Andean Explorer luxe train from Puno to Cusco or Cusco to Puno in 1 day south Peru
1 days
Difficulty: 1
COD: PE-112
Category: Start Packages
Andean Explorer
The Andean Explorer runs on the route between Lake Titicaca (Puno) and Cusco uniting two of Peru’s top tourist destinations.
Exquisitely decorated in the manner of the great Pullman trains of the 1920’s, the Andean Explorer boasts a full fleet of refurbished coaches.
An open-air Observation Bar Car adds to the enjoyment along this beautiful route, and provides the opportunity for magnificent photographs of the scenery.
This is a luxurious way to travel between Lake Titicaca and Cusco.
Complete the fields to recommend us.
Train ride with 3 course meal
On the journey passengers are served a three course lunch in their dining car, followed by coffee served in the Observation-Bar Car.
During the ten hour train ride not only the scenery will change between mountains and rolling plains, but also the climate will alter.
Lake Titicaca is higher and colder than Cusco so passengers should be prepared for these changes.
The train ride
Cusco - Lake Titicaca (Puno)
This spectacular rail journey runs on the route between historic Cusco and the beautiful city of Puno on the shores of Lake Titicaca. The only train running on this service is the Andean Explorer
As the train travels from Cusco - Puno (Lake Titicaca) it makes a gentle climb to higher and cooler altitudes. The first half of the journey is dominated by the magnificent Andean mountains which tower over the deep valleys of the meandering Huatanay River.
It then reaches the gentler, rolling Andean Plains, where vicuña and alpaca can be seen. The journey is broken by a scenic stop at La Raya, which is also the highest point on the route.
Price for the one way trip 2012
CUSCO - PUNO - CUSCO Departure station: Wanchaq - Cusco Arrive station: Juliaca - Puno
Nº Train
Departure
Arrive
Price ($)
20/19
08:00
18:00
US$ 222
Promotion Train Puno / Cusco 180 Usd
WHAT'S INCLUDED
Lunch and afternoon tea are included on the train ticket. Restaurant and Bar service is available at an additional cost.
Service Dates:
November - March: Trains run Monday, Wednesday, Saturday April - October: Trains run on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday
Please Note: Above prices include local taxes.
The Route
Cusco - Puno (Lake Titicaca)
Journey Details
Cusco - from Cusco, the train heads south-east, following the Huatanay River through green fields dotted with willow trees and eucalyptus groves, and passing outlying communities gathered around colonial churches.
25 km from Cusco - the train passes through Oropesa, an early-rising community whose forty-seven bakeries have provided Cusco with its daily bread for generations.
32 km - before reaching Lake Muina, the train turns to the left, crossing the valley road, to join the Vilcanota River at Huambutio as it plunges sharply into its gorge before widening into the great Urubamba canyon.
40 km - at Rumicolca, we are close to the great stone gateway of the same name which, for the Incas, silently guarded the southern approach to Cusco. For the much earlier Wari culture it served as an aqueduct, channeling water from the picturesque Laguna de Lucre to their walled city at Pikillacta.
45 km- the church at Andahuaylillas is one of the jewels in Cusco’s colonial crown and boasts a magnificent series of murals and superb colonial-era paintings, all on diverse religious themes.
59 km - at Urcos lies the lake which gives the village its name. Urcos is both a popular spot for weekenders from Cusco and as local legend suggests, the repository of Inca gold hidden there forever by local chieftains, anxious to prevent the Spanish from melting down their sacred objects.
80 km - the two villages of Cusipata and Checacupe (at 99 km) hide unexpected treasures of both pre-Columbian and colonial origin, from fine Inca and pre-Inca remains, to yet another ornately-decorated 17th century church.
120 km - at Raqchi, just before the San Pedro railway station, the remains of the great temple of Viracocha, the creator god, can just be seen to the left of the train. Raqchi has been described by John Hemming as "probably the largest roofed building ever built by the Incas". Seventeen km beyond San Pedro, the train stops at Sicuani, a bustling island of commerce amid a barren landscape. Aymara women ferry their goods around this important market town on nimbly-chauffeured taxi-tricycles, or sit impassively before their wares awaiting a buyer.
186 km - at Marangani, where an English-style manor house built in the last century is still home to the descendents of the wool barons who established the regions only textile factory there more than one hundred years ago, Cusco’s fertile hills give way to the high plain known as the Altiplano.
The train continues to climb for another 27 km, past the thermal baths at Aguas Calientes to La Raya, 210 km from Puno. At 4321 metres above sea level this is the highest point on the journey, a cold, remote place whose surrounding snow-draped peaks are often shrouded by mist or fine rain, and whose eerie silence is at least partly attributable to eardrums blocked by the dizzying altitude. Crossing this great watershed, the train travels across a sea of seemingly-endless coarse grassland through villages lost in time.
281 km - the train reaches Juliaca, a commercial railway-junction town of around 150,000 inhabitants, whose rampant buying and selling seems at times to virtually spill onto the tracks and force the train to pick its way through their stalls.
Juliaca is the last stop on this journey through Andean highland culture before reaching Puno (3855 metres), an expanding, low-roofed university town spread around an austere cathedral, which, since its foundation in 1668, has strengthened its tenuous grip on the shores of Lake Titicaca by gradually scaling the surrounding hills.
Andean Explorer luxe train from Puno to Cusco or Cusco to Puno in 1 day south Peru
