Andean Plains & Islands of Discovery: Arequipa – Cusco
Arequipa → Puno → Cusco
The Andean Plains & Islands of Discovery is a two-night luxury rail journey aboard the Belmond Andean Explorer, tracing one of South America's most dramatic landscapes from the baroque White City of Arequipa across the altiplano to the shores of Lake Titicaca, and finally up into the ancient Inca heartland of Cusco. Departing every Sunday, this three-day adventure climbs through high desert, grazes the edge of volcanic peaks, and descends into the Sacred Valley — all in the company of world-class Peruvian cuisine, a spa car, and just 70 fellow travellers aboard South America's only luxury sleeper train.
The arc of the route is as meaningful as the destinations themselves. Arequipa, a UNESCO World Heritage city hewn from white volcanic sillar stone, gives way to the prehistoric rock art of the Sumbay Caves on Day 1. Day 2 centres on Lake Titicaca — the world's highest navigable lake at 3,812 metres — where guests board boats to the extraordinary Uros floating islands and Taquile Island, each harbouring indigenous cultures that predate the Inca Empire. On the final morning, the train sweeps north through La Raya pass and stops at the vast Inca sanctuary of Raqchi before delivering passengers into Wanchaq Station, Cusco, by early afternoon.
Every meal, excursion, and glass of wine is included in the journey, making this an effortlessly immersive experience. Whether you are a first-time visitor to Peru or a returning traveller seeking a perspective unavailable by road, the Andean Plains & Islands of Discovery offers a rare combination of altitude, antiquity, and elegance. To reserve your cabin or for current pricing and availability, contact Palace Trains toll-free at 1-800-724-5120 or write to travel@palacetours.com.
- ✦Prehistoric rock art at the Sumbay Caves, 6,000–8,000 years old
- ✦Boat excursion to the Uros Floating Reed Islands on Lake Titicaca
- ✦Lunch on Taquile Island, UNESCO-recognised for its living textile tradition
- ✦Guided visit to the Temple of Wiracocha at Raqchi, the largest Inca roofed structure ever built
- ✦Sunrise over the world's highest navigable lake at 3,812 metres
- ✦Gourmet Peruvian cuisine and spa car aboard South America's only luxury sleeper train
- ✦Arrival into Cusco, imperial capital of the Inca Empire
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Day 1 — Arequipa: Boarding & the Sumbay Caves
The journey begins at Arequipa's station with a welcome reception before the train departs at approximately 10:00. As you settle into your cabin — decorated with artisanal Peruvian textiles — the city's sillar-stone skyline recedes and the train climbs onto the altiplano, the vast high plateau flanked by the snow-capped cone of El Misti volcano. Mid-afternoon, the train pauses near KM 93 for one of the journey's most extraordinary detours: the Sumbay Caves, located at 4,127 metres above sea level, approximately 88 kilometres north of Arequipa. A short guided hike leads to a cave whose walls bear more than 500 rock-art figures — depictions of guanacos, vicuñas, human hunters, and abstract symbols painted in pale clay pigment between 6,000 and 8,000 years ago. Discovered by archaeologist Máximo Neira Avendaño in 1968, the Sumbay caves reveal the world of the earliest Andean peoples in vivid, tangible detail. Back on board, cocktails and canapés are served in the lounge car as the train rolls across the high plateau. Dinner follows in one of the two dining cars, where head chef Diego Muñoz's team serves gourmet menus inspired by Peru's diverse regional larder. The train overnights at Saracocha.
Day 2 — Lake Titicaca: Uros Islands & Taquile Island
Wake to sunrise over Lake Titicaca, the world's highest navigable lake, whose deep blue waters shimmer against a treeless, sky-wide horizon at 3,812 metres. After breakfast on board, guests transfer by road to Puno Muelle (the lake's port) and board motorised launches for the morning's centrepiece: the Uros Floating Islands. The Uru people have inhabited these extraordinary man-made islands — woven from harvested totora reeds and constantly renewed — for over 3,700 years, retreating onto the lake to escape Inca conquest. Today their Aymara-speaking descendants welcome visitors, demonstrate reed-boat construction, and share the rhythms of life on the water. The flotilla of approximately 70 inhabited islands sits just a short ride from shore and offers an encounter with a living culture unlike any other in the world. The boat then continues across open water to Taquile Island, a steep-sided isle whose terraced hillsides are farmed using Inca-era techniques. Taquile is UNESCO-recognised for its extraordinary textile tradition: men learn to knit as children, and the colour and style of their chullos (pointed knitted hats) communicate their emotional state, while women weave and spin yarn into vibrant cloth. Lunch is served on the beach at Collata, with optional activities including yoga and painting sessions in the fresh Andean air. Returning to the train, afternoon tea is served at the station before departure. The evening brings cocktails and dinner as the Andean Explorer heads north toward Maranganí for the overnight stop.
Day 3 — Raqchi & Cusco
Morning breaks over the Andean plains as the train departs Maranganí. Breakfast is served as the landscape shifts — rocky outcrops, Inca terraces, and grazing alpaca flocks mark the transition from altiplano to the Cusco basin. At approximately 08:35, the train halts at Tinta Station, and guests are guided to the nearby Raqchi Archaeological Complex, 110 kilometres south of Cusco at an altitude of 3,480 metres. Raqchi is centred on the colossal Temple of Wiracocha, the largest kallanka (great hall) ever built in the Inca Empire: a rectangular structure 92 metres long, whose central adobe-and-andesite wall still stands 18 metres high. Flanked by eleven columns on each side, the temple was begun under Inca Wiracocha and completed by Túpac Yupanqui. Surrounding the temple are 156 circular colcas (storehouses) and a sacred artificial lake — together forming one of the most complete surviving Inca administrative and ceremonial complexes in Peru. Brunch is served in the Observatory Car as the train winds through the Sacred Valley, the snow-capped peaks of the Vilcanota range filling the panoramic windows. The Andean Explorer arrives at Wanchaq Station, Cusco, at approximately 13:15, depositing passengers in the ancient Inca capital with the afternoon free to explore.
Destinations & Highlights
Arequipa — Peru's White City
Founded in 1540 and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000, Arequipa is one of South America's most beautiful colonial cities. Built almost entirely from sillar — a porous white volcanic stone quarried from the flanks of the Chachani and Misti volcanoes — its historic centre covers 332 hectares and contains 500 heritage buildings arranged on a near-perfect Spanish grid. The vast Plaza de Armas, the baroque Cathedral (the largest neoclassical church in Peru), and the cloisters of the Santa Catalina Convent — a walled city within a city — reward hours of exploration. El Misti volcano (5,822 m) looms over the city as an ever-present backdrop. The surrounding region is also the gateway to Colca Canyon, one of the deepest canyons on Earth and prime habitat for Andean condors.
The Sumbay Caves
Located at 4,127 metres above sea level in the Pampas Cañahuas reserve, the Sumbay Caves preserve more than 500 prehistoric rock paintings estimated to be between 6,000 and 8,000 years old. Discovered in 1968, the cave walls depict guanacos, vicuñas, deer, flamingos, and human hunters rendered in pale clay pigments derived from volcanic ash. The artists exploited the natural contours of the rock to give animal figures depth and movement. Stone spearheads, bone scrapers, and ritual artefacts found at the site confirm that the cave served as both a shelter and a ceremonial space for the earliest inhabitants of the Peruvian highlands.
Lake Titicaca, the Uros Islands & Taquile
At 3,812 metres above sea level, Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable body of water on Earth, spanning 8,372 square kilometres across the Peru–Bolivia border. Sacred to the Inca — who believed the creator god Viracocha rose from its waters — the lake holds a spiritual gravity that is immediately felt. The Uros Floating Islands are one of the world's most remarkable inhabited landscapes: dozens of man-made islands constructed from totora-reed bundles, constantly replenished as the lower layers decay. The Uru people have lived here for over 3,700 years, fishing, hunting waterfowl, and more recently welcoming visitors with handcrafted reed boats and traditional music. Taquile Island, a 45-minute boat ride further into the lake, is UNESCO-recognised for its extraordinary textile heritage: the island's men knit constantly, producing chullos (pointed hats) and fajas (sashes) whose patterns encode social and emotional meaning. Lunching on the island's Collata Beach, with the lake stretching to the horizon, is among the great travel experiences of South America.
Raqchi — The Temple of Wiracocha
The Raqchi Archaeological Complex, situated 110 kilometres south of Cusco along the ancient royal road, is anchored by the Temple of Wiracocha — the largest roofed structure ever built in the Inca Empire. The central wall, standing 18–20 metres high in andesite and adobe, supported a vast double-aisled roof flanked by 22 columns. The complex also includes 156 circular colcas (granaries), residential compounds, a sacred artificial lake, and elaborately engineered stone fountains — testimony to the Inca genius for landscape engineering. Built between the reigns of Inca Wiracocha (early 15th century) and Túpac Yupanqui (late 15th century), Raqchi served simultaneously as a temple, a state storehouse, and a control point on the road from Cusco to the altiplano.
Cusco — Navel of the World
The journey ends in Cusco (Qosqo, Quechua for 'navel'), the imperial capital of the Inca Empire from the 13th century until the Spanish conquest of 1533. Set at 3,400 metres in a bowl of Andean mountains, the city layers Inca stonework beneath Spanish colonial architecture in a palimpsest of extraordinary richness. The fortress-temple of Sacsayhuamán, the Coricancha (Temple of the Sun), and the cobblestoned Plaza de Armas are all within easy reach of Wanchaq Station. Cusco is also the gateway to the Sacred Valley of the Incas and, beyond it, Machu Picchu — so many guests extend their journey in the region.