The Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu is an area protected by the Peruvian State that covers an area of ​​37,302 hectares. In this space, up to fourteen life zones have been limited with cloud forests, rain forests, queuñas forests and more. There a great diversity of flowers, plants and trees were detected. During your visit to the Inca city you can appreciate part of this diversity of flora. However, an excellent option is to visit the botanical garden of Machu Picchu. Learn more!

• What is the botanical garden of Machu Picchu?
• Machu Picchu’s diverse flora
• The Machu Picchu site museum and botanical garden
• Price of the visit
• Visiting hours
• More information about the botanical garden
• Questions and answers

The town of Aguas Calientes is also known as Machupicchu town due to its proximity to the famous Inca citadel (10 kilometers by road). At the height of the Puente Ruinas, 20 minutes after walking along this road, you arrive at the Machu Picchu site museum ‘Manuel Chávez Ballón’. The entrance ticket to this museum includes a visit to the botanical garden of Machupicchu, a hidden place full of flowers, trees and plants typical of the place.

What is the botanical garden of Machu Picchu?

• The Machu Picchu Botanical Garden is a natural space at the foot of the Inca city (in the Machupicchu Site Museum).
• There they have organized a representation of the varied flora that inhabits the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu (an area of ​​37,302 hectares).
• The botanical garden has 425 species of plants, of which 123 species belong to orchids, the representative flower of Machupicchu.
• The botanical garden covers an area of ​​1,610 square meters (with an area to be implemented of 400 square meters).
• To enhance the experience for tourists, the botanical garden has sixteen information panels with data on: birds, flowers, mammals, reptiles, butterflies, amphibians, ferns and, of course, orchids.
• Entrance to the botanical garden is included in the ticket to the Machu Picchu Site Museum.

Machu Picchu’s diverse flora

• The Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu has a great diversity of flowers. It is even estimated that it represents up to 20% of existing plant species in Peru.
• The floristic diversity in Machupicchu is due to the tropical mountain geography of the Andes Mountains.
• A total of 425 species of orchids were detected in the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu. In Peru, 1,625 species of this flower have been recorded.
• This diversity of flora is represented in the botanical garden of Machu Picchu. In addition, tourists can appreciate the diversity of flowers on hiking trails such as Machupicchu Mountain, Huayna Picchu or during the famous 4-day Inca Trail.

The Machu Picchu site museum and botanical garden

• The Machu Picchu site museum and botanical garden are located at the base of the eastern side of the Inca citadel of Machupicchu.
• From the town of Aguas Calientes you must walk for approximately 20 minutes starting from the town of Aguas Calientes (at the height of the Ruinas bridge that crosses the Vilcanota river).
• The botanical garden was adapted in a rough terrain with rocks fallen from the mountains. The most famous species in the enclosure are: the orchids (more than 123 species), the mountain lily, the little shoe, the lion’s mouth, the wakanki, the choclo choclo, the Pisonay tree, the chimpu chimpu, the lemon tree, the day flower, tree fern, palm, begonia, cucarda, lantern and more.
• The tour of the botanical garden is short. It takes approximately 20 minutes to complete.
• Due to the proliferation of flowers, the place is inhabited by birds, butterflies and some mammals. Parrots, hummingbirds, tanagers and, occasionally, the famous cock of the rocks (the representative bird of Peru) stand out.

Price of the visit

The entrance ticket to the Machu Picchu museum and botanical garden costs:

• Foreign adults: 22 soles (approximately 5 USD).
• Peruvian adults: 11 soles (approximately 3 USD).
• Foreign students: 11 soles (approximately 3 USD).

From noon to 5 pm admission is free for all tourists who present their ticket to Machu Picchu in hand.

Visiting hours

• The site museum and botanical garden open its doors every day of the year from 9 am to 5 pm.

More information about the botanical garden

• The botanical garden is located at an altitude of 2,300 meters above sea level.
• The entrance to the museum is through up to three entrance doors: a) through the main door of the garden and through the lateral parts of the museum (through Inca stone steps also called ‘Sarunas’).
• The ticket to the botanical garden also includes the visit to the botanical garden of Machu Picchu. This cultural venue exhibits up to seven didactic rooms with Inca remains and information panels that are distributed in: a) Machupicchu, the city in the mist, b) in the time machine, c) propagating history. A day in the daily life of Machupicchu, d) intertwining the Amazon and the Andes, e) between Findings and evidence, f) ways of feeling Machupicchu and g) ecology, flora and fauna of the Historic Sanctuary of Machupicchu.

Questions and answers

• 1. What is the botanical garden of Machu Picchu?

  The Machu Picchu Botanical Garden is a natural area located at the foot of Machu Picchu (next to the site museum) where part of the great diversity of flowers, plants and trees that exist in the Machupicchu Historic Sanctuary were adapted.

• 2. Where is the botanical garden?

  The Machupicchu Botanical Garden is located at the height of the Ruins Bridge on Hiram Bingham Road (which connects Aguas Calientes with Machupicchu). It belongs to the district of Aguas Calientes, Urubamba province, Cusco department.

• 3. How much does it cost to enter the Machu Picchu Botanical Garden?

  The entrance ticket to the Machu Picchu site museum includes access to the botanical garden and costs: a) 22 soles for foreign adults, b) 11 soles for Peruvian adults and c) 11 soles for students. All tourists can enter for free after 12 pm by showing their entrance to Machu Picchu.

• 4. What to see in the Machupicchu Botanical Garden?

  The botanical garden offers up to 425 species of local flora. It stands out for the 123 species of orchids, the representative flower of Machu Picchu.

• 5. How to get to the botanical garden?

  From the town of Aguas Calientes, follow the Hiram Bingham highway on foot. After crossing the Puente Ruinas, on the right side is the museum and botanical garden. The walk takes 20 minutes on average.

• 6. What is the visiting time of Machupicchu botanical garden?

  The botanical garden is open to the public every day from 9 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon.

• 7. How many species of flora are there in the botanical garden of Machupicchu?

  The botanical garden has 425 registered species of native flora.

• 8. When was the botanical garden created?

  The origin of creating the botanical garden of Machu Picchu dates back to 1970 with the initiative of Dr. Manuel Chávez Ballón. In 2005 its creation and execution of the work were approved.

• 9. What to bring to my visit to the botanical garden?

  During the visit to the botanical garden, it is recommended to bring sunscreen, mosquito repellent, a hat, a raincoat in case of rain, and snacks or drinks.

• 10. What else to see on my visit to the botanical garden of Machu Picchu?

  During your tour of Machupicchu botanical garden it is recommended to visit: a) the Machu Picchu butterfly garden, b) Mandor waterfalls and, of course, c) the Inca citadel of Machupicchu.

By Ticket Machu Picchu – Last updated, December 5, 2022