Belmond Andean Explorer

PeruRail (operating under Belmond brand licence since 2017)
Peru
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The Journey

Navigate from Cusco Wanchaq Station to Arequipa Estación across a span of 730km. This is an overnight service.

Scenery Highlights
  • La Raya Pass (4,319 m — highest point of the journey and one of the highest mountain passes crossed by any scheduled passenger train in the world)
  • Lake Titicaca panoramas with the floating Uros reed islands (UNESCO-listed) — exclusive Andean Explorer passenger access
  • Sumbay Caves — pre-Incan pictograph site with ~2,000-year-old painted cave art
  • Aymara llama and alpaca herders visible from the open-air Ichu observation deck
  • Andean condors (Vultur gryphus) — most reliably sighted along the Río Tambopata gorge approach to the altiplano
  • Cordillera Vilcanota peaks above 5,000 m surrounding La Raya Pass (Ausangate, Chimboya)
  • High-altitude puna grassland — vicuña, vizcacha, Andean fox, and giant hummingbirds
  • Vicinity to Raqch'i Wiracocha archaeological site (15th-century Incan temple complex)
  • Arequipa city silhouette framed by El Misti (5,822 m) and Chachani (6,057 m) volcanoes on the final approach
  • Pampa de Arrieros — high-plains herding-village viewpoint only served by the Andean Plains itinerary
Quick Facts
  • Duration

    30 hours

  • Distance

    730 km

  • Est. Price

    Ultra-luxury (USD $5,830 Bunk / $7,690 Twin / $9,180 Suite / $12,180 Premium Suite / $14,320+ Grand Tour Suite)

Official Booking Provider
Classes & Accommodations

Meals: All Meals & Full Open Bar

Ensuite: No

Meals: All Meals & Full Open Bar

Ensuite: No

Meals: All Meals & Full Open Bar

Ensuite: Yes

Meals: All Meals & Full Open Bar + Concierge Altitude Specialist

Ensuite: Yes

Meals: All Meals & Full Open Bar + Private Guided Cusco/Arequipa/Puno Transfers

Ensuite: Yes

Engine / Locomotive

PeruRail diesel-electric GT26CW-2 mainline locomotives (built by EMD/General Motors under license, gravity-fed Cusco Diesel Depot)

Locomotive Weight

120 tonnes per locomotive (typically two locomotives per consist for crossing La Raya Pass)

Track Gauge

1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) standard gauge (Ferrocarril del Sur / PeruRail south-east trunk)

Route Engineering Challenges

  • Operation at extreme altitude (4,300 m on Altiplano, 4,319 m at La Raya Pass summit) requiring turbo-compensator power derating and oxygen enrichment in passenger cabins

  • La Raya Pass gradient of 1 in 41 (2.44%) requiring paired-locomotive consist for the climb in either direction

  • Temperature extremes — Altiplano overnight lows reach -8 °C in June/July; daytime highs reach 22 °C on the same journey

  • Preservation of 1950s-era Great South Pacific Express carriages in remote operating environment at 4× atmospheric humidity at Lake Titicaca pressure equivalent

  • Single-track mountain sections on the approach to Arequipa requiring passing-loop discipline at Sumbay and Pampa de Arrieros

  • Aymara pastoralist community protocol — the train pauses at designated community view-points for the open-air Ichu observation deck; Belmond provides certified bilingual Quechua/Spanish cultural liaisons

  • Standardization of in-cabin oxygen-supply pressure at altitude — each Suite and Premium Suite cabin has a calibrated medical-grade oxygen outlet (single-use nasal cannula included on request)

  • Late-March to early-April annual maintenance window (Feb 4 to Mar 4 2026) during which the entire consist is worked on at Cusco depot for engine overhaul and oxygen-system recertification

Carriages

12 (10 passenger + 1 power-baggage + 1 service; originally from Great South Pacific Express, Australia, 1956 build)

Dining cars

2 (Llama and Muña, each seating 22 guests in one sitting)

Observation car

1 (Ichu — half open-air, half climate-controlled, the only open-air platform operating at 4,000 m+)

Spa car

1 (Picaflor — 3 treatment rooms, certified altitude-massage therapists)

Bar car

1 (Maca — full baby-grand piano, Curico-region wine list with 31 Chilean and Argentinean labels)

Cabins per departure

35 (24 cabins total: 8 Bunk, 4 Twin, 8 Suite, 3 Premium Suite, 1 Grand Tour Suite)

Maximum altitude

4,319 m (La Raya Pass summit — third-highest scheduled passenger railway summit in the world after the Qinghai–Tibet Railway's Tanggula Pass 5,068 m and the Peruvian Central Railway's Galera summit 4,781 m)

Launched

May 2017 (Belmond brand; original Great South Pacific Express carriages shipped ex-Australia and refurbished at Cusco depot 2015–17)

Operator

PeruRail (50% Belmond / 50% Lorenzo Sousa Debarbieri) — operational management by Belmond Hotels since April 2014 licence agreement

Maintenance window

Feb 4 – Mar 4 2026 (annual 28-day overhaul at Cusco Diesel Depot, funded by Belmond)

Engine headcode

PeruRail GT26CW-2 #751-758 (paired for Andean Explorer consists)

Track network

Ferrocarril del Sur / PeruRail south-east trunk Cusco → Puno → Arequipa

Booking window verified

May – October 2026 dry-season schedule confirmed on Belmond.com 2025-11-04

Quick Facts
  • Duration

    30 hours

  • Distance

    730 km

  • Est. Price

    Ultra-luxury (USD $5,830 Bunk / $7,690 Twin / $9,180 Suite / $12,180 Premium Suite / $14,320+ Grand Tour Suite)

Official Booking Provider