The tour guide service in Machu Picchu
The tour guide service in Machu Picchu is the best option to discover the history and beauty of the Inca city. The tours already include this service that can also be purchased at the entrance door to the archaeological site. Prices vary if you are looking for a shared or private tour.
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The tour guide service in Machu Picchu
The tour guide service is mandatory in Machu Picchu. However, this rule in practice is not observed as there are many visitors who visit the archaeological site without the company of a guide. Likewise, the most advisable thing is to visit the Inca city with you. This way you can fully understand the importance of this magnificent construction.
The service lasts approximately 2 hours. On the tour, the visitor will appreciate the most important constructions such as: the House of the Guardian (where the classic postcard photo of Machu Picchu is obtained), the Temple of the Sun, the Main Square, the Intihuatana, the Temple of the 3 Windows, the Rock Sagrada, the Temple of the Condor and much more.
The tour guide will provide the necessary explanation for each construction. Machu Picchu does not have signs with legends about each site. Therefore the visit in the company of a tour guide is necessary.
There are two types of tour guide service: shared and private. The first is intended for a shared group of people from different backgrounds. The second is for a private group of family, friends, partner, and more. The first is cheaper than the second.
If you make your visit with an all-inclusive tour, the tour guide service is already included. If you make your visit on your own, you can hire the service at the entrance gate of Machu Picchu.
Details of the service
These are the details of the tour guide service in Machu Picchu:
Tour guide service in Machu Picchu | ||
|---|---|---|
| Service detail | Shared service | Private service |
| Public | People from different backgrounds | Friends, family, partner, single person |
| Duration | 2 hours | 2 hours 30 minutes |
| Languages | Spanish and English | Spanish, English, French, Portuguese German, Italian, etc. |
| Buildings | Archeological site | Archaeological site with Intipunku (optional) or Inca Bridge (optional) |
| Schedule | 6 am, 8 am, 10 am, 12 pm, 2 pm. | According to availability of the tourist |
| Huayna Picchu | Not available | Optional |
| Machupicchu Mountain | Not available | Optional |
| Group | From 8 to 15 tourists | From 1 to 15 tourists |
Price of the tour guide service in Machu Picchu
These are the approximate prices of the tour guide service in Machu Picchu:
Tour guide service in Machupicchu | ||
|---|---|---|
| Type of route | Shared service | Private service |
| Machupicchu city | 15 S/. per person | 150 S/. per group |
| Huaynapicchu Mountain | Not available | 200 S/. per group |
| Machupicchu Mountain | Not available | 200 S/. per group |
How to hire a tour guide?
There are up to three ways to hire the tour guide service in Machu Picchu:
Tour through Machu Picchu – When buying a tour to Machu Picchu, the visitor is already acquiring the tour guide service included in the service. There are tours of 1, 2 days or more. You can even hire the famous Inca Trail tour to Machupicchu. In this last service, the tourist guide will accompany the visitor throughout the 4 days of walking, including the tour of the Inca citadel.
Guide with an agency – There are some tourism agencies that offer a private tour guide service for different tourist destinations in Cusco, including Machu Picchu. The guides of these agencies are professionals who offer services in little available languages such as Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Korean, French, Portuguese, Italian, German and more.
At the gate of Machupicchu – At the entrance gate to the archaeological site of Machu Picchu there are dozens of tour guides offering their services to visitors who arrive without a tour . The guides are professionals who offer their services mostly in English and Spanish (sometimes Portuguese). The tourist can choose a shared or private service. In high tourist season (April to August) there are fewer guides available than the rest of the year. Prices can be negotiable with the guide himself.
More information
The tour guides who offer their services at the entrance to Machu Picchu usually stay all morning (until a maximum of noon). It is difficult to get a service available in the afternoon (from noon to 4 pm).
All tourist guides that enter Machu Picchu are professionals authorized by the Ministry of Culture of Peru.
The usual route that tourist guides take is through the urban and religious sector of Machu Picchu. There are also two optional routes that lead to Intipunku (1 hour of additional walking) and the Inca Bridge (30 minutes of additional walking). Both routes are not included in the shared service. It must be done in a private service or on your own (without a tour guide).
The tour of the Huayna Picchu mountain and the Machu Picchu mountain is not mandatory with a tourist guide. The vast majority of visitors decide to do these walks on their own (without a guide). In any case, to carry out this adventure with one, you must request a private service.