Visit to Machu Picchu 2023

Ahhh, Machu Picchu! It is obviously the symbol of Peru and the Inca civilization! It simply means "old mountain" in Quechua. It is so well preserved because never discovered by the conquistadors! It is clearly a little nugget that we wish you to visit one day!

It's finally here we are! We have been waiting for this moment with so much anticipation! Discovering Machu Picchu was a real dream for us! And we were not disappointed! A real crush for us! A little nugget, a rough diamond, an atmosphere, a place, a magical moment!

But as you must know Machu Picchu is one of the 7 wonders of the world. And necessarily visiting this coveted and magical place is expensive, very expensive! It can quite simply make you explode the budget initially planned! So to help you and not to give up discovering this beauty, we give you our tips and good plans to avoid paying a fortune for this trip to one of the most beautiful places in the world.

First: Buy your ticket (the grail) for Machu Picchu

The different entry Machu Picchu tickets

To get to Machu Picchu, you will need to have an entrance ticket! And you will need to have it before you go there! It is impossible to buy them in Machu Picchu! And beware, the government has limited access to 5000 tourists per day for the preservation of the site! 2500 in the morning and 2500 in the afternoon! It is still better to take your ticket in advance (mainly in high season)! We had taken it 3 days before!

There are 3 tickets to discover Machu Picchu, the choice is yours:

The ticket simple:

It gives you access to the entire Machu Picchu site! You must then decide whether you want to visit the site in the morning (6 a.m. - 12 p.m.) or in the afternoon (12 p.m. - 5 p.m.)! As we told you just before, quotas have been established in order to preserve the site.

• Price: 152 sol/pers (= 40 USD)
• Choice of times: Morning (6 a.m. - 12 p.m.) or afternoon (12 p.m. - 5 p.m.)

The single entry ticket + access to Wayna Picchu:

It is quite simply the mountain (2700 meters above sea level) that we see behind all the photos of Machu Picchu! Climbing this mountain is still very physical! There are quite complicated passages!

If you are motivated then go for it, you will have a rather exceptional view of Machu Picchu and its surrounding mountains! On the other hand, if you have vertigo, we do not recommend it! It may not be a real pleasure for you! The round trip takes about 2 hours and you pass through many archaeological sites.

The single entry ticket + access to Montana (or the Machu Picchu mountain):

Be careful for this ticket, you will have to book well in advance because it is very popular (only 400 places per day)! In addition, you will be part of the morning group obligatorily!

• Price: 200 sol/pers (= 53 USD)
• Choice of hours: Morning mandatory: 7 a.m. - 8 a.m. or 10 a.m. - 11 a.m.
• Duration of the hike: about 2h (physical)

Be careful when you buy one of these 3 tickets, you must determine the time you will visit (morning or afternoon for the single ticket and the morning time slot for the mountain climb)! After the time you have chosen, you will no longer be able to go there and access will be refused!

Where to buy your ticket:

➳ Online:

Attention, there is only one official website where you can buy your tickets for Machu Picchu: machupicchu.gob.pe. We admit that we tried to buy them online and honestly it was too difficult!

➳ In Cuzco:

Dirección de la Cultura Cuzco which is located right in the center on Avenida de La Cultura 220. Hours: 7 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Palacio Inka de Kusicancha which is located Calle Maruri 340, Hours: Monday to Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Casa Garcilaso (in front of Plaza Regocijo) Opening hours: Monday to Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

➳ In Agua Calientes:

Centro cultural on Avenida Pachacutec Opening hours: Monday to Sunday from 3:20 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.

How to get to Machu Picchu?

Machu Picchu is located, as you must certainly know, in the mountains of southern Peru! And the city from which the excursions depart is quite simply Cuzco! Your starting point will therefore be Cuzco!

So you should know that to visit to Machu Picchu, you will have to go (from Cuzco) to the small village which is 400 meters below Machu Picchu: Agua Calientes! And you should also know that this small village is only accessible by train or on foot! Impossible to get there by car or otherwise!

You will then have several options for getting to Agua Calientes (Machu Picchu) from Cuzco:

➳ On foot:

Thanks to the Inca Trail trek over several days (it is very expensive! Price: from 220 USD  to 350 USD) There are also other treks such as the Salkantay Trek or the Inca Jungle Trail. This solution must be crazy but apparently too many tourists imprint this trek! It is also the most expensive solution!

➳ By train (with PeruRail, IncaRail):

You can do the round trip to Machu Picchu in one day from Cuzco (Poroy station, about 20 min from Cuzco) - Agua Calientes.

•   Travel time: 3h
•   Price: between USD 70 and USD 350 one way!

➳ By Bus (with a bit of a walk):

The most economical but you need at least 2 days!

Here we are of course talking to you about this most economical solution: the BUS!

Bus trip from Cuzco to Agua Calientes (Machu Picchu):

You will still have 2 options:

1st option (which we find very complicated):

✧ Cuzco - Santa Maria: take a collectivo for 5 hours from the Santiago bus terminal.

•   Price: 15 sol/pers (=4 USD) or by bus 30sol/pers (=8 USD)
•   Travel time: 5h

✧ Santa Maria - Santa Teresa: take a collectivo for 2 hours.

• Price: 6 sol/pers (=1.5 USD) or 10 sol/pers (=2.6) for a shared taxi
• Travel time: 2h

✧ Santa Teresa - Hidroelectrica Take a taxi for 20 min.

• Price: 6sol/pers (=1.5 USD)
• Travel time: 20min

✧ Hidroelectrica - Aguas Calientes (10 km): 

You can take the train (but it won't save you money (about 27 USD/pers one way) or walk along the rails! Everyone does it and you won't be We reassure you, and it's very fast, you'll have about 2 hours with just crazy landscapes!

•   Travel time: 2h

2nd option (the one we chose):

✧ Cuzco - Hidroelectrica: We booked with a travel agency (Inca Trail Machu) a direct trip from Cuzco to Hydroelectrica for 60 sol/pers (=16 USD) (negotiated) round trip! They pick you up at your hotel early in the morning (around 8am) and drop you off at Hydroelectrica (around 3pm). You even pass by a small restaurant which is included in your price!

For the return: he gives you a meeting time at the same place for the next day (or if you wish, the day after tomorrow!).

We warn you all the same, the road is still quite freaking out! There is a hell of a ravine right next to it!

• Return price: 60 sol/pers (=16 USD)
• Travel time: 7h

✧ Hidroelectrica-Aguas Calientes (10 km): You can take the train (but it won't save you money (about 27 USD/pers one way) or walk along the tracks! Everyone does it and you won't be lost we reassure you! And then it's very fast you will have it for about 2 hours with just crazy landscapes! We really loved doing this little hike and I can assure you it's 90% of the dish! And we reassure you the bus drops you around 3 p.m. at Hydroelectrica, you have plenty of time to walk to Aguas Calientes

The discovery of Machu Picchu

To be honest, there are no words! It's a bit like when you are falling asleep and there you have the impression that all of a sudden you are falling from very, very high! Well you see that was it!

So yes I had seen it thousands of times in photos, on video but when I saw it in real life, the emotion that this beauty gave me is indescribable! An emotion that I did not know!

For me an unforgettable and immeasurable memory. Some will say it's too much, others will understand me but this moment is engraved in me forever!

We spent a lot of time just watching it! We were lucky enough to see the rays of the sun gradually take over Machu Picchu. We arrived almost at the opening of the site, there was no one and the sun was rising on this marvel.

We then took the time to discover the interior by walking around the site itself! It seems that the site will soon be prohibited to tourists! You will only be able to access the bridges above to be able to observe it! I think that even if it's a shame, it's a good thing for the preservation of the site! All these daily tourists who trample must necessarily alter it! And I think that preserving this magnificent place is a priority!

So we took advantage of this nugget all morning again and again! We didn't want to leave! And then, we still made the way back with stars in our eyes!

✦ Small recommendations:

• Machu Picchu opens at 6 a.m. and closes at 5:30 p.m.
• You are not allowed to eat on the site!
• It is impossible to take bags of more than 20L to Machu Picchu
• Since 2017, it is normally mandatory to have a guide to visit Machu Picchu! But the government cannot impose this rule! We were there in July 2018 and we absolutely did not have to take a guide!
• ou can have your passport stamped at the exit of Machu Picchu with a nice stamp bearing his image! Cool memory!

This budget is really very tight! And I think he is very physical! Sleeping in a campsite is not necessarily recommended and the Cuzco - Aguas Calientes journey is really very long if you choose this option! We share below our budget:

Our budget

• Entrance to the site: 152 sol/pers (= 40 USD)
• Round trip to Cuzco: 60 sol/pers (=16 USD)
• Night l in Aguas Calienetes: 52 sol/pers (=14 USD)
• Aguas Calientes - Machu Picchu: on foot
• Train Tickets USD$ 145.00

It is a small budget that remains accessible to all in terms of trips and hotel nights! We have of course paid attention to our budget but not from there to neglect our comfort and our hunger! We slept very well in Aguas Calientes and we did not exhaust ourselves in transport looking for 1000 taxis! If we had to do it again, we would do the same! Even if we admit that the Aguas Calientes - Cuzco train is really tempting when you come down from Machu Picchu!