Real Time - In Person Ticket Sales at Machu Picchu

Beginning Monday, July 28, 2025, the Peru government launched a new page to show "real time" in-person ticket availability at Machu Picchu Cultural Center in the village of Aguas Calientes. This is the only way to track availability online for last-minute in person tickets to Machu Picchu. On the date the tickets are being sold, this page only shows the tickets available on the exact date of entry, which is typically the next day. However when excess travelers show up, tickets can sell out for more than 1 day in advance. There is no archives to view past sales.

Here's the link to the page that shows real-time ticket availability: https://tuboleto.cultura.pe/cusco/1000boletos

Or scan the QR code in the photo to access the page.

Disclaimer; I'm providing this information as a courtesy to travelers. Please reconfirm instructions with your local sources like hotels and tour guides when you get there in person. Everything is subject to change folks! The frst change occurred on August 1. See more below!

The new Machu Picchu tickets tracking page will pop up when you land on the official Tu Boleto government website. This page is desgined for travelers who are going in person to the village of Aguas Calientes, to view entrance ticket availability to Machu Picchu in-person for the next day. The office opens daily at 6am when tickets are sold for entry the next day. Visitors in line or anyone with access to internet, can view real-time changes to availability as tickets are sold.

How to use the Real Time In-person Machu Picchu Ticket sales monitor

Open the link I provided to the real-time monitor. Look in the upper right corner (on a desktop) and you'll see a box marked "Disponibilidad para el dia" and below will show day/month/year. Usually this will be the next day from whatever date you are on this page. The page displays tickets for 6 routes for a maximum of 1000 tickets per day. Each route (circuit) displays how many are sold and how many remain. If all 1000 tickets are sold out and people are still in line, you will see the calendar in the upper right corner flip to the next day to display availability. About every minute of so, the tracking page will switch display for available tickets between dates being sold that day

Most of the year, tickets are displayed for entry to Machu Picchu on the next day. UNLESS they sell out. This happened in August 2025 when Peru schools were closed for annual 2 week holiday which coincided with heavy attendance of summer travelers from US, Canada and Europe. They were selling tickets sometimes 3-4 days in the future. This meant that trains were sold out and hotels were fully booked. It was madness folks! We assisted several groups with the logistics to get there and strategically position themselves to get tickets. But it was stressful. I don't advise doing it if you can avoid it.

Are there times of the year when there is a surge of visitors buying in-person tickets to Machu Picchu?

Yes. Around the 3rd week of October, The date can change yearly since schools may schedule an entire week for Peruvian students to take their annual school group outing before the school year closes in December. And there is another surge of visitors around June 24, during Inti-Raymi festival in Cusco. And let's not forget Easter with spring break. This time of year can be a mini-surge when local Peruvian on holiday, collide with foreign visitors.

What you need to know about buying in-person tickets to Machu Picchu.

Tickets are sold first come first serve
the office in Aguas Calientes opens at 6am. Trains do not arrive unlil later. People who stay in hotels the night before have an advantage to be first in line.
guess which routes sell out first? (hint: not circuit 1!)
None of the tickets for circuit 1 routes include access to the actual ancient Inca city. Circuit 1 is for access to the upper terraces and the view.
If circuits 2A and B are sold out, poeple usually go for 3B next. Not to worry, if 3B is sold out, just get 3A. It costs a little extra becasue of the hike to Huayna Picchu. But you don't have to do the hike if you don't want to. Or you can start the hike, then turn around.
Everyone in your group needs to be present at the time the tickets are purchased. There are times when the lines are long and members of your group can leave the line to get food or use the restroom. Occasionally, when crowds swell, agents come through the line and take a head count to predict how many tickets are likely to get sold.
Bring cash
if tickets sell out for entry the next day, they can "borrow" tickets for entry on the very next day. This means you would need to stay in the village an additional day/night.
before you book hotels and buy your return train tickets, make sure you understand if there are fees to make last minute changes to your reservations and train tickets
bus tickets can be purchased in person right after you buy your entry tickets to Machu Picchu and you know your entry date. Tickets don't sell out.
there are only a couple of ATM's in the village and due to the remote location, surges in visitors can cause the machines to run out of cash. Cusco is the best place to access ATMs and cambios in advance before you go. Here's a link to learn about about how to handle money in Peru.

No matter what I, or anyone else tells you, it's important to be ready for last minute changes to this process.

There is a total of 1000 in-person tickets to Machu Picchu available each day, divided among 6 circuits:

Circuits 1A has 50 tickets and 1B has 100 tickets
Circuits 2A and 2B each have 300 tickets (total 600 for both)
Circuits 3A has 50 tickets and 3B has 200 tickets

This is a real time display of Machu Picchu tickets. Only visitors who go to the village can get in line to buy these tickets in person. it is not possible to buy in-person entry tickets through the online page. The new page is for viewing ticket availability only.

Can visitors ask their tour guide or hotel to buy their in-person tickets to Machu Picchu?

No. The passport holders must buy their own tickets in person. They cannot ask a 3rd party to go for them. However, members of families and groups can take turns holding the place in line. No matter when you show up, you should get in the line with all the passports for each person in your group. When you buy your tickets all members of your group need to be present. Bring Peruvian soles in cash.. There are only a couple of ATM machines in the village. And you also need to buy bus tickets. In cash if you buy in person in the village of Aguas Calientes.

What happends if you are in line in the evening and the office closes before you are able to buy tickets? In August, some people stayed in line all night. Adios tour guides were able to arrange for our groups to hire a local guide to stand in line overnight. So far, this has been permitted. You must return to the line before 6am when the office opens. The agents will do random head counts to anticipate how many tickets are needed that day. So they track how many people are in your group for this reason.

These agents are working on the fly. They're trying to adjust to the unpredictable flow of visitors. Be patient. And flexible.

What happens if there are more than 1000 people in line for Machu Picchu tickets on the same day?

Visitors can get in line early in the morning before the office opens at 6am the day before they want to enter Machu Picchu. If you don't get tickets on the first day, you can try again the next day.

Between August 1-13, 2025, there were way more than 3000 extra travelers in that tiny gateway village to Machu Picchu. This created another situation that affected everyone who now had to wait sometimes up to 3 or 4 days from the time they bought their entry tickets in person, to the time and date they actually entered. The village was overwhelmed by the pre-ticketed visitors who average 5000 per day, combined with the surge in last-minute travelers. Hotels and restaurants were accused of price-gouging and taking advantage of thousands of marooned travelers waiting until they could enter the Inca citadel. The only way to get out of the village of Aguas Calientes is by train to Ollantaytambo, or on foot to the high jungle village of Santa Teresa to wait it out. Trains were booked solid, so many chose to walk 3 hours to the hidroelectric station where hopefully they could find transport about 45 minutes on rough dirt roads to the small village of Santa Teresa. That's what some people did to escape the crowds and the extra cost of waiting in Aguas Calientes to enter Machu Picchu.

Can entry tickets to Machu Picchu be guaranteed for visitors who show up in person to buy them?

Technically no. However if you have the flexibility to stay more than 2 days, there's no reason why you wouldn't eventually get to the front of the line. And get a ticket. But officially no one can guarantee that anyone can get an in-person ticket.

Why were buses and train service to Machu Picchu suspended in September 2025?

Well. my dearsl. Have a seat. Here's the quick version. The Consetture bus company's contract ran out Sept 5 and "someone" forgot to open the bidding to accept proposals for the bus concession, as is the normal process. A new company was secretly selected in the middle of the night, then protestors (who we suspect were on someone's payroll) stood on the train tracks for a day or two. As of October, things seem to be more or less settled. For now. Could it flare up again? Yes. Welcome to Peru amigos!