Where and how to buy entry tickets for Machu Picchu

Planning to visit the amazing Machu Picchu site? You’re in the right place! Because on top of all the practical info, you’ll mostly find out how to buy the tickets.

Because yes, as they say, “it’s not that simple”. Otherwise it wouldn’t be any fun.

The number of tickets available for Machu Picchu is capped every day, because the site has to be protected. The trouble is that when you limit entries, they sell out very fast and you have to book further and further in advance.

So here I’m going to explain how to make your bookings online, on which sites, and how far in advance.

But also what your options are for buying Machu Picchu tickets on the spot in Aguas Calientes. Which gives your trip a bit more flexibility 🙂

So, it’s not that simple, but it’s perfectly doable!

Here’s the price breakdown for adults (non-Peruvians):

• 152 soles ($45) for most circuits
• 200 soles ($58) for circuits with a big hike (Wayna Picchu, Montaña Machu Picchu)

Should you buy your tickets in advance?

You’re going to hate my answer. “It depends!”

Because yes, it depends a lot on the time of year you want to visit Machu Picchu. In summer, it’s peak tourist season, so the online tickets get snapped up months ahead and the on-site tickets require days of waiting. So it’s complicated.

• You’re planning your trip in advance: book your ticket!
• You want a specific circuit: book your ticket well in advance! (because for the 2A/B routes, the next slot I can see is 4 months away)
• You’re coming in summer: book your ticket!
• You’re only staying one day in Aguas Calientes: book your ticket
• (I could go on like this for a while)

But there are still cases where there’s no need to book in advance (or far in advance):

• your trip is super flexible and you can stay several nights in Aguas Calientes just in case
• you’re coming in low season
• and you don’t really care which circuit you end up with

In those cases, you can try to grab your ticket on the spot at the office.

On the other hand, if you only have one day there, you absolutely must book in advance.

Heads up: buying your tickets directly in Aguas Calientes gives you less flexibility on circuits and time slots. We’ll get to that next.

So really, it depends!

But I insist: if you’re planning your trip in advance, then don’t take any risks and book your ticket, seriously.

Watch out for your choice of route

Machu Picchu is big. But now visits are structured and you can no longer wander it however you like. You have to choose one route out of the 10 on offer. Simple, right?

Booking your ticket in advance lets you pick your route carefully, because some are genuinely different! You might miss the best views, only walk through the buildings, get the hikes or not… so really, if you want to choose your route, book in advance. Because once you’re there, you’ll only get whatever is left. And that would be a shame.

• In the next article I explain which route to choose at Machu Picchu

Buying Machu Picchu tickets directly in Aguas Calientes

Every day, there are 1,000 tickets available for the next day directly in Aguas Calientes. The breakdown is as follows:

• 1-A Montaña Machu Picchu: 50
• 1-B Terraza superior: 100
• 2-A Clásico Diseñada: 600
• 2-B Terraza Inferior: 100
• 3-A Montaña Waynapicchu: 50
• 3-B Realeza diseñada: 100

The most popular circuits are the 2-A/B, but also the climbs up Montaña Machu Picchu and Wayna Picchu.

Tickets are available the day before for the next day, and it works like this: first come, first served!

1. When you get to Aguas Calientes, head straight to the Ministerio de Cultura / Machu Picchu Park Passes office. Here’s the Google Maps link.
2. There, they’ll give you a numbered slot for later in the day, at a set time. Careful: in high season, they may ask you to come back the next day!
3. Come back at that time, with the paper. When it’s your turn, you choose your entry time and the circuit you want, depending on what’s available
4. and there you go, you’ve got your tickets for the next day!

So put that way, it sounds simple.

But the catch is you have to arrive early. Well, in low season, you need to get to the Ministerio before noon to land a mid-afternoon appointment.

If you arrive by train in the afternoon, it’ll be tight to get good tickets. Because in low season there will almost always be tickets left, but not all circuits are equal. If you end up with the 1-B, for example, that’s a bit of a shame.

In high season

Here it’s very hard to get tickets for the next day. Unless you’re there at opening at 5:30 a.m. (and even then there’s already quite a crowd), chances are they’ll give you a slot pass for the day after.

So this really needs thinking about: in July/August there are always people left high and dry. Better make sure that’s not you. So either you plan several days on site, or you’re better off buying your tickets in advance.

That said, the handy thing is that on this site you can see how many spots are left, by circuit, in real time.

Sales have just opened, so you can see that what goes fastest are the 2-A and 2-B circuits

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Buying tickets on the official Machu Picchu ticket office

I’d say this is the simplest way, but you have to plan ahead. A lot.

First of all, here’s the official Machu Picchu ticket office.

The first steps are simple: they ask you for the two most important things:

• which circuit (you get a description of each)
• and the date

For each day you get availability hour by hour.

The trouble is that you need to do it quite far in advance. As I write this it’s mid-June, and there’s nothing left for most circuits (including the best ones, 2A/B) for the next 4 months. For some other circuits it’s much easier. They’re nice, but still less interesting, less “postcard”.

Ticket release dates

Now paaaay attention, because not all tickets go on sale at the same time, that would be too easy. Here’s the 2026 schedule, so don’t worry if you can’t see the open dates yet!

Buying tickets on external platforms

You can also go through external platforms, like GetYourGuide. Official resellers sell tickets for each circuit, each hour.

That said, the spots are more limited than on the official ticket office, but since far fewer people buy there, if you need a spot within a shorter timeframe it’s a good solution. The downside is it’s more expensive than the official ticket office.

For example, right now I’m looking and the next tickets for the 2A are March 14 on GetYourGuide, and March 28 on the official ticket office. But that’s not the case for everything, so you have to look carefully.

Practical info about Machu Picchu

Opening hours run from 6 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mornings are especially popular, because they let you make the most of the site and catch an early train back to Cusco.

In fact, about 80% of visitors are concentrated between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.

I loved arriving very early, because we had the site to ourselves, which created a unique atmosphere. I also enjoyed staying until closing, because after 3 p.m. there’s hardly anyone left.

Those coming straight from Cusco are usually there between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., which is the busiest time. However, thanks to the cap on visitor numbers, this crowd stays manageable.

Heads up: if you have a time slot, being more than 30/45 minutes late (depending on the period) is not allowed!

Getting to Machu Picchu

In the next article, I explain much more thoroughly how to get to Machu Picchu. But here’s a quick recap

• the easiest way from Cusco is the train, and that’s the case for 90% of people. You should check with Perurail, but I explain it well, with the timetables, in the next article on doing the round trip between Machu Picchu and Cusco
• you can do great treks to come on foot (the Inca Trail, the Salkantay, the Choquequirao)
• you can come by road, looping around the north up to Santa Maria. Then on to Santa Teresa, and continuing to Hidroelectrica. And from there you have to walk to Aguas Calientes.

The bus from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu

To get up to the citadel, either you summon up your courage and your calves to go on foot, or you take the bus and enjoy the scenery in peace (that one’s lovely!).
Two options:

• buy the bus ticket the day before or a few hours before going up, directly at the Consettur office in the centre of Aguas Calientes, open from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• buy the ticket online
  • Info and booking

Visiting Machu Picchu in a day from Cusco

If you want to do the round trip to Machu Picchu from Cusco in a single day, it’s intense but doable:

• Get up early and take the 3:20 a.m. bus + train to reach Aguas Calientes at 7:40 a.m. Otherwise, go for the 5:10 a.m. train arriving at 9:15 a.m.
• Book your bus between Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu in advance to avoid wasting time.
• Take the bus up to Machu Picchu and arrive around 11 a.m.
• If you want to head back on the 6:20 p.m. train, leave the site by 4 p.m.
• To enjoy Machu Picchu or Aguas Calientes longer, you can take the 8:50 p.m. train, but you’ll get back to Cusco late.

Another option: go through an agency. It’s easy, everything is taken care of.

⭐️ Click here to access the map of Cusco and its region! ⭐️

In conclusion

There you go! I think you know everything now.

So the wise move would be to book your ticket well in advance, because they sell out fast. And above all because the choice of circuit matters, especially for getting the best views. And that, especially in high season, means booking ahead.

On the other hand, if you have a bit of time and you arrive early in Aguas Calientes in low season, you can dash off to buy your ticket on the spot by quickly going to pick up your slot pass. It’s doable! But mostly in low season.

But yes, my advice would be to play it safe and avoid the risk of ending up with nothing.

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