re: Machu Picchu trail advice.

I did a little research on the trails for a trip that ended up falling through unfortunately.

Inca is probably the best "experience" all in all...I mean if you're going to do Machu Picchu you're going to want to tell people you hiked the Inca Trail to get there. However, it is easily the most expensive, most crowded, and requires lots of preparation as you have to buy permits - there is a capped number and they sell out well in advance. Because of that, many people advocate for some of the other trails that are less traveled. They're cheaper and don't require the advanced planning. The trade off seems to be that with Inca you get more history and better architectural sites, whereas with other trails you get better scenery/landscape.

This is all from someone who has never actually been to Peru though