Updated Date:
Author: Yapa Explorers Editorial Team
Quick Summary: You need less than you think, but the few things you bring matter. Pack a swimsuit (worn under your clothes to skip the changing-room queue), your own towel, flip-flops, a small padlock for the locker, and cash in small soles. Everything can be rented or bought near the gate, but the quality is a lottery and prices climb the closer you get to the entrance. Ten minutes of packing at your hotel saves you money and hassle at the pools.
Rather skip the logistics? Your Machu Picchu entry ticket, train, bus and a licensed guide are booked for you. If a circuit sells out or a train is late, we sort it out, not you.
Check dates for the 2 Day Machu Picchu Tour by Train → (from US$354). Or see the 1 Day Machu Picchu Tour by Train (from US$379).
Here’s the honest short list — what genuinely improves your visit versus what the internet tells you to bring.
That’s it. The pools are a municipal facility, not a spa, so you don’t need robes, slides, or anything elaborate.
Proper swimwear is required — regular shorts and street clothes are generally turned away, and swimwear is sold and rented from stalls on the walk up Avenida Pachacutec if you’ve forgotten yours. The prices are negotiable and the fit is hit-or-miss, so bring your own if you can.
The single best trick: put your swimsuit on under your clothes at your hotel. The changing rooms are basic and develop a queue during busy windows, and with only a 90-minute session on your ticket, every minute in a changing-room line is a minute out of the water. Arrive already changed and you walk straight in, drop your outer layer in the locker, and you’re soaking within a couple of minutes.
You can rent a towel at the gate for a few soles, but there are two problems. First, quality is a genuine lottery — thin, over-used towels are common. Second, on busy afternoons the rental stand runs low. For the sake of a small, quick-dry travel towel taking up almost no space in your daypack, bringing your own is the clear winner. A microfibre travel towel is ideal: it packs down tiny, dries fast, and you’re not paying a daily rental you didn’t need.
If you’re on a multi-day trek arriving into Aguas Calientes, you’ll likely have a towel with you already — just make sure it’s accessible rather than buried at the bottom of a duffel.
There are lockers in the changing area, but the built-in locks are inconsistent and travellers regularly report them not latching properly. The fix is trivially cheap: carry a small padlock. A basic combination or key padlock, bought for a few soles in Cusco or Aguas Calientes before you go, turns an unreliable locker into a secure one.
Bring your valuables in a small bundle you can lock away in one go — phone, wallet, passport if you’re carrying it — rather than distributing things across pockets you then have to keep track of poolside. The pools have bar service, so you’ll want a few soles accessible, but keep the bulk of your cash and cards locked up.
“The lockers looked dodgy so I was glad we’d grabbed a two-sol padlock in town that morning. Left everything locked, soaked for an hour, no worries at all.” — DanielW_Toronto, Canada, August 2025
Poolside and changing-room floors are permanently wet, tiled, and slippery, and there’s no lifeguard on duty. Flip-flops or sport sandals aren’t a luxury here — they’re the difference between a relaxed soak and a slip on wet stone. They also spare your feet on the short uphill walk if you’re coming straight from your hotel. Pack the pair you’d wear in a hostel shower and you’re set.
Everything at the springs runs on Peruvian soles, and the gate booth is notoriously bad at breaking large notes. Bring a small stack of low-denomination soles that covers:
There’s no ATM at the gate and connectivity in Aguas Calientes is patchy, so don’t rely on cards. Sort your cash out in Cusco or at your hotel before you head up.
Just as useful as the packing list is knowing what not to schlep up the hill:
Packing for the springs is really packing for the tail end of a long day on your feet, so it’s worth thinking about it when you plan the whole visit. A swimsuit worn up, a quick-dry towel, and a padlock weigh almost nothing and slot into the daypack you’re already carrying to the citadel. Travellers who book their Machu Picchu trip with Yapa Explorers get the train, shuttle, and citadel entry handled around their accommodation, which means the evening is genuinely free for a soak rather than a scramble — and our guides will remind you to grab that padlock in town before you head up. The springs themselves are pay-at-the-gate, but arriving prepared is what turns them from a chore into the best 90 minutes of the day.
Do I have to bring a towel, or can I rent one there?
You can rent one at the gate for a few soles, but quality is unreliable and the rental stand can run low on busy afternoons. A small microfibre travel towel packs down to almost nothing, dries quickly, and saves you the daily rental, so bringing your own is the better call for nearly everyone. If you’re arriving off a trek you’ll usually have a towel with you already — just keep it accessible.
Are the lockers secure, or do I need my own padlock?
The lockers exist, but the built-in locks are inconsistent and often fail to latch properly. The simple, cheap fix is to carry your own small padlock, which you can buy for a couple of soles in Cusco or Aguas Calientes beforehand. Lock your valuables away in one bundle, keep a few soles accessible for the poolside bar, and you won’t have to think about your things again for the whole session.
Can I wear regular shorts instead of a swimsuit?
Generally no — proper swimwear is required and street shorts are usually turned away. Swimsuits are sold and rented from stalls on the walk up if you’ve forgotten yours, but the fit and quality vary, so bring your own. The best move is to wear your swimsuit under your clothes from the hotel, which lets you skip the changing-room queue entirely and get straight into the water.
Do I need sandals, and can I go barefoot?
Bring flip-flops or sport sandals. The changing-room and poolside floors are wet, tiled, and slippery, and there’s no lifeguard, so going barefoot is a genuine slip risk on wet stone. Sandals also make the short uphill walk from town more comfortable if you head up already changed. Any basic pair you’d wear in a shared shower will do the job.
How much cash should I bring and can I pay by card?
Plan on cash in small-denomination Peruvian soles. You’ll need around 20 soles for entry as a foreign adult, plus a few soles each if you rent a locker or towel or buy a poolside drink — call it 30–40 soles all in to be comfortable. Don’t rely on cards: there’s no ATM at the gate, connectivity is patchy, and the booth frequently can’t break a S/100 note. Sort your cash in Cusco or at your hotel before the walk up.
Swimsuit, locker, and rental policies are set by the Municipalidad Distrital de Machu Picchu and can shift with the season or with staff on the day, so the details here should be treated as a well-informed baseline rather than a guarantee — a quick check with your hotel front desk before you head up catches any recent changes. Rental quality and availability vary day to day; packing your own towel, sandals, and a small padlock removes your dependence on the gate stalls entirely and is the surest way to a smooth visit.
