10 tickets to Machu Picchu: new circuits

To visit Machu Picchu, tourists must choose between ten new entrance tickets to the Inca city. All tickets allow for a different experience: from beautiful postcard photos to hiking trails in the high mountains. The tickets also offer a tour of the archaeological site on one of three new circuits. Get the proper information and choose the best experience of visiting Machu Picchu through these ten new tickets.

Circuit 1 – Route Upper terrace

This ticket offers only the new route through Circuit 1 in Machu Picchu. This circuit includes a climb up stone steps until reaching the Guardian’s House sector. There you can get the classic postcard photo of the Inca citadel. The circuit allows for a short tour, approximately 1 hour. However, with the company of a guide and free time for postcard photos, the circuit can take 2 hours on average.

The ticket allows you to take the classic photo at the Guardian’s House, but does not allow you to tour the temples and stone buildings at the archaeological site. The ticket offers ten entry times from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. This ticket can be used year-round and is suitable for people of all ages. It is a good option if the other tickets are not available.

• Schedules – 6 am / 7 am / 8 am / 9 am / 10 am / 11 am / 12 pm / 1 pm / 2 pm / 3 pm.
• Approximate price – 152 soles per foreign adult.

Circuit 1 – Route Machu Picchu Mountain

This ticket offers Circuit 1 at Machu Picchu as well as the hiking route to the top of Machu Picchu Mountain (3,082 masl). Circuit 1 includes only the classic photo from the Guardian’s House. The hiking route to the mountain is 2.5 kilometers uphill along Inca trails. On the hike, which takes between 1 to 2 hours or more, you get beautiful panoramic views of the Inca city and its great Andean geography.

This ticket allows you to take the best photos of Machu Picchu, both the classic photo and a shot from the top of the highest mountain. The route is suitable for visitors over 18 years old. Access to Machu Picchu Mountain is open all year round. The ticket is available for approximately 200 people per day. Therefore, it is recommended to purchase it one or two months in advance.

• Schedules – At 6 am / at 8 am.
• Approximate price – 200 soles per foreign adult.

Circuit 1 – Route to Intipunku

This ticket offers a visit to Machu Picchu through circuit 1, called the royalty circuit. It stands out for the classic photo taken from the Casa del Guardián (Guardian’s House). In addition, it allows you to take the almost 2-kilometer uphill hike along Inca trails to the Intipunku of Machu Picchu. This construction, the Puerta del Sol, was the checkpoint and entrance to Machu Picchu during the time of the Incas. It is located at 2,745 meters above sea level.

The Intipunku hiking route is a new adventure option in Machu Picchu. It is a historic route along the famous qhapac ñan, the Inca road network that connected Cusco with Machu Picchu. From there you have a panoramic view of the Inca citadel. The ticket is available for visitors of all ages. Access to Intipunku is available during the high tourist season, that is, from June 1 to October 15.

• Schedules – A las 8 am / a las 9 am / a las 10 am / a las 11 am.
• Approximate price – 152 soles per foreign adult.

Circuit 1 – Route to the Inca Bridge

This ticket offers a visit to the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu on circuit 1, as well as the short hiking route to the Inca Bridge. The route on circuit 1 offers a visit to the Guardian’s House, also called the Watchman’s House (a classic postcard photo). The hike to the Inca Bridge is an easy option as it is a walk of less than 1 kilometer on flat paths but surrounded by beautiful views.

The Inca Bridge marked the boundary between Machu Picchu and the eastern domains of the Cusco rainforest and the Amazon. The bridge could be removed in the event of invasions as it was made of only stones and a solid wooden trunk. The route to the Inca Bridge is available to those over 18 years of age from June 1 to October 15 of each year. It is an easy route to complete so everyone can complete it.

• Schedules – A las 8 am / a las 9 am / a las 10 am / a las 11 am.
• Approximate price – 152 soles per foreign adult.

Circuit 2 – Route Classic designed

This ticket is perhaps the one that offers the best experience in the Inca city, at least for a first tourist visit. It allows you to do circuit 2, called the classic circuit because it offers a visit to the main buildings of the Machu Picchu archaeological site. It includes: the Temple of the Sun, the Main Temple, the Temple of the 3 Windows, the Sacred Rock, the Hall of Mirrors and the agricultural area. In addition, it allows a postcard photo in the Guardian House sector.

Circuit 2 is considered the most complete tour of Machu Picchu. It takes approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes to complete. This is a route suitable for people of all ages throughout the year. It is the ticket with the most tickets available per day, about 800 tickets on average. Due to the high demand for tickets, it is recommended to purchase them online two or three months in advance.

• Schedules – 6 am / 7 am / 8 am / 9 am / 10 am / 11 am / 12 pm / 1 pm / 2 pm / 3 pm.
• Approximate price – 152 soles per foreign adult.

Circuit 2 – Route Lower terrace

This ticket is very similar to the ‘Machu Picchu Classic Designed Route’ ticket. Like this one, it allows you to do circuit 2 of the archaeological site, considered one of the most complete experiences in the Inca city. The only difference is at the point where you get the classic postcard photo. This ticket allows a postcard photo on a lower terrace of the Guardian’s House. However, the two photos of Machu Picchu are spectacular.

This ticket is also considered the best option for visiting Machu Picchu for the first time. Circuit 2 allows you to visit the most important Inca temples, such as: the Temple of the Sun, the Main Temple, the Temple of the 3 Windows, the Sacred Rock, the Hall of Mirrors and the agricultural area. The ticket is available for 800 people per day on average. It is best to buy the ticket online two or three months in advance.

• Schedules – 6 am / 7 am / 8 am / 9 am / 10 am / 11 am / 12 pm / 1 pm / 2 pm / 3 pm.
• Approximate price – 152 soles per foreign adult.

Circuit 3 – Route Huayna Picchu Mountain

This ticket allows you to visit Machu Picchu through circuit 3. It also allows you to take the short hiking route to the top of the Huayna Picchu mountain (2,693 meters above sea level). Circuit 3 offers a visit to the lower Inca temples, also called ‘royal temples’. It includes: the Royal Tomb, the Temple of the Sun (from the lower part), the House of the Inca, Three Doors, the Sacred Rock, the Temple of the Condor and the agricultural sector (where you can get a postcard photo of Machu Picchu).

The route to the Huayna Picchu mountain is considered one of the best adventures in Machu Picchu. The route is uphill along hundreds of stone steps. In total, the climb is almost 2 kilometers. An average tourist can complete the round trip hike in 3 hours. From the top, you can get beautiful panoramic photos of Machu Picchu. Entrance to Huayna Picchu is available all year round, but only for visitors over 18 years old.

• Schedules – At 6 am / at 9 am.
• Approximate price – 200 soles per foreign adult.

Circuit 3 – Route Royalty designed

This ticket only offers the tour of Machu Picchu through circuit 3, also known as the ‘royal route’ or ‘designed route’. This circuit is an interesting option to see some of the most important Inca stone constructions in Machu Picchu. These are: the Royal Tomb, the Temple of the Sun, the House of the Inca, Three Doors, the Temple of the Condor and the agricultural sector.

The tour of Circuit 3 also offers a beautiful photo opportunity similar to the classic postcard photo. This can be obtained in the agricultural sector of Machu Picchu. There, there is also the possibility of photographing llamas, the famous auquenids that graze freely in the Inca city. The ticket is available throughout the year and for visitors of all ages. It is a good option if no other tickets were available in Machu Picchu (such as the ticket ‘Circuit 2, classic designed route’.

• Schedules – 6 am / 7 am / 8 am / 9 am / 10 am / 11 am / 12 pm / 1 pm / 2 pm / 3 pm.
• Approximate price – 152 soles per foreign adult.

Circuit 3 – Route to the Great Cave

This ticket is one of the new things to do in Machu Picchu. It offers a visit to the Inca city via circuit 3, as well as the challenging hiking route to the Great Cavern on Huayna Picchu mountain. Circuit 3 is an interesting experience with important temples such as the House of the Inca, the Temple of the Sun, the Sacred Rock or the Temple of the Condor. The route to the Great Cavern is an intense hike to a temple little explored by tourists.

The Great Cavern is also known as the Temple of the Moon. The walk there takes 2 hours or a little more since it covers a little more than 2 kilometers. This temple, as its name indicates, was built inside a cave, considered sacred by the Incas. Access to this route is available during the high tourist season (from June 1 to October 15) and is only for visitors over 18 years old.

• Schedules – A las 6 am / a las 9 am.
• Approximate price – 200 soles per foreign adult.

Circuit 3 – Route Huchuy Picchu mountain

This ticket allows you to do Circuit 3 of Machu Picchu, as well as the easy hiking route to the Huchuy Picchu mountain. Circuit 3, called the ‘Royal Route’, offers a visit to Inca temples, such as: the Royal Tomb, the Temple of the Sun (from the bottom), the House of the Inca, Tres Portadas, the Sacred Rock, the Temple of the Condor and the agricultural sector. There you can get the classic postcard photo of Machu Picchu, just a few meters below.

Huchuy Picchu (2,497 meters above sea level) is a slope of the Huayna Picchu mountain. Therefore, the hiking route to its summit takes only 30 minutes on average. It consists of stone stairs made by the Incas. From its summit you have a privileged view of the archaeological site. Entrance to Huchuy Picchu is available to tourists over 18 years old, from June 1 to October 15 of each year.

• Schedules – A las 11 am / a la 1 pm.
• Approximate price – 152 soles per foreign adult.

By Machupicchu Terra – Last updated, July 9, 2024