To answer this question, let’s first take into account the travel times and services you need according to the route for your trip to Machu Picchu,

1.- Route Cusco- Ollantaytambo – Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu Town).

The town of Aguas Calientes, also called Machu Picchu Pueblo, is the closest town to the archaeological park of Machu Picchu, it is an average of 4 hours away from the city of Cusco (2 hours by bus from Cusco to the Ollantaytambo station + 2 more hours by train from the Ollantaytambo station to the town of Aguas Calientes).

2.- Route Cusco-Poroy-Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu Pueblo).

The travel time is similar, the Poroy station is 30 minutes away from the historic center of Cusco, you take the train at this station that takes you to Aguas Calientes in about 3 hours and 15 minutes, as you can see the travel time is Similar.

*We can conclude that it will take an average of 4 hours to go from the city of Cusco to the town of Aguas Calientes.

IF I AM ALREADY IN AGUAS CALIENTES, WHAT NEXT?

You have 2 options to get to the entrance of the Machu Picchu Archaeological Park and depends of your time available:

• Option 1: take the Consettur company bus, which will take you to the entrance of Machu Picchu in 30 minutes, you must buy the round trip bus.
• Option 2: make a walk to the entrance of Machu Picchu, the walk will take some effort and almost 2 hours, but it is worth it since you will be able to be more in contact with the beautiful landscape of the jungle of the cloud forest, it is an ascent of about 500 meters through a very well preserved Inca roads and grandstands.
• Option 3: go on foot and return by bus or go by bus and return on foot, you can buy the one-way, or round-trip bus ticket.

I ALREADY ARRIVED AT THE ENTRANCE OF MACHU PICCHU

Whether you went by bus or on foot, you will arrive at the main entrance to Machu Picchu where you must show your ticket to Machu Picchu printed along with your original identity document, you will be able to go into the citadel, at the entrance you can hire a guided tour, normally the tour lasts 2 hours, but you can stay up to 4 with the ticket Machu Picchu only (type 1) if you have the Machu Picchu ticket + any of the mountains the time spent in the park is longer and you may need more time to visit Machu Picchu.

For these reasons you must be careful with the times when booking your train ticket.

EXAMPLE: If my train ticket departs from Ollantaytambo at 07:45 a.m., then:

So you must leave Cusco at 05:30 am. At the latest, you must be at the station 30 minutes before the train leaves. You will arrive to Aguas Calientes at 09:15 am. Leaving the train station and going to the bus station will take about 10 min, then you must take the 30-minute bus to the entrance of Machu Picchu. You must make your entry reservation to Machu Picchu at the time of entry from 10 to 11 a.m. or from 11 to 12 m., then visiting Machu Picchu will take about 2 hours.
Surely you will finish your tour around 2 p.m., you must take the bus back to Aguas Calientes for another 30 min travel, have lunch and take a train that leaves at 4 or 5 p.m. You will be in Ollantaytambo at 6 or 7 p.m. take a bus and in 2 more hours you will be back in the city of Cusco.

Booking online is the easiest way, it is extremely simple, just go to the option how to buy and review the instructions then go to the option Check Availability and review the dates of visit and the types of tickets of your preference and, if you wish, you can continue and finalize the reservation through this step, the payment method is using the PayPal.

The entrance ticket to Machu Picchu is personal and non-transferable, for its processing some personal data is necessary, these data are strictly confidential and are protected by Peruvian laws, the data that will be provided to us is the following:

• Number of visitors.
• Full name and age of each visitor.
• Nationality.
• Passport number or DNI.
• The type of ticket and the visiting hours.

University Students must send us a digital photo of the current university or institute card if they wish to access student discounts, and they must not be more than 25 years old on the day of the visit.

Here we give you a brief summary about what you should know about the tickets, you have more information in the section “Types of Tickets” in the menu:

• Ticket Machu Picchu Only, allows you to visit the Inca city of Machu Picchu. Must be purchased a few weeks in advance. The ticket is recommended for the whole family.
• Ticket Machu Picchu + Wayna Picchu, allows you to visit the Inca city of Machu Picchu, as well as the Wayna Picchu mountain. The famous mountain that always appears in the photos of Machu Picchu, must be purchased at least 3 months in advance since only 400 people can enter a day.
• Ticket Machu Picchu + Mountain, allows you to visit the Inca city of Machu Picchu, as well as the Machu Picchu mountain, it is the opposite mountain to Wayna Picchu, from here you have impressive views, you must buy a few weeks before. The ticket is recommended for children, adults and anyone who likes hiking.

The safest and fastest way is through Paypal, when making a reservation you will receive a payment request, you do not need a Paypal account to carry out transactions, you only need a credit or debit card.

Machu Picchu can be reached:

• Hiking by Inca trail, you will need a travel agency to be able to make this trip, write to us for more information.
• By train, it is the easiest and shortest way, you have to take a bus from the city of Cusco to the Ollantaytambo or Poroy train station, any of the options will take you to Machu Picchu in 4 hours of travel.
• By bus + walk, you can take this option that is cheaper but it will take you more time, you travel to the hydroelectric sector by bus, then you walk through the railway line, in total it will take you 8 hours of travel to take this option , the walk is smooth and is recorded just over 10 kilometers.

Tourists who have a longer stay in Cusco can take this option, which implies making the trip to Machu Picchu more calmly, for this, you can take the train in the afternoon, spend the night in a hotel in Aguas Calientes (you must make a hotel reservation in advance) and, the next day, early in the morning visit Machu Picchu, then, in the afternoon after lunch, return to Cusco.

Unfortunately, people who need a wheelchair to get around or suffer from an illness that prevents them from traveling normally will have difficulties when visiting Machu Picchu, since it implies making some physical effort, in addition to the fact that the road through the Inca city has steps, platforms and steep places, at the moment the Inca city has not been implemented for the visit of tourists in wheelchairs, on the other hand, travel agencies could have better options and at least get to the viewpoint.

Definitely the Ticket Machu Picchu + Huayna Picchu is the one that runs out the fastest. This ticket must be purchased online 3 months in advance. If you couldn’t get this ticket then choose the Machu Picchu + Mountain option, which also includes a spectacular hike to the top of the Inca city, you can buy this ticket a few weeks in advance.

Both options are very attractive, there are only a limited number of visitors to visit them, if you plan to add some of these mountains to your visit it is highly recommended to make a reservation in advance, especially if you want to go to the top of Wayna Picchu.

• The Wayna Picchu is very famous, it is the mountain that appears in all the photos of Machu Picchu, it is a very attractive walk suitable for adventurers who are not afraid of heights, it implies some physical effort, the path is safe as long as you go through the permitted and signposted routes, reaching the top takes almost an hour.
• On the other hand, the Machu Picchu mountain is opposite the Wayna Picchu, the top is higher, it will involve more effort and time to get there since the walk is longer, it is done through an Inca trail in perfect conditions, it does not imply any risk, it is suitable for the whole family, you can even go with your children.

Si, existen varios descuentos y convenios, aquí te detallamos cuales son:

• Descuentos para menores de edad – Solo se debe enviar una foto digital del pasaporte o documento de identidad de los niños (válido para menores de 18 años). Los menores de edad ingresan acompañados de su padre o madre. Los niños deben pagar su entrada a partir de los 3 años.
• Descuentos para estudiantes universitarios – Solo se debe enviar una foto digital del carnet universitario vigente (válido para estudiantes de pregrado menores de 25 años). El carnet ISIC ya no es válido.
• Descuentos para Comunidad Andina (CAN) – los turistas que provengan de países miembros de la comunidad Andina, es decir, Perú, Colombia, Bolivia y Ecuador, tienen acceso a la tarifa de turistas nacionales.

Machu Picchu opens its doors to visitors from 06:00 a.m. to 05:00 p.m., you can visit it at any time, on the other hand, you have to take take into account that it implies approximately 4 hours to reach the Inca wonder ( 2 hours by train and 2 hours by bus), which is why the schedules between 9 and 12 are very crowded.

If you have a reservation at a hotel in the town of Aguas Calientes then you will have more time and tranquility, you could visit it at the first hour and you will be able to see the sunrise in the Inca city, many tourists prefer to go to Machu Picchu very early.

Finally, visits in the afternoon are not a bad idea either, the landscape and the weather are very good at all times, and in the afternoon there is little influx of tourists, so you can walk more calmly and take better photos.

If you travel with children or older adults, do not worry, Machu Picchu will receive them with open arms, only the visit to Huayna Picchu should be for children over 12 years old.
The Machu Picchu mountain is an excellent option to go with children, this mountain is available for people of any age. They will enjoy a good family walk and beautiful landscapes.
On the other hand, if you are looking for something different for your child, the Machu Picchu site museum is open to you and also has a botanical garden, the Machu Picchu Butterfly Garden is very close and the children love it, beware the entrance to the Butterfly Garden is not included in the tickets to Machu Picchu.

The purchase of the ticket includes:

• The visit of the Inca city, you can walk by its streets and the most important places, depending on the option you choose, you can also use the option to visit the Wayna Picchu mountain or Machu Picchu mountain.
• Personalized advice throughout the purchase and stay process, we are here to help you and we will be in contact all time, in case you need help with other services such as transportation, guidance, etc.

Does not include:

• The train ticket to Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu town), you must make the reservation of your train tickets through the web portals of the Peru Rail or Inca rail railway companies.
• The Aguas Calientes tourist bus at the entrance of Machu Picchu, this ticket is sold by the company Consettur Machu Picchu, you can also buy these tickets through its web portal, it is also easy to buy in the same town of Aguas Calientes.
• The guide or the guide service, this can be contracted with us in group or private service, you can also get a site guide at the entrance to Machu Picchu.
• Some type of accommodation or food service, in the town of Aguas Calientes you can find many options between hostels and 5-star hotels and restaurants of all prices.

The ticket to Machu Picchu can only be used on the date that was previously detected in your reservation, you cannot use it before or days after the date indicated on your ticket.

Yes, with more than 72 hours prior to the date of your visit you can make changes or cancellations, but they are subject to the payment of a 40% penalty.

No, the sale is only made online or at the offices of the Ministry of Culture in the city of Cusco. It is advisable to buy online and in advance to avoid long lines or crowded spaces since Machu Picchu only receives a limited number of tourists per day.

Machu Picchu is open to the public all year round, but between the months of December and mid-April it is the rainy season, so you will have to take your measurements, the weather is pleasant despite the rains, since Machu Picchu is located in the edge of the jungle or commonly called cloud forest.

The availability for the year 2023 will be enabled in the month of december 2021, take your precautions since the tickets for January and February are sold out quickly, you can make a reservation now and pay for it, but the tickets will be sent to you in the month of December when the Ministry of Culture publishes the availability. If you have further questions about this point please contact us.