Museo Santuarios Andinos

As mentioned, the guide is mandatory. Entrance fee is 25 soles plus tip. Our guide did not rush and left time for questions but we would have preferred to read the signs. The entire tour lasted only 20 minutes. The spiel did seem to gloss over what was effectively quite a brutal (I appreciate by modern standards) child murder and frame it as a privilege. But I guess that’s a matter of personal taste. I am quoting another reviewer below because I agree 100% with them. I found limited value beyond what's readily available online (like the Wikipedia article on Mummy Juanita). I understand why the actual mummy isn't displayed for preservation reasons, but paying 30 soles (25 + 5 tip) for pottery, dolls, and textiles felt excessive. I'm disappointed and feel robbed. In my opinion, not worth the cost for what's offered.

Don't be put off by the other reviews! We saw interesting artefacts, we weren't rushed, the lady who gave English tour was pleasant and the tip was only mentioned at the end. The fact that the 'mummy' is a real life replica is a good thing imo...I don't enjoy seeing real human dead bodies!

N.B. We didn’t actually visit - just wanted to say as we found it difficult to see from the website - a tour is mandatory (free; you pay the guide what you think at the end), you cannot visit and walk around alone. The tours are group tours, in different languages several times a day. I couldn’t see a way to book tickets or view the times in advance online. Also, I had read that Juanita is not displayed for a few months of the year as she has to be preserved. I can’t remember the period but I am certain it wasn’t for September. However when we got there we were told she wasn’t on display. For these reasons I believe it is best to go there in the morning and see what times are on offer for you to visit, and whether Juanita is on display, then you can plan your day.

Just completed the guided tour of Museo Santuarios Andinos. As others have noted, the guide is mandatory. Entrance fee is 25 soles plus tip. Photography is not allowed. I had a private French-language tour since I was the only participant. The museum was crowded, so we explored rooms out of order when space became available. The guide rushed through the exhibition without allowing time for independent exploration. The entire tour lasted only 20 minutes. While the exhibition is interesting, I found limited value beyond what's readily available online (like the Wikipedia article on Mummy Juanita). I understand why the actual mummy isn't displayed for preservation reasons, but paying 30 soles (25 + 5 tip) for pottery, dolls, and textiles felt excessive. I'm disappointed and feel robbed. In my opinion, not worth the cost for what's offered.

Some of the most interesting artifacts I saw in Peru. The main exhibit is no longer exhibited to ensure its preservation, fair enough. However, the museum is very small. 25 soles + guide tip is obscene for such a tiny museum. Even in Europe, £5 would be overpriced for that. The mandatory guide told us some interesting things but the delivery was very flat and provided no better value than if they had put in signs. No photos, presumably because it's owned by a catholic uni.

The artefacts were very beautiful and interesting to see. But the concept of the museum is terrible. You are obligated to pay for a guide which shows you around the artefacts extremely quickly. You don’t have time to explore the museum on your own at all! We thought that maybe after the tour we could look at the displays on our own, but instead we were forces to exit the museum. The cherry on top is that you are obligated to tip the guide, even though in the beginning they said that we can leave a tip if we want to… I usually don’t leave bad reviews but after this experience i felt the need to share our experience. (You don’t actually get to see the real “mummy” but only a replica. That kind of makes sense because they need to preserve the the real body)

Infos/Tips: - It is clearly forbidden to take pictures inside the museum - It cost 25 SOL (without guide tip) - When buying a ticket, you will be assigned to a specific hour and a group (Spanish, English or French) - You CANNOT visit the museum without a guide - The visit of the museum take approximately 1 hours (You have the guided tour for 45 to 50 minutes) and then there is another room you can do at your own pace without a guide The Museo Santuarios Andinos is most famous for housing the well-preserved mummy of “Juanita,” also known as the “Ice Maiden,” an Inca girl who was sacrificed around 500 years ago on the summit of Mount Ampato. The museum provides a fascinating insight into Inca rituals, beliefs, and the scientific discoveries related to the mummy, as well as a few others

I waited 15 minutes for the next tour. The guide was very nice and provided a lot of information during the museum tour. Unfortunately, ‘Juanita’ was not there, only a model, but that was fine too.