Every year thousands of people are attracted to the City of Cusco by the energy of the Andes Mountains, but only a few can experience the magic of feeling this energy, traveling one of the most amazing walks in the world, an Inca Trail of 500 years of antiquity. The Inca Trail is a center of beauty, mysticism, spirituality, challenge, and history, built by the legendary Inca civilization. Unlike other walks in Peru and the world, the Inca Trail is a protected area. We are experts in trips to Machu Picchu so we will indicate the way to obtain the permits for the Inca Trail.
Adventurers from all over the world have been put on alert, because the spaces available to enter Machu Picchu by the Inca Trail, will be put on sale in October, 3 months before next year. The Inca Trail reservations are sold out months before. Normally we recommend reserving Inca Trail to Machu Picchu 8 months before. However, the availability was released months before, making the people who want to reserve a space on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu for any time in 2024, must reserve the permits as soon as possible.
The number of visitors who are allowed to enter the trails of the Inca Trail each day is limited to 500. However, keep in mind that this figure includes people who are part of the trekking support teams, which usually amounts to 300. This means that only 200 people end up entering Machu Picchu on the Inca Trail, every day.
An office called the Regional Office of Culture Cusco is responsible for issuing permits for the Inca Trail. In case you did not know, only 500 people can get the permits to travel the Inca Trail every day; of these 500 people, only 200 will end up entering the Inca City of Machu Picchu; the other 300 people, belong to the support team that is needed during the walk; guides, porters and cooks.
The entity in charge of the Inca Trail revenues only allows tourism operators to buy entrance tickets for the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.
To buy the Inca Trail reservations, you must provide your full name, passport number (current), sex and date of birth. All the information provided to reserving Inca Trail to Machu Picchu must be exact, any error in the passport number or the name could cause them to prevent you from entering the Inca Trail. "If after reserving the Inca Trail (6 months before) change your passport, you must bring both passports with you, the old and the new."
You can see the Inca Trail reservations available on the "Ministry of Culture" page and on many other pages; however, it is best that this be verified by the Agency with which you contract the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, since the amount of available income may vary between the time you check availability and choose the travel agency. Contact us if you wish to enter Machu Picchu by the Inca Trail.
Important
As you can see, the main problem is not "how to get the Inca Trail reservations", but rather "when to reserve them"; since you do not reserve your tickets in advance, you will have to enter Machu Picchu by train.
To secure a permit to enter the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, you must reserve many months before. 8 months is the anticipated reservation time we recommend, but it is possible that the measure of releasing the availability for the Inca Trail 2024, months before, has people start to reserve entrance tickets to the Inca Trail 2024 from now on. The complete release is scheduled for October 5, 2022, and the main concern is that 80% of the permits are sold before Christmas.
In both cases the method to get the tickets is the same. The Inca Short Trail, is for people who want to travel the Inca Trail, but do not want to do it for 4 days, skipping the hardest part of the trip.
Although you can purchase entrance tickets to Machu Picchu in person in Cusco, Aguas Calientes, or any major city with a Banco de Nacíon, it is strongly advised that you purchase your ticket in advance in high season (June to September), as tickets may be out of stock. If your schedule is tight or you're traveling in peak season, it's wise to book ahead. To do this, here is how to buy your Machu Picchu entrance tickets online in advance!
Online, we can read that many travelers had problems buying tickets on the Machu Picchu government website. It seems that the site only accepts Visa cards. While buying your ticket yourself is the cheapest approach, a hassle-free (albeit more expensive) alternative is to buy it from a reseller. This allows for instant confirmation and is more user-friendly than if you run into issues on the government site. You can also consider a guided tour from Aguas Calientes, which includes your bus and entrance ticket.
