How long to see machu picchu

Stay overnight in this endearing town and spend the morning exploring the amazing Lost City of the Incas at Machu Picchu before heading back to Cusco to fly back to Lima. If you've already seen the Machu Picchu region or would like a different short stay itinerary, head south of Lima to the Paracas Reserve and Islas Ballestas where you can watch sea lions and penguins.

Then drive through the Ica Desert and take a flight over the incredible Nazca Lines. These ancient geometric shapes and depictions of animals, best viewed from above, have fascinated archaeologists for generations. Alternatively, head north-east from Lima to the Cordillera Blanca mountain range. Stay in Huaraz and spend a couple of days trekking through breathtaking scenery in Huascaran National Park. Linger longer in the Sacred Valley — the ruins and market of Pisac, the agricultural terraces of Moray , the salt mines at Salineras and the fantastic ruins of Ollantaytambo.

Stay overnight in Aguas Calientes to have more time exploring Machu Picchu before returning to Cusco. An alternative to this itinerary is to spend up to four days hiking all or part of the Inca Trail. There are three trails to choose from — the classic Inca Trail gets booked up so must be reserved in advance. You can also try the more spectacular Salkantay Trek or the Jungle Trek. All of these culminate in a visit to Machu Picchu. In days, you can see the highlights of two regions of Peru.

Combine five days in Cusco, Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley see itineraries above with either Southern Peru or a trip to the jungle. The pace is reasonable for 1 day and you'll avoid the ruins when it's most crowded at 8AM in the mornings.

Let's say you know for sure you want to spend more time in Machu Picchu. For some travelers, there's no reason not to. Visitors in the morning may want to add on one of 2 hikes that begin inside the National Park. The most popular, and the one that sells out weeks if not months in advance, is Huayna Picchu.

The other is Machu Picchu Mountain. Here's a link to compare the two hikes. The rangers tell our guides that you have to choose one or the other. They expect hikers to tour the citadel before the hike which obviously doesn't work if you have 7AM entry to the citadel and window up to 8AM to checkin for your hike! Another idea is to buy Machu Picchu entry tickets for the afternoon on day 1, then stay the night and buy entry tickets for the morning on day 2, returning to Cusco in the afternoon.

Anyone can hike to Sungate which takes about 2H round trip. Special tickets are not required. But you need to hike Sungate first and then enter the citadel to get up close to the ruins. Both circuits are one way and lead to the exit gate. Once you exit you cannot re-enter. If you are on the ball and manage to snag a coveted ticket to hike Huayna Picchu, you are expected to tour the citadel before you begin your hike.

After the hike, all hikers are steered to a path that leads to the exit. You cannot return into the ruins. The path to the exit is quite interesting and offers lots of additional spots to explore. It's much easier to get tickets to hike MP Mountain, because they sell out more slowly. Beware that the Montana hike takes longer than Huayna Picchu. Average of hours roundtrip. If your goal is to see Machu Picchu, it can be done at a reasonable pace with 1 overnight in a hotel in Aguas Calientes.

Most people agree that there is no compelling reason to spend any more time than necessary in Aguas Calientes. As the closest modern human settlement near Machu Picchu, the village of Aguas Calientes, or Machu Picchu Pueblo, has just enough infrastructure to call itself an urban setting.

There are hotels, restaurants, cafes, bars, a soccer field, a market strategically located at the entry to the train station and the train station. Otherwise, there are no cars, no entertainment, no swimming pools, unless you want to include the local hot springs for which the town was named. Small stone-lined pools are strategically located at the top of the village and surrounded by lush semi-tropical vegetation. I personally find the natural setting more enticing than the pools.

One might assume that a world-class ruin should be surrounded by stunning resorts and commercial establishments worthy of being in the shadow of "The Great One. For sure you will be safe, and your basic comforts will be met and there's no need to go hungry. But if you expect TVs, spas, pools and the best restaurants, you will surely be dissatisfed. Keep your eyes on the prize. That prize is Machu Picchu. And you will not be disappointed.

What is the estimated cost of a trip to Machu Picchu? Click here to see the full details. Adios specializes in South American adventure travel, inspiring people of all ages and abilities to pursue their dream trips. Every Adios tour is personally curated by both Jacquie and Vidal, who have established a network of enthusiastic local guides and exceptional experiences. Check out our trips. Not to mention increase your chances of seeing the ruins in good weather. Enter Machu Picchu anytime in the afternoon on the first day up to 3PM, and go back for 2nd visit in the morning of the 2nd day.

And return to Cusco late afternoon the 2nd day there is time to include hikes up to Sungate or Inca Bridge if you do it before you enter the citadel. This may extend your visit inside the national park by another hours.

No additional tickets are needed. It's best to do it early in the morning after an overnight in a nearby hotel. You can wait until you arrive and decide if you want to do it. From Cusco, here's the breakdown for the average travel time one way to the main entry of Machu Picchu in 5 hours: 2 Hours - Cusco hotel to main train station in Ollantaytambo over 2-lane paved roads through rural communities in the Sacred Valley 2 Hours - Train ride through Urubamba Valley to Aguas Calientes Machu Picchu Pueblo station.

Note: Beginning Jan , the bus is dividing people into groups based on their entry time. Visitors with earliest entry times have precedence over later entry times. You cannot enter even 1 minute earlier. But you can enter after. It's to your advantage to buy a ticket for entrance earlier than you plan to be there. And you cannot board the shuttle bus in Aguas Calientes anytime you want.

Preference is given to people with entry tickets within 1H of boarding the bus. What's the biggest unpredictable obstacle to get to Machu Picchu? If you have a ticket for one of the hikes can you enter Machu Picchu twice? Which circuit should you choose to follow inside the citadel? How much time CAN you spend inside the ruins? After an overnight in a hotel in Aguas Calientes, they are entitled to go back the next day for a guided tour anytime in the morning.

Hikers who stay in Aguas Calientes after their hike earn the privilege of entering Machu Picchu anytime they want the next day. Do you have to hire a guide to enter the ruins? How can you spend more time in the ruins with one entry ticket? If you plan well your Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu Tour , it is likely to become the trip of a lifetime.

Take your first day in Cusco calmly, especially if you come from cities near sea level. You can make a City tour through the city of Cusco from noon, we recommend resting in the morning after your arrival, although we know that you will leave your things at the hotel and will leave as soon as possible to know the city.

Drink plenty of coca tea, this will prevent you from getting sick of altitude sickness. You can buy the tourist ticket in the Plaza de Armas of Cusco, this will serve you not only to visit places like Sacsayhuaman, and other archaeological sites around the city, but to visit the churches of Cusco and the archaeological sites in the towns of the Incas' Sacred Valley. The Cusco tourist ticket includes the best places in the city, the Cathedral of Cusco is probably the first place you visit in your journey through the ancient capital of the Inca Empire, then you can walk to the Coricancha.

After going to the archaeological centers on the outskirts of the city, start with Sacsayhuaman then Qenqo, Puca Pucara and Tambomachay. Most of the organized City tours end in the Main Square of Cusco, before 7 pm. In most cases, the tours of the Sacred Valley of the Incas start at 45 minutes from the city of Cusco, in the beautiful town of Pisac.

Another thing that can not be missed in Pisac, is its handicraft market, with unique and authentic products. After half a day you can have lunch in Urubamba, the commercial center of the Sacred Valley of the Incas, and if you did not know, the best white corn in the world is produced in this town.

In addition, the rainy season brings delicious seasonal fruits that you can not taste anywhere else in the world. Then visit the Inca ruins of Ollantaytambo, a military and religious agricultural center that served as a gateway to the Inca Trail that led to the sacred Inca city of Machu Picchu, here you can see residences, temples, terraces, towers and other amazing Inca buildings.

This day should start very early, am is a good time to start moving from Cusco to the train station in Ollantaytambo, remember that you should book train tickets in advance, by in the morning, this will take you through the Sacred Valley to the town of Aguas Calientes at the foot of the Machu Picchu mountain and where the Inca city of Machu Picchu is located; You can take advantage to have breakfast, in Aguas Calientes there are many restaurants.

Unless you want to go up to Machu Picchu walking, you will have to buy bus tickets to Machu Picchu, these are sold next to the train station just before Puente Ruinas, and just in front you will find the bus stop where you will have to board the buses to the entrance to Machu Picchu. You can have breakfast at the hotel, at the airport or wherever you want, in Cusco there are hundreds of restaurants, just be sure to be an hour before at the airport.

If you want to choose the group and the day you want to enter the mountain Huayna Picchu, we recommend you book these tickets 6 months in advance. After booking Machu Picchu tickets, the next thing is to book train tickets, then you can worry about plane tickets, hotels and guides.

If you come in the high season May - August , all of this will have to be reserved a few months in advance, if you do not do so, you will probably have to spend some more money, since last-minute reservations in the high season are very expensive.

So, how many days to spend in Cusco and Machu Picchu? Definetely, the best way to visit Cusco and Machu Picchu are 3, although it can be done in up to 2 days.

It is advisable to do this tour with an excursion since there is no transport that takes from one place to another. If you prefer to do it on your own, you can hire a taxi to take you on the tour. Do not forget to take the Tourist Ticket, which includes the entrance to the most important archaeological sites. In Kenko we can tour the mysterious underground room carved into the rock and follow the path of the channels that transported the chicha for the ceremonies that took place there.

In the Red Fort, Puca Pucara, the remains of this citadel are preserved where the Inka's entourage rested while the king continued his journey to Tambomachay, a really impressive place where the hydraulic system that transported water from a spring to the pools still works. Once back to Cusco we can have lunch at the San Pedro Market, a place where we can see the amount of native products grown in the region. We will leave the jewel of Cusco for the last day of visit. We recommend you to hire an excursion to know the Sacred City of the Incas, since getting to Machu Picchu on your own can be very expensive PeruRail trains or very complicated the trip is in several stages taking different public transports.

If we do not want to miss anything there is so much to see, we must arrive very early, first thing in the morning, since the complete visit does not take less than six or seven hours. We can see the Puerta del Sol, which marks the entrance to the citadel, we will go up to Huayna Picchu the ascent takes around 45 minutes to be amazed by the view of the forests, valleys and mountains that surround Machu Picchu, we will see the temples of the Sun, of the Three Windows and the Main Temple and we will admire the perfection of the stone constructions that are still preserved.

Visiting Machu Picchu just one day and staying in the village for two days is a common mistake. So, the answer to the question how many days is required for visit Machu Picchu? Is that we should visit the Sanctuary of Machu Picchu in two days. Assuming that those who visit the Sanctuary will seek to climb at least one of the two mountains Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu , almost half a day is lost between entry, ascent and descent back to the complex.

Depending on the physical state of each one, that rise and fall can really be something very strong. We just have to think that the rise of Huayna Picchu is considered one of the most dangerous mountain walks in the world. To be honest, the citadel looks great from the mountains, but within the citadel there is much more to know.

Just climbing is not enough, and climbing leaves you tired for the rest of the day. That's why take a Machu Picchu 2 Days Tour can be a good idea. Consider that in Machu Picchu Town there is much to do and know.