The fabled Inca Trail is high on many peoples to do lists and with good reason but with the site now so accessible from Cusco by the daily train to Agua Calientes followed by either a bus or a walk up the hill on which it stands, is the 4 day trek worth it?
The cost difference between walking the classic Inca Trail and getting the daily train service is considerable so what exactly do you get for the extra money?
With a limit of 500 hikers per day the trail never really feels too crowded and your guides will know to avoid the peak times but for me the most special thing about hiking was the incredible sites you get to witness along the way. Setting out before the other groups we always had them to ourselves.
Getting the bus to the site, people are not able to comprehend what it was like to be an Inca and what Machu Picchu meant to them. Only by doing the trek did I have that understanding and the site was all the more special for it.
