Cusco Tourist Ticket: Prices, Circuits and Where to Buy

How much does the Cusco tourist ticket cost?

Use Peruvian soles for the admission comparison. Dollar equivalents depend on exchange rates and may include seller charges. The official FAQ lists the amounts below. These are admission tariffs, not prices for a vehicle, guide or complete outing.

The official table identifies discounted integral student products, not a separate discounted student partial for each circuit. Do not copy unofficial S/40 foreign-student or S/20 national-student partial claims into your budget. Confirm the applicable product and supporting proof for each traveler at purchase.

• Foreign visitor, standard integral: S/130; foreign student integral: S/70.
• Foreign visitor, partial Circuit I, II or III: S/70 for one selected circuit.
• National/promotional visitor, standard integral: S/70; national student integral: S/40.
• National/promotional partial Circuit I, II or III: S/40 for one selected circuit.

Integral or partial: which ticket is worth buying?

Choose one partial when all your intended covered visits belong to one circuit and its confirmed validity fits your schedule. A foreign adult using only Circuit III compares S/70 partial with S/130 integral; the S/60 difference does not buy transport or Maras admission. A standard national-category visitor compares S/40 with S/70, a S/30 difference.

For two circuits, two standard foreign-adult partials cost S/70 + S/70 = S/140, versus S/130 integral: S/10 less for the integral. Two standard national partials cost S/40 + S/40 = S/80, versus S/70 integral: again S/10 less. For two foreign adults using two circuits, that is S/260 integral versus S/280 in partials, a party saving of S/20.

These comparisons apply to the listed standard categories, not an assumed mixed-family discount. The integral is worthwhile only if you genuinely use additional covered venues inside its validity. Do not add rushed stops just to justify a larger pass, or buy another admission already included in a tour.

Circuit I: which Cusco archaeological sites are included?

Circuit I is the Saqsayhuaman group: Sacsayhuamán/Saqsayhuaman, Q’enqo/Qenqo, Puka Pukara and Tambomachay. These are four separate archaeological sites, not the whole historic center or a city transport route.

Choose it for the included ruins above Cusco. A city-tour label may also include Qorikancha temple, which is separately ticketed; ask for the exact entrance list. Walking, steps and road transfers take time, so do not equate four admissions with four quick photo stops.

Circuit II: what is included in City and South Valley?

Circuit II contains eight venues. The official list combines city museums and cultural venues with Tipón and Pikillaqta outside the center. A city-only visit is not the same as visiting the entire circuit.

The included Qorikancha venue is the Museo de Sitio Qorikancha, not the main temple and Santo Domingo convent complex. Check the exact name rather than treating every entrance associated with Qorikancha as included.

• Museo de Sitio Qorikancha; Museo Histórico Regional (Casa Garcilaso).
• Museo de Arte Contemporáneo; Museo de Arte Popular.
• Monumento a Pachacuteq; Centro Qosqo de Arte Nativo.
• Parque Arqueológico de Tipón; Parque Arqueológico de Pikillaqta.

Circuit III: which Sacred Valley sites are included?

Circuit III covers the archaeological parks of Pisac/Pisaq, Ollantaytambo, Chinchero and Moray. It does not cover every Sacred Valley landmark, market, workshop or church. Entering a named archaeological park is different from passing through its town.

Moray is included; Maras salt mines are not. Confirm the actual stops, ticket validity and any onward Ollantaytambo train before settling your route. The Sacred Valley itinerary guide covers route planning; the pass itself does not arrange the journey.

How long is it valid, and when does the clock start?

The government-domain tariff lists foreign integral and foreign student integral as ten days, foreign Partial I as one day, and foreign Partials II and III as two days. The separately hosted COSITUC-branded tariff also lists ten-day integral products but gives foreign Partial I five days and national partials one day. These are conflicting published terms, not interchangeable travel advice.

Ask COSITUC to confirm the duration, start date and final usable date for your nationality/category and product before payment. Do not spread foreign Circuit I visits over five days without that confirmation, or apply foreign Circuit II/III durations automatically to national partials. The ticket and issuer’s explanation need to agree; a private guide cannot settle an official tariff conflict.

The official FAQ explicitly says validity begins on purchase day and recommends buying on the day visits begin. Do not assume first-entry activation or a rolling number of 24-hour periods. Get the final calendar expiry stated clearly, especially if an intermediary proposes early collection.

Where can you buy it, and is online purchase official?

COSITUC’s FAQ says purchase is in person, not online. Its central counter is listed at Av. El Sol 103, Galerías Turísticas, Monday–Sunday 07:30–18:00. Confirm same-day opening arrangements through the official contact page before making a special trip; counter hours do not establish every attraction’s opening hours.

The FAQ also lists sales at included venues except Museo Histórico Regional/Casa Garcilaso, Centro Qosqo de Arte Nativo, Museo de Arte Popular and Museo de Arte Contemporáneo. Do not make one of those four your first stop expecting to buy there. If buying at another site, confirm its sales service and visit hours.

A private website may sell coordination or delivery, or include admission in a tour. That is different from official COSITUC online checkout. Identify the seller, official ticket component, service fee, purchase date, collection point and terms before paying. An enquiry, website order or tour deposit alone is not proof of an issued BTC.

The official sources reviewed do not establish universal cash-only or card-acceptance rules. Carry enough soles as a precaution and check payment methods at your actual counter rather than relying on an old blog.

Who qualifies for student, child or promotional rates?

The tariff says ages 10–17 can obtain the student ticket with an identity document; ages 18–25 require a current student card or ISIC. The FAQ identifies DNI, passport or other identity documentation for the younger age band. Age alone does not establish student eligibility at 18–25. Confirm accepted proof for your exact category and carry it with your ticket.

Children through age nine generally do not pay, according to the FAQ. There is an explicit exception at Centro Qosqo de Arte Nativo: payment starts at age six because a seat is used. Ask about that venue’s seating charge before a family visit; do not interpret this as a charge for the entire BTC.

The FAQ says residents in Peru can obtain promotional rates with a valid carnet de extranjería or permanent-residence documentation. Present your actual status and proof to COSITUC rather than assuming everyone temporarily living in Peru qualifies. Its promotional description names Peruvians and permanent residents; confirm eligibility edge cases directly.

COSITUC says there is no CAN-nationality-only discount, no teacher ITIC discount, no IYTC youth-card discount and no bulk-purchase discount. Group tour service prices may vary, but that does not establish a reduction in official admission rates.

What is excluded, and can you pay for only one site?

Machu Picchu, Inca Trail permits, Cusco Cathedral, Maras salt mines and the Qorikancha temple/convent are outside the listed BTC venues. A pass does not include trains, road transfers, a guide, meals or accommodation. The named Qorikancha site museum is the important distinction—not proof of temple access.

For a single intended archaeological site such as Moray or Sacsayhuamán, COSITUC’s FAQ says buy the corresponding partial circuit rather than assuming a cheaper individual admission exists. It identifies exceptions for Centro Qosqo de Arte Nativo and the Pachacuteq Monument. Check their separate arrangements directly; this guide does not assert a current single-venue tariff.

Is it transferable, reusable or refundable?

COSITUC says the ticket carries the buyer’s name, cannot be gifted or resold, and must be presented with identification. A companion cannot use your unused admissions. Keep the original secure and readable; do not assume a photo, damaged pass or altered name will be accepted.

The official pages reviewed do not establish every re-entry, lost-ticket replacement, change or refund scenario. Ask COSITUC before relying on a repeat visit or replacement, and ask a private seller separately about its service terms. Unused entries, illness, weather or a moved tour date do not by themselves establish an extension or refund entitlement.

How should the ticket fit your itinerary?

Match the printed validity dates and circuit to your planned visits before purchase. Ticket coverage does not establish that a site is open, that every path is accessible, or that a sightseeing schedule fits an onward train.

Use the individual site guides for walking and access, and the Ollantaytambo station guide for boarding logistics. Confirm operating conditions separately from BTC validity.

What should an itemized tour quote say?

A city, Sacred Valley or Maras–Moray tour may include the required BTC or leave it payable separately. The tour name alone does not answer that question. Request the complete party total, currency, exact entered venues, ticket type, separate temple/salt-mine entries, transport and guiding scope, and any local payments.

If you already own a BTC, tell the seller its type and purchase date and ask whether proposed visits fit its validity. Request an explicit adjustment for duplicated admission rather than assuming a discount. Do not send passport numbers, identity-document images, card details or booking codes in an initial enquiry.

• Cusco visit dates, planned sites and any train connection to protect.
• Traveler count, broad age bands and rate categories to verify.
• Existing ticket: integral/partial circuit and purchase date, without a document image.
• Requested services: admission-fit advice, transport or guiding; ask what can actually be offered.
• Written full-party total, ticket purchase/collection responsibility, separate costs and terms.