Note: I wouldn’t actually recommend this method, but in desperate times…
I’m currently on a trip to Peru, Mexico, and the US, with the first leg in Peru to check out Lima as well as Machu Picchu. Due to poor planning, I failed to reserve Machu Picchu tickets in advance, but was able to scramble and get last minute tickets anyways! I’ll detail below how I did it.
Machu Picchu is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world, and there’s lots of information. You’re highly recommend to reserve your tickets ahead of time, especially in the peak season of May through September, either through the official government website or through a guided tour. There’s also good information on what kind of ticket to get, such as this blog. I was being a bit lazy about planning my trip, and I was going during the shoulder season, so I didn’t bother looking until about 3 weeks ahead of time.
I had heard that Circuit 2 was the best, or other than that, Circuit 3 + Machu Picchu Mountain which also lets you get the classic photo. Unfortunately, by the time I looked there were only tickets for Circuit 4 + Huchuy Picchu. But a ticket is better than no ticket! My plan was to stay at Tambo del Inka in Urubamba and take their private train up, but I wasn’t quite sure of the train schedule (which you can find here on the PeruRail website, but I wanted to confirm with the concierge first), so wasn’t sure what time to book, so I reserved a time that I thought was correct but did not pay for the ticket, thinking I could pay for it later. Unfortunately, tickets have to be paid for in 3 hours, and by the time I confirmed the train schedule with the concierge some time later, my ticket was cancelled and there were no tickets left!
So I had to scramble to figure out what to do, searching the internet. A number of social media posts suggested that you could actually get last minute tickets, either through a tour agency (the ones I found were a bit expensive, like $320 a person), or by showing up to the ticket booth in Cusco or Aguascalientes (the town right below Machu Picchu) the day before or possibly even day of. Apparently, 1000 tickets of various types are reserved for sale the day before, and if there are any left by the end of the night, are available for sale same day very early in the morning. The offices in Cusco supposedly have a limited amount of tickets, and the office in Aguascalientes has a larger amount of allocated tickets to sell.
Tickets go on sale at 3pm for the next day, and the live ticket tracker for the next day can be viewed on the official government website. If you really want access to the best tickets, the office opens early in the morning (was told 7am), where you can get a ticket with your place in line to come back starting 3pm.
My flight to Cusco landed at 12pm, so I planned to check the Cusco offices, then take a train to Aguascalientes. Unfortunately this meant I had to cancel my Tambo del Inka reservation, sad times! My SNA even went through 😢
The Cusco offices are at:
- Casa Garcilaso, Calle Garcilaso https://maps.app.goo.gl/4WSCTYSJHdxBeaoh8
- Calle Maruri 324 https://maps.app.goo.gl/cUwyK4sDZoH3rmMVA
Unfortunately, the offices were not open on a weekend, but the staff told me that the office in Aguascalientes was open until 10pm that day, which was fortunate as my train would get in at 9:10pm, otherwise I would have had to wake up and go to the office earlier than their 7am opening time the next day.
The Ministerio del Cultura in Aguascalientes is located on Ave Pachacutec https://maps.app.goo.gl/amBBGTsGr1RFhXLE6. The Google Maps opening hours are wrong, possibly the hours vary on season but they aren’t listed online. I kept checking the live ticket tracker, and fortunately there were plenty of tickets of each type.
There was no line when I got there at 9:20pm or so. I wanted a ticket for Circuit 1 or 2 + Inka Bridge, but there was only 12pm tickets left, which was fine with me. The office takes cash only and you must bring your passport. I got my ticket and enjoyed exploring the famous Incan city the next day!
So in any case, I still would recommend getting tickets in advance, but if things come down to the wire, there is a way!