Planning guides
Machu Picchu planning guides
The research questions, answered by the team that operates the trips. Anything that depends on a current official rule links to the verified version rather than repeating it.
Start here
Machu Picchu tickets, circuits, routes and availability
The one-page map of how access actually works: entry tickets, the circuits and routes, mountain add-ons, Inca Trail permits, and how to check availability, each verified against primary sources.
The guides
Best Time to Visit Machu Picchu
When to go to Machu Picchu: how the dry and wet seasons actually feel, month by month, and how far ahead each season sells out.
Altitude in Cusco: What to Expect and How to Acclimatize
Cusco sits near 3,400 m. What the altitude feels like, an arrival plan that works, and how to acclimatize before Machu Picchu or a trek.
Salkantay vs the Inca Trail: Which Trek to Machu Picchu?
The permit-limited, ruins-rich Inca Trail or the wilder, higher Salkantay trek: how the two classic routes to Machu Picchu really compare.
What to Pack for Machu Picchu and the Andes
A practical Machu Picchu packing list: layers for four climates, what to carry into the citadel, and what trekkers need that day-visitors do not.
When you are past the reading stage
The guides explain; the tools answer for your specific dates and party.
- Circuit & Route Recommender
A best-fit route and a backup, from a few questions. No email required.
- Inca Trail Permit Tracker
The current release status for your dates, with alerts when access opens.
- Custom Peru Trip Planner
A feasibility read on your month, party, and pace before anyone asks for an email.
- Ask the AI trip specialist
Direct answers from the published, dated rules, and a human handoff when you want one.