge | Covers the upper part of the site, with the widest views of the llaqta and the landscape around it. | The one that gives the classic photograph, from the high terraces. Route 1-B is what almost everyone is after without knowing its name. |
| Circuit 2Classic | Routes 2-A and 2-B | Drops from the terraces into the urban sector and covers most of the main areas. | First visit. It is the most complete one and what nearly every agency books, including our Machu Picchu Full Day. |
| Circuit 3Royalty | Routes 3-A, 3-B and variants | Focuses on the lower area: temples and the residential quarters of the Inca elite. Shorter walk. | Little time, little walking, or climbing Huayna Picchu. It is the only circuit that gives access to that mountain. |
The three mountains
| Mountain | Daily quota | Goes with | How demanding |
|---|---|---|---|
| Machu Picchu Mountain | 400 per day | Circuit 1-A | The highest and the longest. Around 3 hours there and back on sustained stone steps. |
| Huayna Picchu | 350 per day | Circuit 3-B | The pointed peak behind the citadel. Two slots, 7:00 and 10:00, with 175 places each. Steep, with exposed sections. |
| Huchuy Picchu | high season only | Circuit 3 | The small one, about 45 minutes. For anyone who wants to climb something without wrecking their knees. |
Fares vary by circuit and nationality: around S/ 200 for a foreign adult, S/ 124 for Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia, and S/ 118 for under-18s. Quotas and prices are set by the Ministry of Culture by resolution and change from year to year.
You do not buy a ticket, you buy a circuit and a time
Each ticket allows one circuit, one route within that circuit and a fixed entry time. Inside, the route runs one way only: you cannot switch circuits or double back. Choosing wrong is not something that gets fixed at the gate.
The mountain is not an add-on, it is another ticket
Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu Mountain are tied to a specific circuit and have their own quota, far smaller than the site as a whole. They are bought together with the entrance, not afterwards, and they sell out considerably earlier.
It is issued in your name and checked against your passport
The ticket carries your name and at the gate it is checked against the original document used to buy it. Without that passport you do not get in, even with the ticket paid.
When to book
Two to three months ahead for the site. If you want a mountain, three to four, and from May to August take the upper end: the 350 Huayna Picchu places go before anything else.