How Do You Choose The Right Machu Picchu Tickets For Your Visit? MP Circuits Explained 

Planning a trip to visit one of the most popular UNESCO World Wonders is exciting. But visiting Machu Picchu in Peru isn’t as simple as you’d think. Choosing the right Machu Picchu tickets requires some research and knowledge about this site, and I’m here to tell you everything I wish I had known before I visited.

I’ll save you hours of research and confusion, explaining everything you need to do to prepare for your Machu Picchu visit in Peru. 

The Peruvian Ministry of Tourism has changed the access tickets for Machu Picchu a couple of times, and tourists are now confused about what type of ticket they need to purchase. 

This action allows local authorities to better control crowds at Machu Picchu and avoid overcrowding. 

At first, not too long ago, you would simply purchase a ticket, and with that ticket, you were allowed to roam around the citadel. 

But because people would end up spending way too long inside, much longer than it was needed to actually see it, the authorities came up with a different system to streamline the traffic inside. 

After spending three days in Cusco to adjust to the altitude and overcome altitude sickness, I rented a car in Cusco, visited Puno and Lake Titicaca, Rainbow Mountain, and Sacred Valley, and drove all the way to Machu Picchu village.

Machu Picchu tickets

Always buy your Machu Picchu ticket from the official Peruvian government website (if you want to get the best price). Here’s the official website for Machu Picchu tickets: https://tuboleto.cultura.pe/llaqta_machupicchu 

There are third-party websites selling Machu Picchu tickets, but those are overpriced tickets. However, if you failed to plan your trip and schedule your Machu Picchu visit, then a website like GetYourGuide might be your only option to visit Machu Picchu. 

As of October 2025, there are three distinct Circuits for visiting Machu Picchu, each offering several routes. This comes up to 10 different routes at Machu Picchu. 

You need to purchase your preferred ticket (select the circuit and route) online on the chosen date and desired entry time. 

The main issue is that tickets sell out months in advance.

That’s why it is strongly recommended that you book your ticket for Machu Picchu as soon as you purchase your plane tickets for Cusco, at least one month in advance. 

Note that different routes have different demands, so for some routes, you’ll need to buy your Machu Picchu ticket up to three months in advance (some even say up to six months in advance). 

A lot of things influence the demand for tickets, such as the time of the year, the time of day, different holidays, the weather, etc. 

Because a lot of people travel to Peru on a rather strict schedule, it’s necessary to first plan your visit to Machu Picchu and then plan the other activities around Cusco and Sacred Valley. 

Best Machu Picchu tickets

The best tickets for Machu Picchu include the route and objectives you want to visit. 

Machu Picchu is an Inca citadel with dwellings, agricultural terraces, and stone temples. No ticket includes everything, so you need to either purchase several tickets to see it all or decide to visit only a part of it. 

Generally speaking, the best ticket for Machu Picchu is Circuit 2. Even the name “ Circuito clásico” means that it is the classic circuit. 

Circuit 2 is the one that is suitable for most tourists visiting; it is the most complete circuit, which doesn’t involve hiking and gets you to the popular photo spots. 

Note that this circuit used to be even larger, going up to the superior terrace (where the famous photo spot of Machu Picchu is), but that’s not the case anymore. To see most of Machu Picchu, you have to get Circuit 1 + Circuit 2 tickets. 

You can definitely get two or more tickets for the same day, with different entry times, to go on different routes and see most of the citadel. In fact, that’s what a lot of tourists do nowadays. And that’s what I did when I visited Machu Picchu. 

Some circuits offer routes with access at one of the three mountains that surround Machu Picchu – Machu Picchu mountain, Wayna Picchu (Huayna Picchu) or Huchuypicchu. 

But I don’t recommend getting one of these tickets with mountain access if you can’t hike. You can get these tickets if they are the only tickets available, but usually, these tickets with mountain access sell out the fastest. 

For instance, I did the Wayna Picchu hike, and I recommend it if you truly want to see the best view of Machu Picchu.

But that’s the most sought-after ticket at Machu Picchu, and you have to carefully plan your trip and buy those tickets months in advance. Also, going up the Wayna Picchu mountain involves a medium-level hike, so it might not be for everyone. 

What ticket to get if you want the classic tour of Machu Picchu

Get the Circuit 1 D ticket, which is the route that includes access to the Inca bridge and the famous photo spot (upper terrace).

These are limited tickets, but they are very popular and offer gorgeous panoramic views of Machu Picchu and the surrounding mountains. It requires a bit of physical effort, but nothing too crazy, and can be done by almost everyone. 

Then, if you really want to see the temples and most parts of Machu Picchu, get a second ticket, 3 hours after the first one, for Circuit 2 B. 

What ticket to get if you want to see more of Machu Picchu

Get a morning ticket for one of the mountains around Machu Picchu. 

The one I recommend the most and that gets a lot of attention is Wayna Picchu (Huayna Picchu), which has the Stairs of Death and offers the best view of Machu Picchu and the entire area. 

Wayna Picchu is considerably higher than Machu Picchu, and the peak sits at 2,693 meters (8,835 feet). It might not seem like a lot, but Machu Picchu’s altitude is only 2,430 meters (7,972 feet). Please check my guide for hiking Wayna Picchu before deciding if this is something you wanna do.

Access to this mountain is limited to only 400 tickets per day, and the entry timeslot is very strict. The hike should take about 3 hours. Buy these two months or more in advance. 

After the hike, relax a bit and then get a second Machu Picchu ticket for the afternoon.

Leave a 1-hour break between the two tickets (from the exit time of the first and the entry time for the second) to get a snack at the Snack Bar at the entry (you’ll get hungry). 

Get the second ticket for either Circuit 1 D (panoramic view + Inka Bridge) or Circuit 2 B if you want to see more of Machu Picchu and don’t want to get to the popular photo spot. 

Tours Machu Picchu

Can you visit Machu Picchu without a guide? YES. 

Many travel agents and tour agencies say that you need a guide to visit Machu Picchu, but that’s simply not true. I visited Machu Picchu without a guide, and a lot of people do that. 

In fact, you don’t even need to book a guide online for Machu Picchu (those are the most expensive). If you decide on the spot that you want a guide, you’ll find one to hire right there at the entrance. 

Many choose to visit Machu Picchu with a guide because there’s no explanation inside. 

In fact, the Incas didn’t leave any written testaments, so most of the information about them and about Machu Picchu is speculation. 

So, the stories of the guides are more about details to observe and speculative history. Some people like that, while others might not find great value in that. 

To be honest, I didn’t hire a guide for Machu Picchu, but it was okay. 

The little information there is about this place can be found online, and that’s what guides will tell you anyway. 

The options for the guide are to either join a group and follow the group along for a visit, get a private tour, which might be better but more expensive, or hire a guide at the entrance, and you can maybe negotiate the price and have a guide just for yourself. 

This might be a good idea if you’re travelling to Machu Picchu and want someone to take your picture. 

But if you don’t want to be bothered with any of these, like buying tickets for Machu Picchu or organising the transport from Cusco to Aqua Calientes, then you can book a tour that does all this for you. It will not be cheap, but it will be convenient.

I like to think of myself as a DIY kind of traveller, so I didn’t take the tour or the classic train ride to MP, but instead drove all around the mountains, to Hidroelectrica train stop, which is the stop after Aqua Calientes, and then hiked back for 3 hours on the train tracks to reach Agua Calientes. Just like locals do it.

This is the only way to drive to Machu Picchu if that’s what you want to do.