Do You Need a Tour Guide For Machu Picchu?
James Bustamante is Native to New York but born to Peruvian parents. He has been traveling throughout Latin America since early 2003 and finally made his home in Peru. James has made his way by eating and traveling through almost every country in Central and South America.
Last Updated on April 1, 2022 by James Bustamante
Yes, you will need a tour guide for Machu Picchu, this has been the rule ever since it was established in July of 2017. Going to Machu Picchu is usually a once-in-a-lifetime event for most travelers. It is important to make sure you get in as much information as possible and see as much of the city during the Machu Picchu hike as you can. The best way to get the most out of your visit to the Inca citadel is with a qualified guide for Machu Picchu.
Why Do You Need A Guide For Machu Picchu?
The local government decided to make entering with a guide a mandatory rule in July 2017. This was due to several groups of travelers entering the citadel without a specific route to take. Once inside these groups would sometimes get lost within the Incan buildings and would not really get the most out of their Machu Picchu visit.
Machu Picchu is the type of destination that really demands having an experienced and well-versed guide to take you through the Incan complex. There are several floors, temples, and constructions throughout the city, this requires a knowledgeable guide to give a presentation on each temple or building. The guide will also help to navigate through the city of Machu Picchu.
How Much Does The Machu Picchu Guide Cost?
The cost for having a guide can be $30 – $50 for an entire group. This includes helping you enter the Inca complex and a fully guided Machu Picchu tour that will take on average 2.5 hours.
- If you booked a travel package the guide and permits are already included in your trip.
Benefits Of A Guide
Having a Tour guide for the Machu Picchu guided tour is a great thing. You will have someone that is knowledgeable about the site. It’s not enough to just walk into Machu Picchu, it is important to know what each section of the complex is and what its main purpose was. The guide will give a presentation about each location in Machu Picchu, among them you can find:
- The Sundial
- The Temple of The Sun
- The Machu Picchu Mirrors
- The Temple of the Condor
- The Temple of The 3 Windows
- The Temple of The Moon (Huayna Picchu)
The guide should give a concise presentation about the uses of temples, altars, and monuments. They should also give a brief history of what each important landmark in the city meant to the Incan empire.
Can I Hire a Guide Outside Machu Picchu?
Yes, there are several guides just outside the main entrance doors to Machu Picchu. The price will be $30-$50 for the group which is very affordable. The problem with getting a guide just outside Machu Picchu is that you won’t really know if they are knowledgeable or not, bilingual or not, until the guided tour of the complex begins.
It is usually best to make sure you have a guide that was assigned to you. This ensures the person giving the tour has met certain criteria such as near-native level English and extensive knowledge of the Incan ruins.
Is a Tour Guide For Machu Picchu Included in My Travel Package?
Yes, we include a knowledgeable and bilingual tour guide for your Machu Picchu excursion. The guide included in your package will meet you in one of three ways.
The guide will meet you at Aguas Calientes once you leave the train station. This guided service is included in your Peru tour packages. The guide will either walk with you to your hotel or to the bus station to go to Machu Picchu. It depends on whether your itinerary has you spending a night in Aguas Calientes or not.
Depending on your package the guide for Machu Picchu might be the same guide that has been with you since Cusco and the Sacred Valley.
If you took a multi-day hike to Machu Picchu, the guide for the Incan complex will be the same one you’ve had throughout the trek through the Andes.
In any case, you won’t need to hire a tour guide for Machu Picchu since one will have already been appointed to you by us.
Machu Picchu Shifts
There are two main shifts in Machu Picchu. The first starts at 6:00 am and the second at 12:00 pm. Each shirt will give you 4 hours to spend touring Machu Picchu. This will include your guided tour which lasts around 2.5 hours and 1.5 hours to either explore on your own or take one of the additional hikes like Huayna Picchu or Mount Machu Picchu.
Your ticket will have an entrance time, this means you can enter at exactly the time on the ticket or anytime between the entrance time and the end of the shift. So If your ticket says 6:00 am, you can enter the complex at any time between 6 and 12:00 pm.
Do You Need a Tour Guide For Huayna Picchu?
No, you will not be required to have a tour guide to enter the Huayna Picchu hike. This extra hike only requires a permit, once you reach the entrance you can walk up the stairs on your own or with your party. The path is rather narrow and there is only one direction to go (up) so a guide is not necessary for this part of the trip.
This also applies to the additional Mount Machu Picchu hike. You will not need a guide to go through this particular route either, just the permit which needs to be booked a few days or weeks in advance.
Conclusion
It is now mandatory to have a guide for Machu Picchu upon entering the complex. If you do not have one assigned to you and decided to head to the Incan city on your own, you will easily find one at the entrance. Choosing a guide at random might not be the best way to visit this one-in-a-lifetime Inca landmark though. To have a guide assigned to your or your party make sure to contact our travel advisers today.
Resource: Main Photo by Victor Rodriguez
