Quick Summary: No single Machu Picchu ticket passes every temple in 2026. Route 2-A sees the most named sites: the main gate, the quarry, the Temple of the Sun from above, the Sacred Plaza, the Sacred Rock and the eastern homes. Circuit 3 is the only ticket that walks past the Temple of the Sun, the House of the Inca and the Temple of the Condor, and only Circuit 1 reaches the Guardian's House platform. We mapped each site from the Ministry of Culture's circuit rules (RM 528-2023-MC, Art. 8), its route maps and its June 2026 panels, for travellers choosing a route by what they will see; the rest of the decision is in Circuit 1 vs Circuit 2 vs Circuit 3.
The Short Answer
Machu Picchu has run on three circuits and ten routes since 1 June 2024. Your ticket names one route, and entering areas or circuits it does not cover gets you removed (RM 528-2023-MC, Art. 10). So the route letter decides what you see.
- Most named sites on one ticket: Route 2-A.
- The royal sector up close: Circuit 3.
- The Guardian's House and the high postcard view: Circuit 1 only, which sees the city from above but never enters it.
- The Intihuatana: no ticket. It has been closed since 1 June 2024.
Every Named Site and the Routes That Pass It
"Walk past" means the line on the Ministry's 2024 route maps or June 2026 panels runs through or beside the site. "View only" means a viewpoint or the path below.
| Site | What it was | Walk past it | View only |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guardian's House and platforms | Guardhouse on the Inca road | Both platforms: all Circuit 1 routes. Lower platform: 2-B | Other routes, from below |
| Funerary Rock | Carved rock; offerings found, no tombs | Not on any map; by the Circuit 1 loop (our reading) | Not confirmed |
| Farm terraces | About 4.9 ha, drained | Every route | None |
| Main gate | Only gate from farmland to city | 2-A, 2-B | Circuit 1 |
| Quarry | Source of building stone | 2-A, 2-B | Circuit 1 |
| Temple of the Sun | Curved tower over an altar rock | All Circuit 3 routes | 2-A, from above |
| Royal Tomb | Carved cave below it; no burials found | Not named; inside Circuit 3's loop | Not confirmed |
| House of the Inca | Royal residence | All Circuit 3 routes | Circuit 1 |
| Fountains | 16 fountains on a 749 m canal | Circuit 3; some on 2-A | None |
| Sacred Plaza (Main Temple, Three Windows) | Ceremonial plaza | 2-A, 2-B | Circuit 1 |
| Intihuatana | Carved hilltop altar; closed | None | 2-A, 2-B from its base; Circuit 1 |
| Sacred Rock | Large rock between two buildings | 2-A, 2-B, 3-A, 3-C, 3-D | None |
| Temple of the Condor | Rock and walls read as a condor | All Circuit 3 routes | 2-A, 2-B pass its edge |
| Water Mirrors | Room with stone discs in the floor | 2-A, 2-B, all Circuit 3 routes | None |
| Eastern homes and storehouses | Housing and storage | 2-A, 2-B, all Circuit 3 routes | Circuit 1 |
The Upper Sector: Guardian's House, Funerary Rock and Terraces
The resolution gives Circuit 1 the upper and lower platforms near the Guardian's House (Art. 8.1). All four Circuit 1 maps, such as the Route 1-B map, loop through both before branching off, and none enters the city. The Route 2-B map detours to the lower platform only.
- Guardian's House: a three-walled guardhouse on the Inca road that controlled entry, beside a long hall for visitors, according to engineer Kenneth Wright and archaeologist Alfredo Valencia Zegarra in the Ministry's 2020 research volume. Its thatched roof is a restoration; the volume records roof work in 1986.
- Funerary Rock: no 2026 map names it. It appears to be what Ministry archaeologists call the "Ceremonial Rock" on the platform of the Guardian's House group, where digs in 1974 found upright stones set as an offering and ruled out tombs. The funerary story is a guess.
- Terraces: about 4.9 hectares, with stone retaining walls, thick topsoil and gravel drainage beneath (Wright and Valencia). Maize was probably the main crop, says anthropologist Johan Reinhard in the same volume.
The Main Gate, the Quarry and the Temple of the Sun
Main gate. The resolution lists the city gate, "Llaqta punku", under Circuit 2 (Art. 8.2), and both Circuit 2 maps enter through it. Wright and Valencia call it the only gate in the wall between farmland and city, set so that Huayna Picchu appears framed in stone as you pass.
Quarry. The Ministry's 2024 route descriptions, published by Gestión, call it the place where builders extracted stone, on both Circuit 2 routes. By our reading of the maps and the Circuit 2 panel, 2-B threads through the boulders while 2-A turns down to the Temple of the Sun viewpoint.
Temple of the Sun (Torreón). A curved tower with probably the site's finest masonry, built over a carved rock usually read as an altar. A 3D-scan study by Ziółkowski and Kościuk (2020) concludes that light through its east window around the June solstice probably served ritual more than precise astronomy. The resolution gives Circuit 2 only the "Temple of the Sun viewpoint" and Circuit 3 the temple (Art. 8.2, 8.3), and only 2-A's line reaches the viewpoint. Visits were suspended in September 2023 because of wear, so expect an outside view.
The Royal Sector: House of the Inca, Royal Tomb and Fountains
The resolution's Circuit 3 list names the fountains, the Temple of the Sun, the House of the Inca, the Three Doorways, the Hall of the Twelve Openings, storehouses and water mirrors (Art. 8.3). The Ministry's 2024 description says Route 3-B covers the most sacred places used by Inca royalty. Its route map loops through the block below the Temple of the Sun before crossing east.
- House of the Inca: the royal residence, beside the first fountain, with one entrance and its own drained bath area (Wright and Valencia).
- Royal Tomb: the cave under the Temple of the Sun's rock. Hiram Bingham called it the Royal Mausoleum, although no funerary objects were found; its fine niches and carved steps suggest ceremonial use (Reinhard). It sits in the block Circuit 3 crosses, but no 2026 map names it, so we cannot confirm you will see it.
- Fountains: a 749 m canal from a spring on Machu Picchu Mountain feeds 16 fountains, enough for about 300 residents, or about 1,000 when the emperor was in residence (Wright, Kelly and Valencia, 1997). The Inca ruler used the first and highest one. The 2024 description of 2-A also mentions fountains.
The Sacred Plaza, the Intihuatana and the Sacred Rock
This is Circuit 2's core: the resolution names the Main Temple, the Temple of the Three Windows and the Sacred Rock (Art. 8.2), and the 2026 panel marks photo stops at the plaza and the rock. Route 3-B never reaches this end.
- Main Temple: faces south, with what looks like an altar on its north side; Bingham found white sand on its floor (Reinhard). A sunken corner sits on a geological fault that had apparently been filled without success.
- Temple of the Three Windows: its windows face east over the Urubamba. Digs below it and near the plaza found fragments of 66 vessels, 56 of them for liquids (Bingham, cited by Reinhard).
- Intihuatana: a carved granite outcrop on a terraced hilltop, probably an altar, about 1.76 m high (Kauffmann Doig, 2019). The name, roughly "where the sun is tied", first appears in writing in 1856, and the sundial theory was doubted by 1910 (Reinhard, citing John Rowe and Max Uhle). The park's head said in July 2024 it had been totally restricted since 1 June.
- Sacred Rock: a large rock on a stone platform between two buildings, one side open. Some read its outline as a mountain; Reinhard calls that reasonable but unproven. Routes 3-A, 3-C and 3-D pass it on the way to the mountain control.
The Eastern Sector: Temple of the Condor, Water Mirrors and Homes
Wright and Valencia place housing and extra storehouses in the lower, eastern half of the city. Routes 2-A and 2-B return this way from the Sacred Rock, past the Hall of the Twelve Openings and the eastern storehouses, and Circuit 3 loops through it.
- Water Mirrors: Bingham's "Hall of the Mortars", renamed for the stone discs in its floor. Eulogio Cabada, in the Ministry's second volume, argues they track the sun at solstices and equinoxes, a hypothesis.
- Temple of the Condor: granite outcrops and walls read as wings, with a carved rock below as the head and neck (Wright and Valencia; anthropologist Luis Millones). Camelid bones found there may point to llama offerings. Route 3-B's line runs through it; 2-A and 2-B pass its edge.
Where the Official Sources Disagree
- Dates: the route maps are from May and June 2024, the panels from June 2026. Under Art. 11, the park's head can change passage areas by changing signs.
- Temple of the Condor: the resolution names it for no circuit. The 2024 descriptions and the Circuit 3 panel put it on Circuit 3; the 2024 maps run Circuit 2 past its edge.
- A mislabelled panel: the Circuit 3 panel captions a photo "Templo Principal", but it shows the Temple of the Sun's curved wall, and its header calls Circuit 3 "Machupicchu Clásico", Circuit 2's name.
- Water mirrors and fountains: Circuit 3 in the resolution, but also Circuit 2 in the Ministry's route descriptions.
- A superseded interview: in May 2024 the park's head told Andina that Circuit 2 would include the Temple of the Sun, the Intihuatana and the Condor, while saying the Intihuatana would close. The descriptions published later that month named none of them for Circuit 2.
Our Pick: Which Ticket Sees the Most
One ticket: Route 2-A. It passes the most named structures in a 1.3 km loop. Choose 2-B if the raised view matters more than the Temple of the Sun: on the maps it swaps the viewpoint for the lower platform, 1.4 km long. Booking advice is in Machu Picchu tickets explained.
Circuit 3 is underrated. It is the only close look at the Temple of the Sun, the House of the Inca and the Condor, but it misses the Sacred Plaza, and 3-B misses the Sacred Rock. Take 3-A if you also want Huayna Picchu.
Two tickets: 2-A plus 3-B or 3-A pass nearly every named structure in the city. For the Guardian's House add a Circuit 1 route; 1-B is the shortest, and the high-season walks are in our Sun Gate and Inca Bridge guide. The two-day plan shows how to fit a second entry. Most overhyped: the Intihuatana, now seen only from its base.
FAQ
Which Machu Picchu circuit includes the Temple of the Sun?
Circuit 3. Circuit 2 gets only the viewpoint above it, which only Route 2-A reaches on the maps. Visits were suspended in 2023, so expect an outside view.
Can you climb to the Intihuatana in 2026?
No. The park's head said in July 2024 that it had been totally restricted since 1 June, we found no reopening notice since, and no route climbs the hill. Routes 2-A and 2-B pass its base.
Is the Temple of the Condor on Circuit 2?
Only at the edge. The 2024 maps run Routes 2-A and 2-B past it, but the Ministry names it as a Circuit 3 site, and Route 3-B walks through it.
Which ticket goes to the Guardian's House?
Any Circuit 1 route. Route 2-B reaches only the lower platform. The Ministry said in 2024 that every circuit allows a classic photo with the citadel behind you, but only Circuit 1 gets the high one.
Does Circuit 3 include the Temple of the Three Windows?
No. The Sacred Plaza, with the Three Windows and the Main Temple, is Circuit 2. A Circuit 3 panel caption says "Templo Principal", but the photo shows the Temple of the Sun.
Which sites do Inca Trail hikers see inside the citadel?
Hikers who continue into the city enter on Route 3-B, under RM 334-2026-MC, Art. 15-B. That covers the royal sector, the eastern homes and the Condor, not the Sacred Plaza or the Sacred Rock.
How long do you get inside?
The route maps allow 2 hours 30 minutes on Routes 1-B, 2-A, 2-B and 3-B, 6 hours on 3-A and 7 hours on 1-A. There is no re-entry.
Do you need a guide to understand the sites?
Recommended, not required (RM 334-2026-MC, Art. 17.1). Routes have explanation points, but little on site says which interpretations are proven; a guide earns the fee there.
Limitations
This mapping reflects the resolution, the 2024 route maps and the June 2026 panels as of October 2026. Route lines can move with new signs (Art. 11), and closures arrive with little notice. The Royal Tomb and the Funerary Rock are not named on any current map, so their place is our reading. Our Machu Picchu overview covers the wider trip. Work-around: before booking, open the map for your exact route letter on machupicchu.gob.pe, and ask your guide or the control staff what is open that day.