Is the Inca Trail worth the effort or would the train to Machu Picchu be a reasonable alternative?

Inca Trail for definite - no question about it! The trail is a whole experience and was, without doubt, the highlight of our trip to Peru.

A lot depends on your desires and capabilities. For me, no; for others, yes. Do you know what it entails?

Doing a search for 'inca trail' will bring up many posts, including http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34912410

Depends on what you want. If you want to just see ruins, then by all means take the train up. If you enjoy a challenging hike, camping, meeting other travelers, and seeing awesome natural scenery, then I would certainly recommend the Inca Trail. My boyfriend does not enjoy camping nor hiking and even he said that the hiking/camping was the highlight of the trail for him and comparable to seeing Machu Picchu itself. Something about taking that 4-day hiking and then finally walking into Machu Picchu in the early morning fog made the whole experience so incredible. As soon as all the tour buses came and people piled into the grounds it became too crowded for us and we left as did most of the other hikers. It was great to have the place to ourselves for a few hours before it got too crazy crowded.

There are many ruins you see hiking that almost rival Machu Picchu. You can only see the following ruins by hiking

Llaqtapata, Runkuraqay, Sayaqmarka, Phuyupatamarka, Intipata, Wiñawayna Intipunku