Travel Wisdom

Andean Explorer Journeys

The luxury sleeper across the Peruvian altiplano, in six directions

The Editorial

The Andean Explorer is the only sleeper train operating across the Peruvian altiplano — a moving carriage of fine alpaca textiles, brass detail and full-length observation cars that runs along the highest commercial railway in the Americas. We curate six directional journeys aboard, each with its own character even when the geography is shared. The decision is not which train, but which direction.

The journeys we curate

Cusco → Puno

The shorter of the two main crossings carries you from the imperial capital across the high altiplano to the shores of Lake Titicaca. Climbing from Cusco's basin, the train crosses La Raya — at 4,338 metres the highest pass on the route — and descends toward the silver light of the lake at sunset. One night onboard; one of the most concentrated transformations the Peruvian highlands offer.

Puno → Cusco

The reverse of the same route, in inverted weather. Departure is from the lake; arrival is into the Inca city. The train climbs from the puna's openness into the tighter geometry of the Sacred Valley basin, with the high pass crossed in the early afternoon and Cusco unfolding below as the light shifts. The journey to take when the city itself is the destination.

III

Cusco → Arequipa

Two nights onboard, three days of altiplano. The longest of the curated journeys: Cusco to the lake, the lake to the volcanoes, the volcanoes to Arequipa. The train moves through three distinct geographies — Inca highlands, Titicaca basin, Colca volcanic country — and the observation car becomes the place where time is measured more honestly than any clock can manage. For travellers who want the altiplano in its full extent.

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“The altiplano is not a distance to be covered. It is a direction to be chosen.”

— Kada Travel

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Arequipa → Cusco

Two nights onboard ascending. From Arequipa's volcanic plain, the train climbs gradually through the Colca highlands into the lake basin and finally into the Sacred Valley — every mile gaining altitude, every dawn thinner than the last. Travellers tend to leave this direction more grounded in why Cusco was where the Incas chose to build. The journey for guests beginning the trip in southern Peru and arriving slowly into the historical core.

Puno → Arequipa

A single night across the altiplano's southern stretch. The train leaves the lake in one register and arrives, by the next morning, in another entirely — the high puna giving way to volcanic country, the air drying as you descend, the lake light replaced by the white silica of Arequipa's stone. The shorter way to feel the altiplano shift completely.

Arequipa → Puno

The reverse — a night spent climbing from the volcanic stone of Arequipa toward the openness of the lake. Most guests describe waking to the early light over Titicaca as one of the defining moments of their time in Peru. The journey for travellers who want the lake to be their first highland encounter.

Each direction can be combined with a stay in Cusco, the Sacred Valley, the Lake Titicaca islands or Colca Canyon. Speak with us about pairing a journey aboard with the rest of your time in Peru.

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Start Planning Your Journey

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