The Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu remains Peru’s top tourist draw. According to Cusco’s Regional Office of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Gercetur), it currently welcomes more than 5,000 people per day and is close to reaching pre-2019 numbers, reflecting the rebound in trips to Machu Picchu.
Gercetur Cusco’s manager, Rosendo Baca Palomino, noted that visitor traffic has already reached 97% of pre-pandemic levels. He added that, after checking the Ministry of Culture’s platform, there are no Machu Picchu tickets left for October and November, which confirms a broad recovery of the sector.
Baca emphasized that this progress comes despite recent issues on the Hiram Bingham route and reinforces Peru’s leadership in the region, in a year when the country was once again recognized at the World Travel Awards as Leading Cultural Destination, Leading Culinary Destination, and with the Leading Tourist Attraction.
However, he warned of a slight decline in domestic tourism: there have been 12,000 fewer visits so far this year, tied to limits on purchasing train and entry tickets. “We must not make the service elitist; Peruvians deserve the same quality of care,” he stressed.
Capacity limit for visits to Machu Picchu
At present, the Machu Picchu capacity is 5,600 visitors per day in high season and 4,500 in low season. The Ministry of Culture set these caps for 2025, and tickets are sold at tuboleto.cultura.pe. Authorities are considering standardizing the access capacity to respond to growing demand.
If you want to be part of this significant number of visits to the Inca citadel, we invite you to join the classic Inca Trail tour to Machu Picchu 4-day. Walk the ancient route the Incas used to reach this Wonder of the World.
