Peru Travel Pt 2: How to Buy Machu Picchu Entrance Tickets

Peru Travel Pt 2: How to Buy Machu Picchu Entrance Tickets

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Almost all visitors to Peru plan on visiting Machu Picchu Archeological Complex, the famous Lost City of the Incas, yet it’s important to keep in mind that tickets are not available at the actual site, so travelers need to make their arrangements beforehand.

Waiting for the train in Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu Pueblo)There is an official government website, for tickets to Machu Picchu (http://www.machupicchu.gob.pe/), but you will find that it is almost exclusively used by travel agencies or by travelers already in Cusco, because the site does not currently accept credit card payments from other countries. After making an online reservation, one must take the printout to the Banco de la Nación (on Cusco’s main street, Avenida El Sol) or to MultiRed Agentes banks. Depending on the time you go (lunch hours are the worst) the wait could range from 30 to 60 minutes. Then, you can pay for the reservation with cash or credit card and a valid form of identification. Then you return to the website, click the Check-In section, and enter your reservation number to generate your tickets. You have a limited amount of time to confirm your pre-reservation with payment before it is lost.

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Pirwa Hostels’ guests often contact our travel department to ask for assistance obtaining Machu Picchu entrance tickets. Even if you’re not interested in contracting a full 2 day, 1 night trip to Machu Picchu with a guide, you can still ask for this service. With only a valid passport copy and payment through our secure online system, Pirwa Travel Service can purchase Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu tickets on your behalf. Or, you can pick and choose the services you require:

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  • transfers to/from the train station
  • bus tickets from Aguas Calientes to the archeological complex
  • lodging in Aguas Calientes
  • entrances
  • guided visits

If you would rather obtain your tickets independently, and don’t want to bother with the website, you can also buy Machu Picchu tickets at the DRC Offices in Cusco or in the main square of Aguas Calientes. In Cusco, the office is located a 15 minute walk from the Plaza de Armas, on Av La Cultura. You can ask for assistance in reception regarding how to find the office. On Mondays through Saturdays, the office is open from 8am-4pm, and on Sundays it opens from 5am to 10pm.

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For those of you looking for affordable lodging in Aguas Calientes (formally Machu Picchu Pueblo), the base town for those visiting the famous Inca citadel, Pirwa Hostels has two locations in town. Pirwa Machu Picchu Hostel offers a variety of shared dormitories with private or shared bath, or private rooms with private bath, while Pirwa Machu Picchu B&B offers exclusively private rooms. Both offer breakfast, although it’s a simple continental breakfast in the slightly more economical Pirwa Machu Picchu Hostel and an American breakfast in the B&B. No matter which of our locales you choose, we prefer to meet all of our guests at the Aguas Calientes train station to help them with their bags and to the hostel.

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