What changed, date by date
- 11 September 2026: The Ministry of Culture announces the end of unpaid reservations. An audit of eight agencies had found 63% of 209,051 reservations cancelled and only 35% ever paid: tickets were being blocked, not bought.
- 22 September 2026: The new purchase flow starts on the official platform as a trial period ("marcha blanca").
- 6 October 2026: The rules take effect. In the Minister's words, you enter the site, give your passport number and name, and pay. On that day he counted more than 1,000 tickets left for October, 29,000 for November and over 60,000 for December. The trial period runs until 22 October.
- 8 October 2026: Cancelling the unpaid reservations releases more than 90,000 tickets for the rest of 2026.
- 14 October 2026: The Minister confirms there will be no going back ("Reserva no va a haber") and announces that tickets will soon be sold up to a year in advance: buy today, visit in July 2027.
How buying a ticket works now
On the Ministry's platform, tuboleto.cultura.pe, you pick the date, the circuit and the entry hour, type the full name and passport number of every visitor, and pay by Visa or Mastercard. The whole thing has to be finished within 15 minutes; if it is not, the seats are released for the next person. There is no voucher to pay later, no holding a date while you decide. A ticket exists only once it is paid, and it is issued in each visitor's name.
Nothing else about the ticket changed: one ticket is one circuit and one entry hour, it is checked against the passport at the gate, and the daily capacity is still the one set by resolution (4,500 visitors, 5,600 on the high-demand dates). Our rules guide covers the visit itself; this page is about the purchase.
What the released tickets left behind
This is the part the announcements do not tell you. The 90,000 tickets went back on sale on 8 October, and a week later most of the popular ones were gone again. Our hourly recount of the official calendar on 15 October 2026 shows this, by circuit:
- October 2026: Circuit 2 (2A and 2B), Huayna Picchu (3A) and the whole of Circuit 3: nothing left. A few hundred seats remain on Machu Picchu Mountain (1A), the Upper Terraces (1B), the Sun Gate (1C) and the Inca Bridge (1D), on one or two days each.
- November 2026: Circuit 2: sold out again, every day, both routes. Machu Picchu Mountain (1A) is open all month (about 5,500 seats) and the Upper Terraces (1B) on 19 of the 30 days (about 4,000 seats). Huayna Picchu: two days.
- December 2026: Circuit 2 is down to seven days, with about 450 seats between 2A and 2B. Huayna Picchu is open almost every day (about 7,400 seats), the Upper Terraces on every day (about 22,500), Machu Picchu Mountain on every day (about 8,600), and 3B Premium on 28 days.
- January to March 2027: Wide open. Circuit 2A alone has about 30,000 seats in January, 27,000 in February and 30,000 in March; Huayna Picchu about 9,000 a month. The official calendar now reaches 31 March 2027.
What this means for your dates
- You travel in October or November 2026: Circuit 2 is not coming back online. Book Machu Picchu Mountain (1A) or the Upper Terraces (1B) now, both include the classic photo. If you want the Inca city itself, the 2-Day Tour takes you to the Ministry's in-person sale with a coordinator.
- You travel in December 2026: Check Circuit 2A and 2B today; seven days are left and they will not last. Otherwise Huayna Picchu is unusually open for December.
- You travel between January and March 2027: Everything is open. Pick the circuit you actually want and the hour that fits your train; this is the only moment in the year when you choose instead of taking what is left. Details in Machu Picchu tickets 2027.
- You travel from April 2027 on: Not on sale yet. The Minister says the one-year window is coming soon; the rule has not been published. Decide circuit and dates now and have every passport number ready, because when it opens the 15-minute rule applies to everyone.
What did not change
The in-person sale in Machupicchu Pueblo stays: up to 1,000 tickets a day, bought with your own passport, for the following day, now with five windows and, according to the Minister, no queues. The ticket is still for one circuit and one hour, non-transferable, and prices are the same as on 1 May 2026. The circuits, the one-way trails and the maximum stay per route are unchanged; our 11-circuit guide has them side by side.
Frequent questions about the new system
Can I still reserve Machu Picchu tickets and pay later?
No. Since 6 October 2026 a ticket exists only once it is paid. The official platform gives you 15 minutes from choosing the seats to completing the payment; after that they go back on sale.
Why were 90,000 tickets suddenly available?
Because the unpaid reservations that agencies had been using to block them were cancelled. An audit found eight agencies behind about 210,000 blocked tickets. The released tickets were for the rest of 2026 and most of the popular ones were bought within a week.
Is Circuit 2 available again?
Not for October or November 2026: it sold out again within days of the release. Seven days remain in December, and from January 2027 it is wide open. The calendar on the Circuit 2A page is live.
When can I buy tickets for July 2027?
Not yet. On 14 October 2026 the Minister of Culture said sales up to a year ahead are coming soon, with the example of buying today for July 2027, but the rule has not been published. Today the official calendar reaches 31 March 2027.
Does the in-person sale in Aguas Calientes still exist?
Yes. The Ministry keeps selling up to 1,000 tickets a day in Machupicchu Pueblo for the following day, with your own passport. Our in-person guide explains where, what to bring and what date you really get.
See what is open on your dates, right now
Every circuit on one live calendar, counted from the official source every hour. If your dates are gone online, the 2-Day Tour is the honest alternative.