Machu Picchu's entry ticket names a route, and the route decides what you see. Since 1 June 2024, the Ministry of Culture has organised the Inka city into 3 circuits grouping 10 routes, replacing the 5 circuits set in 2021, under Ministerial Resolution 528-2023-MC. You do not wander freely and choose on the day: the code of conduct forbids straying from the established circuits and routes. Picking the ticket is really picking the walk.
The site is managed this way because it is both heritage and a fragile mountain landscape. UNESCO inscribed the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu in 1983 as a mixed cultural and natural site covering 38,160.87 hectares, and its documentation says rising visitor numbers "must be matched by an adequate management regulating access". Circuits spread people along one-way paths; the daily cap limits how many enter at all.
How do the three circuits and ten routes differ?
The circuit tells you roughly which part of the llaqta you walk through; the route letter adds the specific path or extra climb. The names below are the official ones from the Cusco culture office's circuits page.
| Circuit | Route | Name | When available |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Panorámico | 1-A | Montaña Machupicchu | All year |
| 1 Panorámico | 1-B | Terraza Superior | All year |
| 1 Panorámico | 1-C | Portada Intipunku | High season only |
| 1 Panorámico | 1-D | Puente Inka | High season only |
| 2 Machupicchu Clásico | 2-A | Ruta diseñada | All year |
| 2 Machupicchu Clásico | 2-B | Terraza Inferior | All year |
| 3 Machupicchu Realeza | 3-A | Montaña Waynapicchu | All year |
| 3 Machupicchu Realeza | 3-B | Ruta diseñada | All year |
| 3 Machupicchu Realeza | 3-C | Gran Caverna | High season only |
| 3 Machupicchu Realeza | 3-D | Huchuypicchu | High season only |
Three practical readings of that table:
- The two mountains sit in different circuits. Machupicchu Mountain is route 1-A; Waynapicchu (often spelled Huayna Picchu) is route 3-A. They are separate tickets, not add-ons you can swap on the day.
- Four routes exist only in high season. If your date falls outside it, 1-C, 1-D, 3-C and 3-D will not be offered.
- Old ticket names still circulate. When the change came in, the Cusco office published equivalences: holders of the old circuit 4 Waynapicchu ticket moved to route 3-A, and old circuits 1 and 2 mapped to 2-A, 2-B or 3-B. If a tour description still says "circuit 4", ask which current route it means.
The official site also has pages for visiting hours by route and for the capacity of each circuit, but both are published as images we could not read. Check the entry time and route capacity shown in Tu Boleto when you choose.
What do the daily caps mean for booking?
The cap applies to the whole llaqta. The Cusco culture office confirmed on 22 September 2026 that it remains 5,600 visitors a day in high season and 4,500 in low season. PeruRail's ticket guide lists the 2026 high-season dates as 1 January, 2 to 5 April, 19 June to 2 November, and 30 to 31 December; we could not open the resolution itself, so confirm the date in Tu Boleto.
Demand arrives in waves when sales open. In one week, 13 to 20 January 2025, the ministry sold 150,037 tickets for visits between February and July 2025, bringing in S/ 20,188,320.02. That is an average of about S/ 134.56 per ticket (20,188,320.02 ÷ 150,037), across all visitor categories and routes, so it is not the price any single visitor pays. It does show that months of capacity can be committed within days.
How does buying work since September 2026?
Until September 2026, a ticket could be held with a three-hour reservation before payment. On 11 September 2026 the ministries of Culture and Tourism announced the change after an audit of reservations made by eight companies: of 209,051 reservation operations, 131,626 (62.96%) were cancelled and only 73,956 (35.38%) ended in payment. Held-then-dropped reservations were keeping tickets off sale.
The new sequence, in the ministry's words, is ticket available, payment confirmed, ticket assigned, ticket issued. It began as a 30-day trial ("marcha blanca") on 22 September 2026, so details may be adjusted before late October.
The promotional prices published by the ministry apply only to Peruvians, foreign residents of Peru and citizens of Andean Community (CAN) countries. Under Ministerial Resolution 000284-2025-MC, for 2026 they pay S/ 112 for routes 1-A, 3-A and 3-C, and S/ 64 for the other seven routes, with S/ 80 or S/ 32 for students and children aged 3 to 17; under-3s enter free with an adult. The official pages we could read did not publish the rate for non-resident foreign visitors. PeruRail's guide lists USD 60 for foreign adults, USD 35 for students and USD 21 for children aged 3 to 17, and says dates are fixed with no changes. Treat the price shown at checkout as the authority.
Tickets in Machupicchu Pueblo
The ministry sells 1,000 tickets a day in person at the Cusco culture office's ticket window in Machupicchu Pueblo, the town below the site. They are valid for entry the day after purchase, and the page links a live counter at tuboleto.cultura.pe/disponibilidad/llaqta_machupicchu. This is a fallback that costs you an extra night in town and does not let you choose a sold-out route, not a plan A.
What the ticket does not let you bring
The code of conduct is enforced by the ministry's park guards and the National Police, and breaking it means expulsion without a refund. The rules that most often affect packing:
- No backpack, bag or purse larger than 40 x 35 x 20 cm (16 x 14 x 8 in).
- No food or kitchenware, including thermoses.
- No umbrellas, walking sticks, tripods, monopods or selfie sticks.
- No heels or hard-sole shoes.
- No smoking or vaping.
What could change next
The daily cap is being reviewed. In mid-September 2026 specialists from A.R.S. Progetti S.p.A. completed fieldwork for a new carrying-capacity study for the ministry, aiming at "adaptive management based on indicators". No date or figure for any new cap has been announced.
Before you commit, check three things in Tu Boleto on the day you buy: that your date is in the season you expect (it decides whether 1-C, 1-D, 3-C and 3-D exist), that the route you want still has places at an entry time your train can meet, and that the name matches your passport exactly. If you are still planning how to reach Cusco, our Lima to Cusco guide covers the flight, the bus and the altitude.