Peru
Tickets can be bought online, in Cuzco or in Aguas Calientes. 155 Sol, students : 77 soles. Ticket office in Cuzco not open on Sundays. Train from hydroelectrica leaves at 7.54, 15.00 and 16.35 and costs a shocking $29,- dollars for the 30-minute ride. Left the car at Santa Teresa for 10soles/night. Walking from hydroelectrica is free, beautiful and takes 2,5 hours. Bus from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu is another $24,- dollars per person and they run till 17.30 in the afternoon.
The afternoon was quieter and still (or even more) beautiful in our opinion. Extremely touristy, of course, and even more extreme when it comes to prices, but the beautiful backdoor made it absolutely worth it for us!
The best circle with postcard view is circle 1 and 2.
We don't have any photos of this place yet.
Why? By checking in after you’ve visited a place you let others know this place is still functional. You can also add or correct any information.
In Aguas Calientes there are always enough tickets for the next day. All you have to do is go to the ticket office and get a number. In the afternoon at 3 p.m. the long queue begins and the queue is sorted by number on the main square (therefore an early number is worthwhile). Then the entire people mass goes in and buys the ticket one after the other. We can highly recommend an afternoon slot. Then all the tourists from Cusco are gone again and you don't have to get up at midnight 😂 And the clouds are gone. We strolled past the ticket office again tonight and there would still be all the circles for tomorrow, even without queuing.
Oh yes, we recommend Circle 2. And it's not as strict on site as you read on the net. Water bottles, food, backpack etc. were no problem at all. Toilets are only in front of the entrance (2 Sol). Be sure to bring bug spray and sunscreen and Water!
Report Check-InI got here by public cars/collectivos.
Cusco (there's many on avenida Antonio Lorena near terminal UTRASIC) to Santa Maria - 50 soles
Car to Santa Teresa - 15 soles
Car to Hydroelectrica - 8 soles
A bit more expensive and takes more time than what if think you can get from a tour operator driving lots of tourists in a big van (heard about it being 60 soles directly to hydro). The ride itself along the mountains is a marvel by itself, and i think you get much less freedom to look around in the van. Always pick a seat to the left of the vehicle coming from Cusco on all stretches to hydro. The views along the road are phenomenal!! The walk from hydroelectrica is amazing too!
Tickets for Machu Picchu can be purchased near the main square in aguas calientes. When I was there today in the afternoon all circuits and climbs to the mountain (that costs extra) were available for tomorrow.
Report Check-InWe had almost no tourists that time due to off season + political issues in the country. In the morning the ticket counter showed 108 of 1000. It was not needed to book in advance and all tickets for all timeslots were available.
The place is beautiful - however we couldn't imagine to visit this place with the usual amount of tourists. So if you can, you should go now for a very rare situation with almost no people.
Because of the mystical and silence atmosphare we would recommend the first 6 o'clock slot and the Circuito 2.
Report Check-InWe booked the 6:00am entrance ticket with access to Montaña Machu Picchu at 7:00am. Because you get 1 re-entry booking this way, we took pictures of the site when it was mostly empty, explored a bit, and came back later again after our hike. Follow recommendations made here by others so you maximize your time and see it all. This is truly an incredible and magical site. We spent 2.5 hours up and down Montaña MP, and another 2.5 hours at the ruins. The earlier you go, the better, in our opinion. You can hike to the park entrance from Aguas Calientes, or take the bus.
Report Check-InPlease note, that they developed a one-way walking system. After the entrance keep left (upwards) to the terraces, from which you have the famous views. From here you can also walk to Incas Bridge (nice views down to Hydroelectrica) and to the Sun Gate. But notice: After entering the town itself through the stone gate you are on a one-way-path. There is no chance of turning round and go up again, the guards are everywhere. You will have to leave the site without having a chance to go up to the terraces again to get another overview. Once you are outside, there is no possibility to re-enter, unless you booked one of the two mountains.
Opening hours for Intihuatana: from 7 to 10am
Opening Hours for the Temple of the Condor: 10am to 1pm.
Both are on the one-way-path, so no chance of going up to the terraces after visiting Intihuanta or the Temple of the Condor.
No toilets inside the site but while hiking to Incas Bridge or the Sun Gate, there are lots of opportunities in the bushes...😀
Report Check-InImpressive place to be (not only due to the amount of tourists you will meet). Be aware that you have your tickets printed and you have informed yourself about the site beforehand if you don’t want to pay a guided tour. There are no information signs at all when inside of Machu Picchu. The stairs and walk down to Aguascalientes are pretty easy in comparison to climbing them up and - no joke - for free! At the entrance/exit you can stamp your passport with a Machu Picchu stamp if you have any extra space left.
Report Check-InTickets for the after noon are cheaper but inside Machu Picchu you can access the pyramid only from 7am to 10am and the Condor’s temple from 10am to 13pm, and the Sun’s temple from 13pm to 16.
If you don’t take bus when you reached MP and prefer to take the stairs be aware that there are like 2000 steps (no joke) it takes 1h - 1h30 to climb them, quite physical (but doable after walking the 10km from hydroelectrica)
For a very good and cheap experience of Machu Picchu:
- Park your van in Parking Hidroelectrica
- Leave early in the morning, around 7am maximum
- Take the pedestrian way to Aguas Calientes (12km / 2h30)
- Buy the ticket the same day of your visit to be sure about the weather
- If you are or you was a student the last year, present your student card : -50% : 77 soles
- Choose the entrance in MP for 1pm or earlier (if it’s available)
- Climb the stairs around 1 hour and half before your entrance hour.
- Don’t forget to make the MP stamp for your passport, directly at the right of the top of the stairs.
- Enter in MP and enjoy during 4 hours. I recommend to visit first the Sun gate, and the Inca Bridge and after to finish with the city.
- After 4pm, there is not a lot of people, the light is incredible and you can feel the mystical atmosphere.
- Begin to go back and down around 5pm
- Be careful, the way back is very dark, you have to bring with you your headlights.
- Walk the 10km back till Hidroelectrica. (2hours)
It’s a very long and exhausting day, with around 35km to walk, but it’s just amazing and you will remember it forever.
Report Check-InI took a colectivo from outside the Mercado in Santa Teresa to Hydroelectrica (cost 5 soles) at 6am. After a 30min drive I started walking along the train tracks towards Aguas Calientes at 6:30am. I was virtually alone, it was a lovely, flat walk with zero inclines, so I can definitely recommend it if you have the time. It took me just over 2 hours to walk the 11kms to Aguas Calientes, which is tourist central. Full of restaurants and hotels and it's pricey. Morning tickets for Machu Picchu were sold out for the next week so I went for afternoon tickets, which were available for the same day. Cost 152 soles, only in cash, and you need your passport. I bought a ticket for my boyfriend (showing his passport) even though he wasn't present.
Report Check-InNo more half day or full day option only morning or afternoon tickets all at the same price. 158 soles for foreigners and you need passport. 62 soles for ecuatorianos, colombianos, bolivianos and peruanos and just need the ID. We bought the tickets same day in Aguas Calientes for the afternoon. We left the car at hydroelectrica at 7.30 am and had enough time to walk to Aguas Calientes, buy the tickets, walk up the trail to machupichu do the full visit including Puerta del sol and puente inca walk down the trail to Aguas Calientes and walk back to hydroelectrica.If you want to win some time, better to buy your tickets in advance so you don't need to walk to Aguas Calientes village and do the 30/45 minutes line to buy your tickets.
Report Check-InHere is how we did MP and recommend to others:
1. Spend the night in Santa Teresa (lots of hotel options) or camp out at Hydroelectrica (there is a parking lot shown on IOverlander that is a good choice).
2. In the morning, get to Hydroelectrica early and do the walk along the train tracks to Aguas Caliente. Plan on 3 hours and consider starting by 8.30am at the latest.
3. In Aguas Caliente, get lunch and then take the bus up to Machu Pichu. If you didn’t buy the ticket to MP before, you can buy it here. Half day ticket is $47 USD and same day is OK. Bus is $12 USD one way and takes 30 minutes.
4. Enjoy Machu Pichu from around noon to 5.30pm on a half day ticket. For us, it was enough — although you may decide to get another ticket for the next day.
5. Walk down the path from Machu Pichu towards Aguas Caliente (plan on 1 hour) and then follow the train back to Hidroelectrica (plan on 2.5 hours). Bring a headlight as it is pretty dark at that time.
6. Pick up your car at Hidroelectrica (or camp out there for the night).
Key tips:
- there are lots of places to get food and drinks along the train tracks on the way to MP, but most close on the way back
- our cost was about $60 pp for admission ticket and the bus up combined. It was well worth it at this price point.
- you can plan to stay an extra night in Aguas Caliente or Santa Teresa. Both have a ton of hotel options.
For a more tranquilo option, spend 2 nights in Aguas Calientes so you can be up at MP early, spend the entire day there and not have to rush back to Hydro (plus: hot shower after a sweaty day).
The stairs up from Aguas Calientes are rammed early morning. You can't walk up them any earlier than 5am so just join the hundreds of others in line. There are guards at the bottom checking your tickets and passports.
The best times at MP were between 6am - 8am and 3pm - 5pm (less people + better light for photos). Over lunch time there are so many tour groups clogging up the trails, maybe avoid and walk to Inca Bridge or Sun Gate (free) during this time. Or find a shady spot for lunch, even though you aren't allowed to eat there...
Montaña MP is well worth the (strenuous) hike up. If you can get tickets for the earlier 7am - 8am slot, after that the sun can get brutal and this way you miss the trail being too busy.
A guide is approx s/120 - 150 for a group of 2, or s/25 each in a group of 5. Tours are 2 hours long. Guides hang around outside the gate.
Most of the trails inside the complex are one way, so like a previous post said, you'll probably get stuck and have to exit if you want to go back to the top for 'the photo' - just ask the guards how to get back up there without exiting.
You can get your MP passport stamp just outside the gate at a temporary booth in carpark.
Note: there are no toilets inside the complex. You will have to exit, which you are theoretically only allowed to do once, the entire day !! ...maybe another reason to do one of the hikes.
Report Check-InMay be things have changed again. So here are the facts based on our experience from August 2017.
Busses are not overcrowded they are just filled properly so that everybody has a seat. According to the new rules there is a morning ticket from 6 til 12 and an afternoon ticket from noon til 6pm. But nobody controls the morning tickets again so you can stay the whole day.
When you enter there is no control on luggage. You can take everything in including food, drinks and walking sticks. Garbage you have to take out again yourself.
Carry sufficient sunscreen and insect repellent against the sandflies with you especially when wearing shorts and t-shirts.
Attention: The only toilets on Machu Picchu are in front of the entry gate.
Did it like Anja and Tobi from syncrox. all in all you walk around 30km (1200m up aswell) that day. the walk along the tracks is very relaxing and shady. The way up is harder, but you make good progress because of many stairs.
If you are in normal to good shape and not the biggest ruin-junky, we recommend to do it this way
Report Check-InMachu Picchu is amazing! There is only one problem - Peruvian employees. You will be stunned by what amount of power can somebody feel after receiving UNESCO/goverment T-Shirt and trousers. Here is the story from the very beginning: we left the car in Santa Teresa, at 2 a.m. took the taxi to hidroelectrica, walked two hours in the heavy rain to Puente de Ruinas. We arrived there around 5:30 a.m., there was already a long cue waiting there. We waited only few minutes until we got to the guy checking tickets, we showed hi! one adult and one student, the guy insisted on seeing the ISIC card, we explained him that ISIC card was detailed inspected in head office in Cusco, where we bought the tickets, he still insisted on seeing it, so we showed the card. This genius nr. 1 did not even check the back side of ISIC card with the validation stamp and let us in. Then we climbed up to the main gate, took us around 45 minutes, dozens of crowded buses passing by. We arrived to the main gate around 6:30 a.m., already a long cue waiting there. We had tickets for MP mountain at 7 a.m., but we were not to dissapointed to forget about it. After another serious front page only inspection of ISIC we were allowed to enter and in complete chaos immediately forced to put luggage into storage. You are not allowed to enter with food and drinks, so we would really love to see all these 200 lbs American athletes and flip flop + mirror raybans wearing local Peruvians making MP mountain and all the site visit without at least small amount of water. Still everybody enters with food and drinks so this is not a big deal. Now the one way only paths hell could begin. The problem is that the best picture spot is in the beginning of the circle, but od the weather is bad right in the morning and gets better later on, you will not be able to come back here. The super important feeling guards will not let you walk against one ways even if there is nobody walking at that very moment. You can easily touch the walls, feed lamas, break anything, eat, drink, throw away garbage, but you can never walk opposite to one way only paths. What you can do is to exit the site and reenter again with your ticket, which literally doubles the line at the entrance. When you finally get the pictures and exit the site for the second time, you go to the exit located luggage storage and ask for your luggage. Most likérky you will even not be surprised,when they tell you, that your luggage is at the entrance located storage, which clearly means reentering for the third time. After getting in for the third time and picking up your luggage you walk through the site with your luggage and finally exit (so what is the point of the storage then..?) Not to skip any information we should say we did not take any guide, so maybe having a guide could lead to avoidance of all of it. Still the site is truly amazing and you will enjoy that even with huge amount of visitors.
Report Check-InFor those who are stressed out with the organisation and the costs of Macchu Pichu - here is the "sober" way to do it: we camped/parked at hidroelectrica (see "Parking Hidroelectrica"), started walking from here to Aguas Calientes at 8 am (2,5 h) and bought the half day ticket (90 soles) there. We walked up to the ruins without taking the bus (75 min during sun at noon) and had then time up there from 1 pm to 5 pm which was enough for us. There were many people but it was not very crowded, it was fairly "tranquillo". At 5 pm we walked all the way back and returned to hidroelectrica at 8 pm. While walking back along the rail track it's dark, of course, but it's a quite easy stony path and there are no more trains running at this time. We even met a few people walking to Aguas Calientes, just don't forget good headlamps!
Needless to say, it was a very exhausting day, but doable with a bit of stamina! We enjoyed it a lot! Total costs: 97.5 soles pp (MP ticket + camping at hidroelectrica for 2 nights) :-)
Available only the normal tiket. Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu mountain are sold out until October!!
Report Check-Inthe 29 us for the train hydro-aguas calientes is one way.
the 24 us for the bus is return.
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considering the prices and amount of people going this way its not really a backdoor anymore but still a good choice.
along the railways are some restaurants and fruit/drink "shops".
Just a hint for the German speaking community:
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Report Check-InThe all famous Machu Pichu. Tickets can be bought online, in cuzco or in aguas calientes. 128 Sol, for after 13.00 the tickets cost only 90. Ticket office in cuzco not open on sundays. Train from hydroelectrica leaves at 7.54, 15.00 and 16.35 and costs a shocking $29,- dollars for the 30 minute ride. Left the car at Santa Teresa for 10soles/night. Walking from hydroelectrica is free, beautiful and takes 2,5 hours. Bus from aguas calientes to Machu picchu is another $24,- dollars per person and they run till 17.30 in the afternoon.
The afternoon was more quiet and still (or even more) beautifull in our opinion. Extremely touristy off course and even more extreme when it comes to prices, but the beautifull backdoor made it absolutely worth it for us!
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