We were there in May 2016. We did not trek to MP but did a ton of day hikes everywhere. All the Inca trails are stone so take really good boots with quality soles. I used lightweight trail runners and my feet suffered with bruised pads. We did take the trail down from MP to Aguas Calientes and that was like doing the Grand Canyon. I was pretty wrecked at the bottom and I hike 10k peaks in CA a lot.
We chose to go with Gate 1 tours instead of doing our own trip. Well organized including all travel, 4 Star hotels, and 1/2 our meals. Plenty of "alone time" away from the main tour group. I think it was $1500 PP all-in from LA which was about 1/2 if we planned it ourselves. This worked well for us. 10 days including Lima, Cusco, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Puno, then back to Lima and home.
This looks like the package tour we took:
https://www.gate1travel.com/specials/travelzoo/peru-miami.aspx
Stuff I liked:
The people are friendly and joyful,
the ancient art, pottery, and master stone work.
Our hotels were all nice and very clean,
the food was fresh and hearty.
Traditional Andes clothing and customs
Stuff I didn't like:
Cuy (guinea pig) is all bones and very little meat. It is like eating a rat.
Pickpockets are everywhere and we heard a lot of stories from folks who lost wallets, cameras, purses, daypacks, and jewelry. We were never robbed and we did notice our Gate 1 guide *tipped* a security guard in the marketplace to keep the thieves away from our group. Keep your stuff close and tethered to you.
12,500' at Puno and Titicaca was tough to sleep and some in our group got severe altitude sickness. I was ok but never felt great. Much better at 9000' in the Sacred Valley.
