My first attempt getting to Machupicchu was a lesson in what NOT to do. I went into the Cusco ticket office expecting to pay for the reservations I had made online, only to find out my reservations “no existo!” Not only that, but I learned that all the time slots were booked which meant a several hundred dollars worth of train tickets and hotels I had booked for my family weren’t worth a hill of beans.
As you might imagine I was a BIT frustrated. In fact, the more blogs I read on the subject, the more convinced I was that I didn’t want to try my luck again. Too bureaucratic. Too hard. Lucky for us (and for you since you’ve found this blog post) my older son Tre really wanted to go, and asked if we could do it for his birthday present. We’re so glad that we did eventually make it happen!
Now that we have, I’m going to break this down for you in a few easy steps. I’ll also cover some of the traps we fell into so you don’t have to make any of the mistakes we did:
How to Plan Effectively for Machupicchu Trip
- Decide on the circuit (route) for visiting Machupicchu
- Figure out how you’ll get up the mountain to the entrance of Machupicchu
- Determine how you want to get to Aguas Calientes (city at the foot of Machupicchu)
- Take steps to acclimatize to the high altitude
1. Decide on the circuit (route) for visiting Machupicchu
To start with, there are four circuits (routes) you can choose from that will take you around and/or into the citadel of Machupicchu. I don’t want to risk giving you stale information so I’d recommend checking out the official Machupicchu site here for more details on each of the routes.
We chose circuit two, which is apparently the most popular, because it provides numerous vantage points for viewing and photography and takes you into the citadel itself where you can inspect the ruins up close. I’d recommend choosing your circuit based on the time you have and what you hope to see.
If you do choose circuit two, I ask that you help me convey some choice words to a certain Llama there, who chose to unexpectedly, and quite rudely spit a wad of fresh cud in my face! Fortunately I caught the whole thing on film. Check out the wad of spit on my earlobe. It was all over my shirt too.. Smelled like spit and butt! Please watch it so you can identify her 🙂
After you’ve seen what you’re getting into you can buy your tickets on the official site ($40-53 USD for adults), but I have TWO WARNINGS for you:
Credit Card Payments
For some reason the Machupicchu site wouldn’t accept any of our credit cards even though we’ve used these cards for thousands of transactions all over the world. The website detected the errors and instead gave us a reservation that we could pay for in cash at the Culture of Ministry office in Cusco. What we didn’t realize at the time our “reservation” was good for up to five hours after issue.
If you don’t show up with cash in this five hour time window, your slot is returned to the pool. So, only use this option if you happen to be in or are heading to Cusco at the time of making your reservation.
Ticket availability
You may find that your desired timeframe just isn’t available. Don’t worry. All is NOT LOST. The Ministry of Culture ticket office in Aguas Calientes (city at the base of Machupicchu) releases 1,000 tickets per day that are only available in person. So, you could make the trek to Aguas Calientes during your chosen timeframe and plan to pick up tickets for the next day.
Plan to arrive at the ticket office early to get the best time slots; the Ministry is open from 3-10pm every day. I would expect that you will have no problem getting tickets unless you are there during the summer in when tourism is at its peak. Oh, and be sure and bring your passport(s) or they will not sell you tickets! It wouldn’t hurt to give yourself a couple days buffer to be sure you can get a ticket.
2. Figure out how you’ll get up the mountain to the entrance of Machupicchu
Take the bus to Machupicchu
From Aguas Calientes, there are two ways you can get to the entrance of MachuPicchu. You can hike or you can take a bus. The bus ride is about 45 minutes, taking a winding path from waiting areas outside the market square up to the entrance of MachuPicchu. You can reserve a bus ride online or at the Bus Ticket Office, just a minute’s walk from the Ministry of Culture.
I went in the morning of our Machupicchu trip to buy our bus ticket. I didn’t have our passports with me so I had to walk all the way back up the hill to retrieve them. Thankfully, that bag happened to have our MachuPicchu tickets because they would not have sold the bus tickets to me without them 😅.
Now, I’ll admit that my Spanish isn’t perfect, but I’m very certain (because I clarified 3 times somewhat disbelieving what I was hearing) that the guide told me that I had to be at the bus by 9am or we would not be permitted entry into Machupicchu. My family were all still in bed at this point, so I called Jenn and said “you guys have to be ready and down here in 20 minutes or we’re not getting in.”
Twenty minutes later my sweaty and frustrated family arrived at the bus stop only to realize that you can only take the bus 1 hour before the time of your Macchupicchu tickets (not earlier and not later, so don’t miss it!). Also, since the bus ride is 45 minutes you’ll have to wait 15 minutes at the gate of MachuPicchu before they allow you entry. I hope you are getting the sense that they VERY strictly control access to the site, from the ticket purchasing options, to getting there, entry and exit!
Hike to the entrance of Machupicchu
The other option is to hike to the entry of MachuPicchu (see path to the right of the road in the below picture). We chose to take the bus up and then hike down. They have a very well defined stone stairway all the way down, that cuts through the jungle and the windy bus path.
Hiking might be your jam, but let me tell you, we chose to take the bus up and hike down. Even though it was downhill it left our legs feeling pretty wobbly! I don’t know how long it will take you to hike up, but the stairs are many and the hike is steep. I would, expect, with breaks, it could take a couple hours except for perhaps the more seasoned hikers.
Determine how you want to get to Aguas Calientes (city at the foot of Machupicchu)
You cannot drive to MachuPicchu. Your options are to take a train, hike the Inka trail (3-9 days), or to take a bus to a drop-off point and a 3 hour hike to MachuPicchu.
Hiking from Hidroelectrica
We chose to take a bus (S/ 50 or $13 USD per person) to a drop-off point called Hidroelectrica and do a 3 hour hike to Aguas Calientes which sits at the base of MachuPicchu. If you want to book a bus to Hidroelectrica, you can message me using the contact form and I’ll send you the contact info for the bus coordinator we used.
She really went above and beyond to ensure I had all the information I needed to feel comfortable about the trip as well as making it a point to meet me along the return route and thank us for our business.
Just be aware that there is constant construction going on in Peru. As a result, our trip there was quite hair raising. A construction detour meant we had to take some crazy hairpin turns along the side of the mountain. At one point, twenty passengers were asked to get out of the bus so the driver could make a turn without the added weight! That said, our ride back didn’t require the detour and it was quite smooth.
The hike itself is pretty flat. That said, there are points near the beginning and at the end that will require you to hike up stairs and then up to the city of Aguas Calientes. There is a fair amount of tree cover along the way. The weather fluctuates by the hour and can range from sunny to breezy, to rainy, or foggy so if you’re doing the hike you’ll want to bring layers and a pancho. If you push it, like we did on the way there you can make it in 2 hours. Walking casually, it will range from 3-4 hours.
There is a restaurant option before you take off on the hike as well as a few eating and snack options 5-10 minutes in. And there are refreshment options along the way. Be sure and bring your passports for the checkpoints that exist along the hike. The hike itself loosely follows the train track and the river between Hidroelectrica and Aguas Calientes.
Taking the IncaRail to Machupicchu
If you’re not up for hiking, you can always book a train ride on the IncaRail from Cusco (5 hrs) or Ollantaytambo (2 hours) to Aguas Calientes. There are many times and packages available.
Hiking the Incan Trails
The third and final option for getting to Machupicchu is to hike the Incan Trails! You can pick your poison ranging from 3-9 days. We didn’t chose this option so I’m not going to pretend to advise you on ways you can best do that. There are tons of blogs on this topic so I’ll leave it to you to find one that will get you there. Afterall, you found this post so you’re clearly very good at finding top quality information 🙂
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