The Inca Trail experience: Does the journey matter?

•Examines the experience of a tourist trail versus a tourist destination.•Employs a novel data collection method designed for mobile tourist experiences.•Use of both immediate and recollection research methods to investigate experiences.•The Inca Trail is a meaningful experience related to self-identity and ability.•Pain and struggle emerge as a significant tourist experience.

Tourist experience research tends to focus on destinations rather than journeys, overlooking the role of mobility in tourism experiences and the need for mobile research methods. To address this gap, this research explores the experience of hiking the Inca Trail in Peru along with the experience of the destination of Machu Picchu. Immediate experiential reactions and memorable experiences are evaluated to better understand the significance of this tourist route. Results indicate that this mobile tourist experience holds meaning related to the perception of self-identity and the encounter of corporeal self. Experiences of pain and struggle emerge as a core theme of mobile tourist experiences and the implications of this are discussed.