GuideMachu Picchu, Cusco, Peru8 min read
Machu Picchu Logistics: Tickets, Trains and Circuits
How the 2024 circuit system works and how to plan around it
Timed entry, fixed one-way circuits, trains from Ollantaytambo and the bus from Aguas Calientes: the practical side of visiting Machu Picchu, updated for this season.
The short version
Machu Picchu is visited on timed tickets for a fixed entry hour, and every ticket belongs to one of three circuits with a one-way route through the site. You cannot wander back against the flow, and you cannot re-enter. Daily capacity is around 4,500 visitors in high season, so tickets for June to August and for any circuit that includes Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain sell out weeks ahead.
From Cusco the journey has three legs. A road transfer of about 90 minutes takes you down to Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley. From there PeruRail and Inca Rail run trains along the Urubamba to Aguas Calientes, a ride of about an hour and forty minutes. In the wet season (January to April) some departures start from Poroy or Ollantaytambo only. Finally, Consettur buses climb the 8 km of switchbacks from Aguas Calientes to the gate in 25 minutes, starting at 5:30.
If you arrive on the Inca Trail your entry is included and you come in through the Sun Gate, but you still need a bus ticket down and a train back.
Which circuit to choose
- Circuit 1 (panoramic): the upper terraces and the classic postcard view, short and good for first-timers
- Circuit 2 (classic): the most complete route through both the upper and lower sectors
- Circuit 3 (royalty): the lower sector, Temple of the Condor and the add-on mountain climbs
The Vistadome
Passports
Machu Picchu gate
About this story
Valentina RojasAuthor
Andes TrailsPublisher
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