Archaeology, Feature, Travel/Tourism

Machu Picchu visitor entry in two shifts set to begin in July

The new ticketing system for visitors to Machu Picchu to enter the Inca citadel in two shifts, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon, will start July 1.

Cusco’s regional Culture Directorate announced the long-heralded change on its Machu Picchu ticket sales page in a pop-up communique.

The first shift would be from 6 a.m. until 12 p.m. and the second from 12 p.m. until 5:30 p.m.

“Reservation and sale of entrance tickets for these two different shifts will be starting June 1, 2017,” in accordance with the UNESCO-endorsed Master Plan for the iconic Inca sanctuary. “In the month of May the necessary adjustments will be made in the system,” the communique said.

A government resolution approving the new Regulations of Sustainable Use and Touristic Visits for the Conservation of the Inca City of Machu Picchu was published in February

“This measure is adopted with the aim of ensuring a better flow of tourism, conservation and preservation of the citadel in accordance with the Master Plan of the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu,” the statement said.

Dr. Elías Carreño Peralta, the Ministry of Culture’s official in charge of implementing the 2015-2019 Machu Picchu Master Plan, explained this measure, among several others, in an extensive interview with Peruvian Times, published in January.

The Master Plan lays out a drastic “reconceptualization” ofthe site, which each year receives an increasing number of visitors.

A record 1.4 million visitors toured Machu Picchu in 2016, an 11 percent increase over the prior year, according to official figures provided by Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism.

“Unlike petroleum and gold, which can be depleted, Machu Picchu should remain forever,” Carreño Peralta said, “But all of us have to do our part and respect the regulations.”

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One Comment

  1. Frans van den Broek

    I was recently searching for arranged trips to go to Machu Picchu and I was shocked to discover that they charge 70 dollars for an entrance ticket. That is an incredible scandal, which confirms my perception that everything in Cusco and surroundings is geared up towards fleecing the tourists of every cent they have before they leave. Something which speaks of our Peruvian mentality of profit before hospitality, or thinking that the foreigners are by definition rich, therefore they can pay whatever is asked of them. I am surprised nobody has complained about this. And this is only Machu Picchu. Everything is much more expensive for the foreigners. What sense of hospitality is that? Frankly, I am ashamed of my country when it behaves like this.

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