Overview
- The Dirección Desconcentrada de Cultura de Cusco announced on Sunday that tourists can exceptionally buy in-person Machu Picchu tickets up to three days before their visit to ease pressure during the high season and the Fiestas Patrias holiday.
- The site’s legal daily cap remains 5,600 visitors with 4,600 tickets sold online and 1,000 reserved for in-person sale at Machu Picchu Pueblo under Resolution Ministerial N.° 285-2025-MC.
- Visitors who use the new in-person advance option may need to stay in Aguas Calientes for up to three days before entering the citadel because same-day entry is no longer guaranteed for those sales.
- The exceptional rule responds to long queues and service complaints reported in June when on-site tickets ran out quickly, and officials urged travelers to plan and buy through official channels.
- The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism has awarded a contract to update the site’s carrying-capacity study, a technical review that could guide future, evidence-based adjustments to visitor limits; the current resolution has been in force since June 19 and runs through November 2 with a brief resumption on December 30–31.