How best to buy Machu Picchu tickets?
When I visited Machu Picchu for the first time in 2004, it was much, much easier to buy Machu Picchu tickets… There were already rumours that you couldn’t book the Classic 4 Day Inca Trail upon arrival in Cusco, so I booked my trail a week ahead of time. I hiked the Inca trail with a small group and we had to carry all of our own belongings, inclusive the rented sleeping bag and mat. The first two days were raining, the third day was beautiful. When we arrived at our last campsite, it was less than 6 km away from the Intipunku Sun Gate, the official entrance to Machu Picchu. I was worried that it might be raining again the next day. Therefore I asked the guards at the entrance to the last part of the Inca Trail, if I was allowed to already have a quick peak at Machu Picchu. They were friendly enough to allow me through, as long as I left my passport with them, to guarantee my return. I got my very first view of Machu Picchu being almost alone at Intipunku!
The next day it was also sunny and after the guided tour over the archaeological site of Machu Picchu we had until late afternoon to explore all of the site!
Visiting Machu Picchu now in June 2026
If you want to book the 4 day Classic Inca Trail in 2026, you will have to book months in advance. But those months also have to be withing 2026, because they only start selling entrance tickets by the end of 2025… To buy Machu Picchu tickets in 2026 is only a little easier, but not much. For starters, there are now 10 different entrance tickets, which provide you exclusively access to 10 different circuits on the archaeological site of Machu Picchu. Visitors are required to follow their assigned route and cannot freely wander throughout the entire archaeological complex anymore. Then these tickets are also spread out over 10 different time slots from 6:00 am until 3 pm. Each ticket is officially valid for only 2h30 min. And on your first visit to Machu Picchu, you will have to be accompanied by an official tour guide. Are you feeling overwhelmed by all these regulations? Below I will try to explain the best ways to select and buy your Machu Picchu entrance ticket.
Understanding the tickets sales for Machu Picchu
In recent years, Peru’s Ministry of Culture has introduced several ticket types and visitor circuits. Supposedly this was to help protect the site while improving the visitor experience. Later in this article I will get back to this. For now I would like to start with a short guide towards being able to buy the best entrance tickets to Machu Picchu, depending on your preferences.
Where to buy your Machu Picchu tickets?
The official Machu Picchu tickets are sold by the Peruvian Ministry of Culture (Ministerio de Cultura) through their official website for ticket sales. This website is called “TuBoleto.cultura.pe”. On this website you can also always check the current availability of online entrance tickets for Machu Picchu. On purpose I write ‘online entrance tickets’, because each day there are also around 1000 tickets sold physically in a ticket office in the center of Aguas Calientes. Trevel agents are not allowed to buy these tickets. The reason behind this physical ticket sales is that the inhabitants of Aguas Calientes town want to receive part of the entrance fees for Machu Picchu and they don’t trust their Ministry of Culture.
When is it possible to buy your ticket?
Yes, this is also a relevant question. You might think to play on safe and book your trip to Peru and Machu Picchu a year in advance. Like booking in June 2026 for June 2027. However, this still doesn’t guarantee that you get the entrance tickets you would like. The reason for this is, because the sales of Machu Picchu tickets (and the Inca Trail) for next year usually doesn’t start until the end of November/ early December. In November and December they start with selling entrance tickets for January and February 2027, followed later, sometimes even as late as January 2027, with selling the rest of the entrance tickets.
Can travel agents buy your Machu Picchu tickets in advance?
If you think that you’ve already bought your entrance ticket for Machu Picchu for next year, with your travel agent, then I’m sorry to disappoint you. Just like you, travel agents can’t buy the entrance tickets until the official sales starts at the end of the year. What really happens is that they take your payment and wait until the sales starts. Then, as soon as the tickets of your preference become available, they will try to buy them. However, there is no que where travel agents wait in line and who was first will be attended first. When the sales start, all available tickets will appear on the TuBoleto website. Travel agents will then have to handle as quick as possible to try buying the right tickets for you. Especially the first days, this often results in servers that are overloaded and the website not responding anymore. A stressful time for travel agents.
What if your tickets are already sold out?
Most of the time the travel agent will manage, to buy the right Machu Picchu tickets for you. However, things can get complicated when you want to visit a popular part of Machu Picchu at a popular time in high season. To hike the Classic 4 Day Inca Trail in high season is even more complicated. This is because the management allows daily ‘only’ 500 people to start the 4 day Classic Inca Trail. These 500 people include guides, porters, cooks, etc. who count for around half of the amount.
Be prepared
So far it happened only once that we couldn’t get the right entrance tickets for the Classic 4 day Inca Trail for 2 of our clients. Luckily our clients were flexible and we were able to let them start one day later. It is an idea to keep in mind when you are planning your Peru trip. Make sure that you also have an extra day before and after your trek. This way your tour agent has 3 options for buying your ticket.
What if there are no online Machu Picchu tickets available anymore
When the Classic 4 day Inca Trail is already sold out for the dates on which you would like to participant, then there is nothing we, or any other tour agent can do for you. In this case we recommend our clients to either hike the Salkantay Trek, or the Inca Jungle Trail. When there are no more Machu Picchu tickets available for the dates you would like to visit Machu Picchu, there are two options:
– If it happens early in the year, it might be possible that the Ministry of Culture decides to sell additional tickets
– If it happens closer to your departure date, then your only alternative is to try to buy your entrance tickets a day in advance at the ticket office in Aguas Calientes town.
Which Machu Picchu entrance ticket should you buy
If you still have all the ticket options available, we recommend to buy early entrance tickets for Circuito 2A/B. But let me first explain the difference between all available Machu Picchu tickets. As I wrote earlier, the management of Cusco has divided the archaeological site in 10 different circuits (circuito in Spanish). Each of these circuits allow you to hike adifferent route over the archaeological site. On the website TuBoleto, you can find the following information about these circuits:
Circuito 1-A: Ruta Montaña Machu Picchu- Circuito 1-B: Ruta terraza superior
- Circuito 1-C: Ruta Portada Intipunku (only available during high season)
- Circuito 1-D: Ruta Puente Inka (only available during high season)
- Circuito 2-A: Ruta clásico diseñada
- Circuito 2-B: Ruta terraza inferior
- Circuito 3-A: Ruta Montaña Waynapicchu
- Circuito 3-B: Ruta realeza diseñada
- Circuito 3-C: Ruta Gran Caverna (only available during high season)
- Circuito 3-D: Ruta Huchuypicchu (only available during high season)
I can try to explain all the differences of each circuit, but it is better to check out the maps on our website and the short videos on the TuBoleto website. There you can see that Circuito 2 offers the most extensive walking route over the archaeological site. It combines the famous panoramic viewpoints with extensive access to the central archaeological sectors. Visitors can explore many of the most important structures while still obtaining the classic Machu Picchu photograph. But if your knees aren’t that flexible anymore, then Circuito 3-B is a very good alternative. It offers a good impression of Machu Picchu, but with less climbing and fewer steps then on Circuito 2.
Why are there different Machu Picchu tickets?
Machu Picchu receives thousands of visitors every day. So officially the Peruvian Ministry of Culture has divided the archaeological site in different walking circuits to preserve the ancient Inca citadel and reduce congestion. However, the full reason for introducing these different walking routes is a little more complicated and, of course, includes also financial incentives…
History of tourism at Machu Picchu part 1
In 2007 the World Heritage Data Sheet Stated that the amount of visitor of Machu Picchu grew from 180,000 visitors in the 1980s to over 400,000 in 2003. This is an average of 300-400 a day, but in high season this could raise to 1,500 – 2,000 a day in the high season. In 2006 there were already 691,623 visitors (75% foreign) and the number is likely to rise (UNESCO-IUCN-ICOMOS, 2007). The Management Plan from UNESCO advised that to reduce environmental deterioration, the archaeological site should not support more than 917 visitors per day and no more than 385 visitors at any one time. The INC recommend a maximum carrying capacity of 2,000 visitors a day with an increased entry fee. The government favors a higher number of 3,400 Machu Picchu tickets sales (UNESCO, 2002).
History of tourism at Machu Picchu part 2
According to an UNESCO report from 2024 the current carrying capacity of the Llaqta of Machu Picchu has been reached. It has been adjusted in line with the recommendations of the “Carrying Capacity and Acceptable Change Limits Study for the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu – 2015.” To achieve the four scenarios outlined in the study progressively, actions have been implemented, including the maintenance, conservation, and reorganization of visitor circuits based on differentiated routes, changes to entry times,
permanent restrictions on access to vulnerable areas, and other decongestion measures. These actions result in a lower degree of impact on the monument’s conservation, based on reports from monitoring and inspections conducted by conservation specialists. A differentiated capacity of up to 4,500 people per day is currently in place, with a maximum increase to 5,600 people per day during the high season.
Memorable experience.
Whichever entrance ticket you choose, planning ahead is essential. The most popular routes can sell out months before departure, and selecting the right ticket can make a significant difference in your Machu Picchu experience.
