Aguas Calientes City Guide
Machu Picchu Rules: the Conduct Code, the ID Check, the Bag Limit and the Toilets
The Ministry of Culture publishes its own code of conduct for the Llaqta de Machupicchu on machupicchu.gob.pe, and that document is the single most useful thing to read before you go. Most visitors do not read it. They arrive at the gate with a full-size travel backpack, a snack bag, a selfie stick and no idea that any of those things can end the visit at the door. This page works through the published Machu Picchu rules item by item: the passport and ID check, the bag size limit, the full list of banned items and behaviour, the toilets, the entry slots and the tolerance windows, and the rules that govern how a ticket itself is bought. Every rule on this page comes from the Ministry's own conduct code or from the ministerial resolution that governs visits, so you can plan around facts rather than forum chatter. If you are still deciding what to see once inside, our things to do in Aguas Calientes guide covers the town and the mountain, and our Machu Picchu tickets page explains the buying options in detail.
Quick answer What you cannot bring, ID, bags and next-day tickets
Bags larger than 40x35x20 cm (16x14x8 in) are banned inside Machu Picchu, and every foreign visitor must carry a passport, carne de extranjeria or diplomatic ID at the gate. The ticket is name-locked and non-refundable. Food, drones, tripods, umbrellas, walking sticks, strollers, alcohol and cigarettes are all on the Ministry's published banned list, and breaking any rule means immediate expulsion without refund.
Key takeaways
- The entrance ticket costs $43.00 and covers the official entry for the circuit you choose, with all sales final.
- Bring your original passport, carne de extranjeria or diplomatic ID. Foreign visitors need one of those three documents at the entry control, and reduced-tariff visitors need documents proving residency or CAN status.
- If the official online quota is gone, read our tickets sold out guide before panicking, because the in-town office sells up to 1,000 tickets per day for next-day entry only.
The Passport and the Name-Locked Ticket
Two rules sit at the front of every entry to the Llaqta: the ID you carry and the name printed on your ticket. They are linked, because the ticket only works if it matches the document you present.
The ID rule at the entry gate
The ministerial resolution that governs visits (Article 17.1 of R.M. No. 000528-2023-MC) requires every visitor to carry their entry ticket plus official identification. For foreign visitors, the valid documents are a passport, a carne de extranjeria (the Peruvian residence card) or a diplomatic ID. Citizens of CAN and MERCOSUR countries may use their DNI, the national identity card of those countries.
Peruvian visitors need their original DNI. The same resolution adds a detail many people miss: a guide is recommended, but the regulation does not state that one is mandatory. The physical check happens at the gate control before you step onto the circuit.
A photocopy or a phone photo of a passport is not listed as an accepted document, so carry the original. If you are entering under the reduced national, resident or CAN tariff, the ticket office and the gate can ask for the document that proves that status: a valid DNI, carne de extranjeria or a passport showing residency. Students using the student tariff need a valid SUNEDU- or Ministry of Education-issued university card, or an original valid card from a university or technical institution in a CAN-member country, and the tariff applies to undergraduate students only.
The minors' tariff covers ages 3 to 17 inclusive, and children under 3 enter free.
The ticket carries your name, your date and your time, and it does not bend
The entry ticket is valid only for the date and the time slot printed on it. Article 15 of the resolution states that no date changes and no name changes are allowed, with a single exception: an exceptional correction of a mistyped passport or DNI number. That is the one fix available, so check every character of your passport number when booking.
Refunds are not issued by DDC-Cusco except in force-majeure situations that prevent arrival, meaning events genuinely outside your control. If you book through a reseller, their own terms can be stricter than the Ministry's, not looser. Both entrance ticket products we list, our entrance ticket card and the official entrance ticket card, state that all sales are final.
The practical reading of the Machu Picchu rules here is simple: treat the ticket like a flight. Once you know your date, your slot and the circuit you want, read our Machu Picchu tickets page and book with the exact details you intend to travel with.
ID and ticket rules from R.M. No. 000528-2023-MC as published by the Ministry of Culture, and from the Ministry's conduct code at machupicchu.gob.pe/normas-de-conducta/.
The Bag Size Limit and What Is Banned Inside
The bag rule is the one that catches travellers at the gate in person, and the banned list is the one that ends visits halfway through a circuit. Both come straight from the Ministry's published conduct code.
Bags larger than 40x35x20 cm are not allowed in
The conduct code bans backpacks and bags larger than 40x35x20 cm (16x14x8 in) inside the Llaqta. That is roughly the size of a school daypack, not a travel backpack. Most 40-litre and larger packs fail this measurement, and many 30-litre ones fail it too, because the limit is the longest dimension, not the litre count.
There is no cloakroom stated inside the gate in the Ministry's published material, so the practical move is to leave the big bag at your hotel or a storage service in Aguas Calientes before taking the bus up. Our Aguas Calientes luggage storage page lists where that can be done in town. Measure your bag with a tape before you travel, at the three dimensions, including pockets and straps that stick out.
Guards at the gate check by eye and by hand, and a bag that fails the check does not go through.
The full banned list, grouped
The Ministry's code of conduct at machupicchu.gob.pe/normas-de-conducta/ lists every prohibited item and behaviour. We have reproduced the full list below, grouped into categories so you can scan it. Note three entries in particular, because they catch travellers who expected to be fine.
Walking sticks are banned, including trekking poles, though guide dogs are the sole animal exception. Umbrellas are banned, which matters in a site where rain is frequent, so bring a rain jacket instead. Drones are banned, along with paragliding and any small aircraft overflight.
Food of any kind is banned, so eat a real meal in town before your slot. Phone use is restricted on narrow paths, where the rule asks visitors not to use phones or virtual apps while walking through the tight passages of the circuit.
| Category | Banned Items |
|---|---|
| Bags and gear | Backpacks and bags larger than 40x35x20 cm (16x14x8 in); walking sticks; umbrellas; portable seats; tripods; selfie sticks and any camera or phone stabilising or extending mount; strollers; sharp objects or weapons of any kind; hard-soled shoes or heels. |
| Food and substances | Food and tableware; illegal substances and being under their influence; alcohol; aerosols; smoking, vaping or any fire. |
| Behaviour and noise | Musical instruments, megaphones or speakers; loud noise including clapping, shouting, whistling and singing; running, jumping, lying down, undressing or causing disorder; using phone or virtual apps on narrow paths; not following the assigned circuit or route; activities that distort the sacred character of the site, such as fashion shows, dances, social events or obscene acts. |
| Filming and commerce | Commercial filming and photography; banners, posters, advertising clothing and costumes; street vending inside the monument and the surrounding area up to Puente Ruinas; graffiti; drones, paragliding and any small aircraft overflight. |
| Nature and structures | Animals except guide dogs; feeding wildlife or domestic animals; disturbing, collecting or removing flora or fauna; climbing on or touching walls and stone structures; littering. |
The consequence is expulsion without refund
The conduct code states the penalty in one line: violation causes immediate expulsion from the site without refund, and possible legal action. That applies to any item on the list, from a drone to a granola bar to a cigarette behind the Temple of the Sun. There is no warning system described in the published rules, no size of violation that earns a pass, and your ticket money does not come back.
Guards and police patrol the circuits, and overstay removal is carried out with police and park-guard support under the same resolution. Two practical notes. First, water: the published list bans food and tableware but does not state a rule about sealed water bottles, so this page does not invent one either way.
Second, the shoes rule: hard-soled shoes and heels are prohibited, which most hiking footwear does not violate, but dress shoes and rigid-soled boots might, so choose flexible-soled footwear. If you want a plan that respects the circuit rules while seeing the classic views, start from our Machu Picchu circuits breakdown and pick the route before you buy.
Conduct rules from the Ministry of Culture's published code of conduct, machupicchu.gob.pe/normas-de-conducta/, and R.M. No. 000528-2023-MC.
Toilets at Machu Picchu
This is the question the conduct code does not answer directly, so here is exactly what the official sources say and do not say.
No official source publishes toilet locations or fees at the gate
No official source publishes the location or fee of toilets at the Llaqta gate, and this page will not invent one. Many guides repeat specific claims about facilities just outside the entrance and their prices, but the Ministry's conduct code and the visiting regulation do not state them, so treat those claims as unverified. What the official material does publish is one nearby facility with confirmed hours: the Museo de Sitio Manuel Chavez Ballon, at the base of the mountain near Puente Ruinas, which is free to visit between 12:00 and 16:00.
See our Machu Picchu site museum page for details. Plan around the structure of the visit instead. Your ticket allows 2 hours 30 minutes inside from your entry time, and re-entry is not permitted except for force majeure, so once you walk through the gate you are inside for the whole window.
The practical advice follows from that: use the facilities in Aguas Calientes before you board the bus up, and again when you come down. Keep your food and drink in town too, since food is banned inside anyway. A 2h30 circuit is short enough that this works, if you treat the town as the last stop before the gate.
Museum free hours from R.M. No. 000528-2023-MC, Article 17.4. The absence of published toilet details is a finding of this page's own check of the official sources.
Entry Slots and the Tolerance Rule
The time rules are part of the Machu Picchu rules in the strictest sense: arrive outside your window and the ticket does not work, stay too long and you are removed.
Hourly slots from 06:00 to 15:00, with 30 or 45 minutes of tolerance
Entry is sold by the hour: 06:00, 07:00, 08:00, 09:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00 and 15:00. The official entry-hours notice sets an arrival tolerance around your slot. In months of regular demand you may arrive up to 30 minutes after the ticketed time.
In high-demand windows, which are 1 June to 15 October plus 30 and 31 December, tolerance extends to 45 minutes. Miss the tolerance window and the ticket is not valid for that day. Once inside, the standard routes give you a maximum of 2 hours 30 minutes from your entry time, and re-entry is not permitted except for force majeure.
The Llaqta closes at 17:30, and the 14:00 and 15:00 slots run until that closing time. Overstaying leads to immediate removal with police and park-guard support. Because your route is fixed by the circuit on your ticket, choose it before you buy, and work through our Machu Picchu circuits page to match a route to your fitness and your interests rather than guessing at the gate.
The mountain controls are stricter: no tolerance, back by 13:00
The mountain routes do not play with the same tolerances. At the Machupicchu Mountain, Waynapicchu Mountain and Huchuypicchu control points there is no tolerance at all, and those controls must be entered at the exact ticketed time. Both mountain summits carry a hard deadline too: visitors on Huayna Picchu (Route 3-A, with entry turns at 07:00 to 07:30 or 10:00 to 10:30) and on Machu Picchu Mountain (Route 1-A, with turns at 07:00 to 07:30 or 09:00 to 09:30) must be back from the summit by 13:00.
Total time inside including the Llaqta runs to 5.5 hours for the Huayna route from entry, or 6.5 hours if combined with the Gran Caverna on the first turn only, and up to 6.5 hours for the Machupicchu Mountain route. If you are booking a mountain route, the timing math matters more than for any standard circuit, because a late arrival at the mountain control costs you the mountain and possibly the whole day.
Slot times, tolerances and permanence rules from the Ministry's official entry-hours notice and R.M. No. 000528-2023-MC, Articles 12 and 16.
Buying the Ticket Without Breaking a Rule
Even the purchase of the ticket has rules attached: where it can be sold, how many per order, and when the in-town office quota becomes valid.
Online sales run through tuboleto.cultura.pe, one to five tickets per order
Official online sales happen only through tuboleto.cultura.pe, the Ministry of Culture's ticketing platform. A single order is capped at a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 5 tickets, so a group of six or more needs two orders. The ticket is issued name-locked to the passport or DNI number entered at purchase, and as covered above, only a mistyped document number qualifies for the exceptional correction procedure.
Everything else is fixed: name, date, slot and circuit. This page names tuboleto.cultura.pe only as a fact about how the rule works, not as a recommendation about where to buy, since its quota sells out far in advance in high season. If the official quota for your date is gone, read our tickets sold out page for the realistic options before changing your whole itinerary.
The in-town office sells 1,000 tickets a day, valid for the next day only
The DDC-Cusco ticket office in Machupicchu Pueblo (Aguas Calientes) sells up to 1,000 tickets per day in person. The rule that surprises people: tickets bought at that office are valid for entry the NEXT day only, never the same day. So the walk-up window is a real option only if you are sleeping in town, which is one more reason the town is worth a night.
If you would rather skip the queue and the quota lottery, we sell the tickets directly. Our entrance ticket card from MachuPicchu.Center costs $43.00 and issues the official ticket for the circuit you choose at booking. The official entrance ticket card from Treppid Travels is also listed at $43.00, but note the catch stated on its own product page: a roughly $24 booking fee is added at checkout, so its real total is about $67.00, and the ticket is delivered by WhatsApp or email a day in advance or faster on request. Both cards state all sales are final, consistent with the Ministry's own no-refund rule. Either way, buy before you travel if your dates are fixed.
If you would rather have a guide handle the whole booking, compare guided options on Aguas Calientes tours.
Purchase rules from machupicchu.gob.pe's official ticketing pages, tuboleto.cultura.pe's own purchase flow, and Resolucion Directoral No. 001102-2022-DDCCUS/MC for the next-day office quota.
What the Ticket Actually Costs
These are our own card prices for the entrance ticket, stated plainly. No official tariff row is needed here and none is implied. Bus and guide are separate on both.
| Ticket | Price | What It Includes | Book Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Machu Picchu Entrance Ticket (MachuPicchu.Center) | $43.00 | The official entrance ticket alone, for the circuit chosen at booking. Guide and bus are not included unless you take the separate 2-day option from the same operator. | All sales final, so fix your date and circuit before paying. |
| Machu Picchu: Official Entrance Tickets (Treppid Travels) | $43.00, plus a roughly $24 booking fee added at checkout, so about $67.00 in total | The official entrance ticket, delivered by WhatsApp or email a day in advance, or faster for last-minute travellers. Bus, transfers, lunch and guide are all separate. | All sales final. Book as soon as your date is set, since slots sell out. |
Figures current in Q3 2026.
Tickets and the Bus, Booked Ahead
The three products below cover what the rules require you to hold: a name-locked entrance ticket and, if you are not walking the stairs from town, the bus up the switchbacks. Each card states its own terms, and all of them are non-refundable once booked.
from $43.00
Machu Picchu Entrance Ticket
MachuPicchu.Center sells the official entrance ticket alone for the circuit you choose, with the private guide and bus only bundled in on the separate 2-day Circuit 2 commitment option. All sales are final, so double-check your date and circuit before paying.
Check Availability
from $43.00
Machu Picchu: Official Entrance Tickets
Treppid Travels issues the official entrance ticket and sends it by WhatsApp or email a day in advance, or faster on request for last-minute travelers. The advertised $43 covers the ticket alone, a roughly $24 booking fee is added at checkout and the bus, transfers, lunch and guide are all separate.
the $43 ticket price does not include a roughly $24 booking/service fee added at checkout, and bus, transfers and guide are all separate
Check Availability
from $19.00
Aguas Calientes: Bus Transfer to Machu Picchu Citadel
Peru & U's local partner reserves your one-way or round-trip bus ticket between Aguas Calientes and the Machu Picchu citadel gate and emails it to you, skipping the ticket-booth line in town. It's non-refundable once booked, so pick your date carefully.
Check AvailabilityPrices, ratings and details are the platform's own. Dollar figures are the listed prices. The platform bills in your account's currency.
What You Can Carry on the Train and the Bus
The bag limit at the gate has a sibling rule on the railway, and it is tighter than most travellers expect.
PeruRail allows one carry-on, 8 kg and 115 linear cm
PeruRail's policy allows one piece of carry-on luggage per ticket, a backpack, handbag or briefcase, with a maximum weight of 8 kg (17.64 lb) and maximum dimensions of 55 x 35 x 25 cm, adding to 115 linear cm. Exceeding pieces are not allowed on board, so a full travel pack does not ride with you. PeruRail also notes that on its Titicaca route only (Cusco to Puno, unrelated to Machu Picchu) an additional piece up to 23 kg can travel in a luggage car.
Special assistance requests go to equipaje@perurail.com at least 48 hours ahead, subject to space. The practical consequence for most visitors: the big bag stays in Cusco or Ollantaytambo at your hotel, or in storage in Aguas Calientes. Our Machu Picchu train page covers the services, and our Aguas Calientes luggage storage page covers where to leave things once you arrive in town.
Inca Rail allows 8 kg and 118 cm, and the carriages have no racks
Inca Rail's rule is similar but not identical: each ticket allows one piece of hand luggage up to 8 kg (17 lb) and up to 118 linear cm, and its carriages and vans have no on-board luggage racks at all, which is exactly what the policy says. That means your single bag travels at your seat or feet, so pack accordingly. Inca Rail offers a paid Luggage Custody Service, but it is available only at its Ollantaytambo ticket office, so decide before you board, not at the platform.
Between the two operators the pattern is the same: one small bag per person on the train, everything else stored. Then the same bag faces the 40x35x20 cm gate limit, so a daypack that passes both rules is the honest solution for this trip.
Luggage policies from PeruRail's official FAQ and Inca Rail's official luggage policies page.
Machu Picchu Circuits
All three circuits and ten routes explained, so you pick the right ticket before the rules lock you in.
Machu Picchu Tickets Sold Out
What to do when the online quota is gone, including the next-day office rule in town.
Aguas Calientes Luggage Storage
Where to leave the big bag in town so it passes the 40x35x20 cm gate limit by not coming at all.
What can't you bring to Machu Picchu?
The Ministry's code of conduct bans food and tableware, alcohol, illegal substances, walking sticks, umbrellas, tripods, selfie sticks, strollers, drones, aerosols, musical instruments, animals except guide dogs, weapons, banners and costumes, commercial filming, smoking and vaping. Bags over 40x35x20 cm are also banned. Violation means immediate expulsion without refund. See our rules page basics for the setting.
Do you need your passport at Machu Picchu?
Yes. Foreign visitors must present a passport, carne de extranjeria or diplomatic ID at the entry gate, along with the ticket. CAN and MERCOSUR citizens may use their DNI, and Peruvians need their original DNI. The ticket itself is name-locked to that document, so the name and number must match. Read our Machu Picchu tickets page before booking.
What is the bag size limit at Machu Picchu?
Bags larger than 40x35x20 cm (16x14x8 in) are not allowed inside the Llaqta. Measure your bag at all three dimensions, including protruding pockets. Most travel backpacks fail the check, so leave the big bag in town. Our Aguas Calientes luggage storage page lists your options.
Are there toilets at Machu Picchu?
No official source publishes the location or fee of toilets at the Llaqta gate, so this page states that plainly rather than repeating unverified claims. The one nearby facility with published hours is the Museo de Sitio Manuel Chavez Ballon, free between 12:00 and 16:00. Use facilities in Aguas Calientes before boarding the bus, since there is no re-entry inside.
Can I get a refund if I miss my slot?
No, not as a general rule. DDC-Cusco does not issue refunds except in force-majeure situations preventing arrival, and the ticket is valid only for the purchased date and time. Tolerance is 30 minutes in regular months and 45 minutes in high-demand windows, so arriving late beyond that voids the ticket. If your date is at risk, see tickets sold out for alternatives.
How many tickets are sold online per order?
The official tuboleto.cultura.pe purchase flow caps each order at a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 5 tickets. Larger groups simply place additional orders. Remember the ticket is name-locked, date-locked and non-transferable, so each traveller's document number must be entered correctly. Our things to do guide helps you plan the rest of the day around your slot.
Prices, hours and terms are set by the venue or operator and confirmed at checkout.
We may earn a commission if you book through one of our links, at no extra cost to you. Full affiliate disclosure