Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel at 2,430 metres (7,970 feet) in the Peruvian Andes, and the current entry system is more structured than most travellers expect. Three timed circuits, one-way routing, a daily cap of roughly 4,500 visitors, and a licensed guide required for Circuit 1.
A guided visit is honestly worth paying for. The site is huge, the paths are one-way, and the construction technique (ashlar masonry, earthquake-proof interlocking blocks, solstice-aligned windows) does not announce itself. A good guide points out what you are looking at — the Temple of the Sun, the Intihuatana ritual stone, the agricultural terraces that fed the complex.
Logistics: train from Cusco (Poroy or Wanchaq) or Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes, then a 25-minute Consettur bus up to the gate. Peruways sells the whole stack as one booking.
If you want to climb one of the add-on peaks, Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain, book six to eight weeks ahead — 400 permits a day for each, two morning windows, and they sell out in high season.
Reserve at Peruways.
