Machu Picchu Circuits and Routes: Which One to Book

Short answer: Machu Picchu has 3 circuits and 10 one-way routes, in force since 1 June 2024 under Ministerial Resolution 528-2023-MC. For a first visit, book Circuit 2. Take route 2-B if it has space, since it stops at the lower platform with the classic view before it crosses the temples. Circuit 1 stays above the city, and Circuit 3 leads to Huayna Picchu.

A circuit is one of the three official paths through the Inca city (the llaqta, in the Ministerio de Cultura's word), and each circuit splits into routes with their own ticket. The route printed on your ticket is the only one you walk that day. Guards at the control posts check it, and you cannot switch once you are through the gate.

We send travelers through these paths every week, and the question is always the same: which ticket shows me the real Machu Picchu? This guide answers it route by route, from the official maps. If you still need to buy the ticket itself, our step-by-step guide to Machu Picchu tickets covers the purchase, the prices and the time slots.

How the circuits work

The circuits work like one-way streets. You enter at the main gate at the hour on your ticket, follow arrows along a fixed loop, and leave by the exit beside the entrance. There is no walking back against the flow to retake a photo, so tell your guide in advance where you want to stop.

Along each route the Ministerio de Cultura marks explanation areas, the stops where groups can halt and guides can talk. Between them, staff keep people moving on the narrow paths. Each route also has a maximum time inside, from 2 hours 30 minutes on the plain city routes to 7 hours on the longest mountain and cave routes. The time is printed on the official route maps, and it is generous for the plain routes. Most guided visits on Circuit 2 run close to the full 2 hours 30 minutes.

The three circuits divide the site by height. Circuit 1, the Panoramic circuit (Circuito Panorámico), stays on the high agricultural terraces above the city. Circuit 2, the Machu Picchu Classic circuit (Machupicchu Clásico), walks through the urban sectors. Circuit 3, the Royalty circuit (Machupicchu Realeza), covers the lower half of the city and leads to three side trails.

Which circuit to book

Circuit 2 is the circuit we book for first-time visitors, and it is the one our guides prefer to explain. It passes the Temple of the Sun viewpoint, the Plaza of the Temples, the Intiwatana, the Sacred Rock and the Temple of the Condor, per the official route maps. Those are the places the site is famous for.

The three Machu Picchu circuits compared

Circuit	Routes	Where it goes	Classic view	Main temples	Who it suits
Circuit 1, Panoramic	1-A, 1-B, 1-C, 1-D	High terraces above the city, then side trails	Yes, from the upper platform	No, never enters the city	Photographers and hikers, as a second ticket
Circuit 2, Machu Picchu Classic	2-A, 2-B	Through the urban sectors	Route 2-B, from the lower platform	Yes: Temple of the Sun viewpoint, Plaza of the Temples, Intiwatana, Sacred Rock, Temple of the Condor	Every first-time visitor
Circuit 3, Royalty	3-A, 3-B, 3-C, 3-D	Lower half of the city, then side trails from the Sacred Rock	No	Partly: Temple of the Condor, water mirrors, Sacred Rock	Huayna Picchu climbers and repeat visitors

Between its two routes, we pick 2-B when it has space. On the official map, route 2-B first climbs to the lower platform (Plataforma Inferior), an explanation area with the classic view of the city and Huayna Picchu behind it. Route 2-A skips that platform and covers the same temples. Both allow 2 hours 30 minutes inside.

The postcard view has a second, higher vantage point: the upper platform (Plataforma Superior). Only the Circuit 1 routes reach it. Route 1-B goes up there and comes back down without entering the city at all. People buy 1-B because it is available or cheap, then find out they never walked among the buildings. If you want the highest photo and the temples, buy two tickets for the same day, a Circuit 1 route and a Circuit 2 route at different hours.

Circuit 3 makes sense for two kinds of traveler: people climbing Huayna Picchu (route 3-A) and people back for a second visit who want the quieter lower sectors. Route 3-B is the plain version, through the Temple of the Condor, the storehouses and the water mirrors, with 2 hours 30 minutes inside.

Map of the circuits

The map below shows the three circuits on one plan, with the entrance, the exit, the control posts for the side trails and the explanation areas. It is redrawn from the ten route maps the Ministerio de Cultura publishes on machupicchu.gob.pe, which remain the official reference. Huayna Picchu sits at the far end of the plan, and the entrance at the near end.

Three details from the official maps help on the day. The only restrooms are outside the gate, next to the bus stop and the snack bar. The side trails to Huayna Picchu, Huchuy Picchu and the Great Cavern all leave from a control post by the Sacred Rock, at the far end of the city. The trails to Machu Picchu Mountain, the Sun Gate and the Inca Bridge leave from control posts on the high terraces.

The 10 routes in one table

Each route is a separate ticket with its own maximum time inside, from 2 hours 30 minutes to 7 hours, per the Ministerio de Cultura's route maps. Four routes are sold only in high season: 1-C (Sun Gate), 1-D (Inca Bridge), 3-C (Great Cavern) and 3-D (Huchuy Picchu). The table adds our view of who each route suits.

The 10 routes, time allowed and who each suits

Route	Official name	Max time inside	Extra walk or climb	Season	Our take
1-A	Machu Picchu Mountain	7 hours	Long stone stair climb to the summit	All year	Fit hikers who want the big view and fewer people
1-B	Upper terrace	2 hours 30 minutes	None	All year	Only as a second ticket, it never enters the city
1-C	Intipunku (Sun Gate)	4 hours	About 1 hour up on the Inca Trail	High season only	A real hike without exposure
1-D	Inca Bridge (Puente Inka)	3 hours	Mostly flat cliff path	High season only	Short and easy, no summit to climb
2-A	Designed route	2 hours 30 minutes	None	All year	First visit, if 2-B is full
2-B	Lower terrace	2 hours 30 minutes	Short climb to the lower platform	All year	First visit, our pick
3-A	Huayna Picchu (Waynapicchu)	6 hours	Steep, exposed stairs to the peak	All year	Climbers with no fear of heights
3-B	Designed route	2 hours 30 minutes	None	All year	Second visit, quieter lower sectors
3-C	Great Cavern	7 hours	Long trail down and around to the Temple of the Moon	High season only	Repeat visitors with a full day
3-D	Huchuy Picchu	3 hours 30 minutes	Short, steep climb to a small peak	High season only	A taste of a summit in little time

The three summit routes (1-A, 3-A and 3-D) put a second time on the ticket, the hour you must reach the mountain checkpoint, and that checkpoint gives no tolerance at all. Our comparison of Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu Mountain covers the climbs in detail.

Inca Bridge and Sun Gate

The Inca Bridge (Puente Inka, route 1-D) and the Sun Gate (Intipunku, route 1-C) are the two easy side walks of Circuit 1. Both start on the high terraces, both are sold only in high season, and neither enters the city.

Route 1-D, the Inca Bridge

Route 1-D follows a narrow path cut into the west face of the mountain, with a long drop on one side, to a gap in an Inca road that was crossed on removable logs. You see the bridge from a fenced viewpoint at the end of the path. You do not cross it. The walk is mostly flat, and the route allows 3 hours inside, which is plenty.

Do not confuse it with Q'eswachaka, the woven grass rope bridge over the Apurímac River, a day trip south of Cusco that local communities rebuild every June. Searches for "Inca rope bridge" mix the two up, and they are about four hours apart by road.

Route 1-C, the Sun Gate

Route 1-C climbs from the upper terraces along the last stretch of the Inca Trail to Intipunku, the stone gateway where trekkers first see the city. Allow about an hour up on uneven stone steps, and the route allows 4 hours inside. The view looks down the whole length of Machu Picchu with Huayna Picchu behind, and the climb is steady without the exposure of the summit trails.

Our take: 1-C is the right extra for travelers who want a real hike but dislike heights. It also has fewer people than the city routes, since most visitors never leave the circuits.

Sunrise and timing

The first entry slot is 6:00 a.m., per the Ministerio de Cultura's entry-hours table, and the first buses leave Aguas Calientes before that. To be in the first slot you have to sleep in Aguas Calientes the night before, because no train from Cusco or the Sacred Valley arrives that early.

Set your expectations for sunrise. The sun clears the eastern ridges some time after the gates open, and in the rainy months, roughly November to March, the city often sits in cloud until mid-morning. The early slot is worth it for the cool air and the thin crowds, and on many days the cloud lifting off Huayna Picchu is the show. Our 2-day tour with an early entry is built around that night in town.

Rules inside the circuits

The rules inside come from the Ministerio de Cultura's code of conduct, plus the logic of the one-way circuits. Guards and national police enforce them, and breaking them means removal without a refund.

• Stay on the route printed on your ticket and walk in the direction of the arrows.
• Stop to talk and explain only in the marked explanation areas, not on narrow paths.
• Do not climb on walls, sit on structures or touch and move stones.
• Carry a bag no larger than 40 by 35 by 20 cm (16 by 14 by 8 in).
• Leave walking sticks, umbrellas, tripods, selfie sticks and drones at your hotel.
• Do not bring food inside, and do not smoke or vape.
• Keep your passport and ticket with you until you leave.

Plan for a single entry. The routes are drawn as loops that end at the exit, and we have not found an official rule that lets you go back in on the same ticket. Use the restrooms outside the gate before your slot. The full list of banned items is in our Machu Picchu tickets guide.

Letting someone else pick the route

Choosing the circuit is the easy part. Getting a 2-B ticket for the hour your train allows, in the month you travel, is the hard part. Our tours that book Circuit 2 for you buy the ticket under your passport and match the train, the bus and a licensed guide to your entry hour. If you are still working out the trains, start with how to get to Machu Picchu from Cusco.