New Restrictions for Machu Picchu Tickets Starting July 1, 2017
 

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2...ow-of-tourists

http://www.cntraveler.com/story/mach...w-restrictions

From 1 July, visitors will only be able to enter the site with an official tour guide, and tickets will grant entry for a specific time period, either a morning (6am-noon) or afternoon (noon-5.30pm). Guides must be licenced and group size will be limited to16 people. Visitors must also follow the defined routes around the site, a change from the present setup where it is possible to explore relatively independently and stay the entire day.

Ticket prices to the citadel will remain the same (£36 for adults, £16.50 concessions) but visitors who wish to stay for the day will have to buy two tickets. The Peruvian ministry of culture increased prices to historical sites across Peru, including Machu Picchu, in January this year.

Wow! Thanks for posting this. This will definitely impact my future groups. It's going to be difficult to do our usual itinerary (pictures at the guard house, guided tour, Sun Gate hike, Inca Bridge hike) in the allotted time.

Another case of "I'm glad I went when I did." During May the tour groups were around a good bit at midday but thinned after 2 or so. I arranged for about 4.5 hours that was about half and half (group and individual).

Article sez they're running 5,000/day in summer and UNESCO recommends 2,500. Could be they one day put a plastic dome over all of it and people can only peer in.

If you go after 1pm currently the price drops down 50% if I remember correctly. We did that last year and the crowds were very thin. In fact, when we were arriving the line for the bus back down was massive. The only downside is depending on the time of year the temperature around 1pm is at it's peak. The sun is fairly intense.

When I went my first time five years ago they were far less restrictive on where you were allowed to roam compared to last year.

Thanks for the info! Looks like I just got in under the wire. (This is being posted from a hotel room in Aguas Calientes. Ruins yesterday, climbed Mount Machu Picchu today, probably Sun Gate tomorrow.)

I see a business model in ad hoc groups. A small fee for a "we'll get you in, you take it from there" arrangement.

I would like to see how they are gonna police this. I guess like clearing out a movie theater between shows?

Somehow I doubt the actual layout of the place and their organization skills will allow this to work as presented.

I would assume with official tour guides they will be required to exit the park at certain times with the group. Would be pretty easy to spot individuals not with a group.

The new rules will make some people decide that they really don't want to visit.....and maybe therefore not come to Peru at all. However, the numbers of such people who will know about the rules in advance might be too small to have any unintended consequences impact.

There were a lot more "one way" signs up this morning than I remember seeing as recently as Tuesday (two days ago). (They're wood free-standing signs with an arrow and a bilingual legend.) And the place is always full of rangers. I doubt they'll be shy about keeping people heading in the right direction. I don't know how they'll police exit time, though, unless people with both am and pm tickets are required to leave the ruins area and come back in. That might be a problem for slow climbers to either mountain who have the later entrance window. Getting back down and to the exit by noon might not be realistic.

Like nearly everyone I headed to MP as part of my first Peru trip. The MP part may turn out to be a one-off, but Cuzco was a pleasant surprise and I've returned to Peru for 4 trips since, some just to Lima and one to Iquitos (an adventure in itself).

The point being that there could be a negative domino effect on future business if they lose that first trip. And it's another thing that's hard to measure.

Peru is underleveraged anyway given the fact that it doesn't charge reciprocity fees (or stealth ones as 3-figure airport taxes) and has easier access by LCCs and for awards. With Iquitos they also have a much easier Amazon access than in trying to get there via Brazil. They could market a lot more than just MP.

That's ridiculous. I've been 5 times in MP, i don't need a guide anymore. I just read a new article today (sorry only in spanish), it says guides are not a must, but another paragraph mention it actually is. ??

http://portaldeturismo.pe/index.php/...el-01-de-julio

we must see how it goes in july with these new restrictions. I'm going in august

I'm sure lots of guides whose groups have 15 or fewer people will be happy to "add" you to their group, get you in, and let you wander around in exchange for a small token of your appreciation for this service. If you've been there five times already, you'll probably have no problem speaking with them in Spanish.

It might not be a good idea to wander around in a way that makes it obvious to rangers that you're not with a group, though. I suppose you can say something like "the rest of my group is up there," pointing further along the path in a vague way ...

Silly me, I should have thought it in the very first place, he he. I'm peruvian, I live in Peru so I know my fellows, yes sure I will find those guys.

Has anyone gone under the new rules yet? Any comments about this?

I bought a ticket for late August several months in advance, before this new policy was announced. The face of the ticket says my entry time is 6:00am - 4:00pm. Does anyone know whether the new policy applies to this existing ticket too?

According to a local newspaper, Promperú explained that tickets that have been reserved and purchased until May 2 to visit Machu Picchu between July and December of this year will not have restrictions on the entrance schedule.
http://peru21.pe/actualidad/atencion...oletos-2283771

There's also an unofficial tourism webpage where you can ask, but I think the article I mentioned is reliable.
http://ticketmachupicchu.com/contact...-machu-picchu/

But I think you'll need to hire a guide or join a group anyway, according to new policy. I'm going on august 12; I'll be posting my review then.