Belmond Sanctuary Lodge Machu Picchu Secures Its Concession Through 2028

Belmond Sanctuary Lodge's future at Machu Picchu was genuinely uncertain for a stretch, after Peru's Cusco regional government announced in February 2024 plans to end Belmond's concession and repurpose the site as an interpretation center dedicated to the ruins themselves. That decision was reversed, and as of updated reports in April 2026, Belmond's operation of the property has been formally extended through 2028, settling what had become a real point of anxiety for travelers who had booked stays around the lodge's uncertain status.

The lodge's core appeal has never really been in question: it remains the only hotel located directly at the entrance to Machu Picchu, letting guests reach the ruins before the first buses of day-trippers arrive from Aguas Calientes below. That single structural advantage, being able to walk to the citadel rather than commute up the mountain each morning, is genuinely impossible to replicate from any other property in the region.

The hotel was named to the 2025 Global 100 Scenic Hotels list, recognition that reflects a setting few properties anywhere in the world can match. With the concession dispute now resolved through 2028, travelers planning Machu Picchu trips can book Sanctuary Lodge with real confidence again, something that wasn't entirely true during the uncertainty of the past two years.

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