New 2023 Machu Picchu Info
Please note: Machu Picchu reopened February 15
2023 started out very rough in Peru and Machu Picchu was closed from January 21 to February 14. If you want to read about why this happened, check out this Washington Post article from January 26, 2023 about the people who closed Machu Picchu.
Plaza de Los Templos, where you can see the Templo de Tres Ventanas and Chakana (above) is only accessible on Circuit 2.
Machu Picchu has become so popular, that the Peruvian government is constantly modifying regulations and creating new ones. If you want to visit the citadel, you must buy tickets well in advance.
The name Machu Picchu has been used for at least a hundred years by the Quechua people who live in the area. It is unlikely that the Inca ever used this name for the archeological site that we visit today. Along with uncountable amounts of Inca history and culture, the original name of Machu Picchu was lost to the destruction of colonization. The Spanish never saw Machu Picchu, so no European chroniclers ever wrote anything about it. Note: You should pronounce both C’s in the Quechua word picchu: peek-chew.
In 1911, Hiram Bingham, a Yale professor who was looking for the “lost” Inca city Vilcabamba, was led to Machu Picchu by a local family that farmed the terraces. He visited for about an hour but took enough photos to later interest National Geographic in sponsoring an expedition to fully explore and document the ruins. Since National Geographic devoted the entire April 1913 issue to Machu Picchu, the popularity has only grown. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983 and a New Wonder of the Wold in 2007. Every year the restrictions get tighter and the list of rules longer.
As of 2023, only 190 tickets are sold per hour from 6am to 1pm with 194 available at 2pm to bring the total to 1,714 people per day. You should always check the current regulations on the official government website.
The Condor is one of the most important parts of Machu Picchu, but it is currently only accessible on Circuit 4 from 10am-1pm.
Five New Circuits
New in 2022, the government created five different circuits through the archeological site to reduce the crowds in the most popular parts of the citadel. You can see the maps for each of the circuits at the bottom of this blog or download them from the official Machu Picchu website here. If you visit only Machu Picchu the citadel, you can choose circuits 1-4. You can only do circuit 5 if you hike all or part of the Inca Trail. All circuits are one way and site guards do not let you backtrack or spend a lot of time at any one place.
The Temple of the Sun is one of the few places that is accessible from every circuit. However, circuits 1 & 2 have a view point higher and a bit farther away than the access point for circuits 3-5. You must be an archeologist like the ones pictured above to actually enter the temple.
Huayna Picchu
Huayna Picchu has been the most popular extra hike since people started seeking out walks from the citadel. Huayna means young in Quechua, which refers to it being smaller than Machu Picchu Mountain. It’s the most popular because of the view of the citadel from the top and also for the ruins along the trail. There is also a cave around the back of the peak with a Moon Temple and other ruins.
You must be comfortable with heights, steep drop offs and a lot of exposure. There are hand rails on some parts of the trail, but probably not everywhere you’d want one. You’ll be allowed to do only Circuit 4 through the ruins if you choose to hike Huayna Picchu. Starting in 2023, tickets to Huayna Picchu are reduced from 400 to just 300 per day; 75 people may enter each hour between 7am and 10am. You can only buy tickets when you buy the ticket for Machu Picchu and it costs an extra s/50.
Huayna Picchu Gate
Make sure you are at this gate within an hour of the time on your ticket. If possible, be there exactly at the time printed on your ticket. They used to allow 200 people per time slot but with the new reduction to 75 people it shouldn’t feel so crowded.
Machu Picchu Mountain
Machu means old in Quechua, referring to this mountain being larger than Huayna Picchu. This is a longer hike than Huayna but in my opinion you get better views. My favorite photos of Machu Picchu have Huayna behind them, and you can only get that view from the citadel and from Machu Picchu Mountain.
If you hike up Machu Picchu Mountain, you’ll take Circuit 3 through the citadel. Just like Huayna Picchu, in 2023, entrance tickets to Machu Picchu Mountain were drastically reduced. Now only 100 people per day can hike up this larger mountain; 50 tickets are sold for 7 and 8 am, and 50 more between 8 and 9 am. They cost an extra s/50.
Huchuy Picchu
New in 2022, Huchuy Picchu is a small hill next to Huayna Picchu, on the left in this photo. Even though it does not cost any more than the regular Machu Picchu ticket, you must select this add-on when you purchase the ticket.
There are 30 tickets to Huchuy Picchu available each hour from 7 am to 10am. From 11am to 12pm there are 40 tickets per hour, for a total of 200 tickets per day. If you buy Huchuy Picchu tickets, you will do Circuit 4 through the citadel.
Read about Huchuy Picchu on this blog.
The Inca Bridge
This extra hike is only recently regulated, so please note that you do need to register for tickets now. It doesn’t cost any extra but you must choose this add on when you buy your Machu Picchu tickets. If you buy Inca Bridge tickets, you will do Circuit 1 or 2 through the citadel.
There are 30 tickets to the Inca Bridge available each hour from 7 am to 10am. From 11am to 2pm there are 40 tickets per hour, which makes 280 people per day.
The Sun Gate
Machu Picchu visitors used to be able to walk backwards up the last bit of the Inca Trail to the Sun Gate, called Inti Punku in Quechua. That is no longer allowed.
Machu Picchu Travel Tip
If you want to see everything and have the time and money, I recommend buying three tickets. Hear me out on this one. (Considering what you might pay in airfare, Machu Picchu tickets could be just a drop in the bucket). Since tickets sell out, I recommend buying all three at the same time.
The first ticket: Pay a Cusco tour operator that’s licensed for the Inca Trail to take you on the hike from KM104 and ask for to do the hike in the morning and visit Machu Picchu in the afternoon of the same day. Many agencies sell a two day Inca Trail where you visit Machu Picchu the next morning. Insist on the one day option - as long as you can hike fast. This gives you the experience of hiking the Inca Trail without the 14,000 foot pass on the second day of the full hike from KM82. (You’ll get to see Wiñay Wayne, which is my favorite Inca citadel along the full Inca Trail). When you arrive at Machu Picchu, you’ll hike Circuit 5 like everybody else who arrives on foot through the Sun Gate.
The second ticket: Stay the night in Aguas Calientes and make sure that the ticket you bought for the next morning is the earliest entrance so you can hike Huayna Picchu. You’ll have to buy months ahead to get the 7am ticket for Huayna Picchu. This will give you Circuit 4. You’ll want to exit the citadel after Huayna and either have lunch at the café by the entrance or have reservations for lunch at the Belmond, a 5 minute walk from the Machu Picchu entrance gate.
The third ticket: Buy another ticket for 11am or noon that same day and do Circuit 2. This will let you visit the Temple of the Condor as long as you get there before it closes at 1pm.
If you do circuits 2, 4 & 5, plus the last section of the Inca Trail that includes Wiñay Wayna, then you’ll have seen more than most people who write guidebooks about Machu Picchu.
For the record: I’ve visited 8 times and seen everything except hiking Huayna Picchu. I’ll do that on my 9th trip!
The Rules
The list of rules, or “prohibitions” as they’re called on the government website, gets longer every year. As of March, 2023, there are 25 prohibitions. The list below is copied from the government website. Check the English version of that page here. (Llaqta is the Quecha word for town and the word that the government uses for the citadel).
During your visit to the llaqta of Machupicchu It is prohibited to:
1. Carry backpacks, bags or purses larger than 40x35x20 cm (16x14x8 inches).
2. Enter with food or kitchenware, i.e. plates, cutlery, thermoses, etc.
3. Enter with any illegal substance or to be under the influence of any substance.
4. Enter with any type of alcohol or under the influence.
5. Enter with umbrellas, walking sticks, portable chairs, tripods, monopods, selfie sticks or other photography/film stabilization accessories.
6. Enter with animals, except guide dogs.
7. Feed domestic or wild animals
8. Enter with any type of aerosol.
9. Deface, alter or leave any type of graffiti.
10. Enter with any type of musical instrument, megaphone or speakers.
11. Make loud or disturbing noises (scream, whistle, clap, sing, etc).
12. Use virtual apps in narrow paths or outside designated explanation areas
13. Enter with heels or hard-sole shoes.
14. Access with baby strollers.
15. Enter with knifes or Weapons of any kind.
16. Enter with banners, posters, or other objects of this type, clothing intended for advertising purposes, costumes, among others. Film or photograph for advertising purposes.
17. Generate turmoil, undress, lie down, run and/or jump.
18. Climb or lean on walls and/or structures. Touch, extract or move lithic elements such as rocks and stonework.
19. Disturb, collect or remove flora or fauna.
20. Carry out activities that distort the sacredness of the monument; such as fashion shows, dances, social commitments, obscene acts contrary to morality and good manners, perform any kind of activity that implies the impairment or deterioration of the monument, its natural environment and/or facilities.
21. Smoke or vape, or start a fire of any kind.
22. Litter.
23. Stray from the established circuits/routes.
24. Sell or trade inside the monument and surrounding areas, until Puente Ruinas.
25. Fly over with paragliders, drones or any type of craft.
Performing acts or entering with objects prohibited in this list will generate the immediate expulsion of the visitor without reimbursement and the start of legal actions if necessary. The park guards of the Ministry of Culture and the agents of the National Police are the authority within the monument premises.
