Peruvian Highlands: Cusco – Arequipa
Cusco → Puno → Arequipa
The Belmond Andean Explorer's Peruvian Highlands journey is a three-day, two-night odyssey across the roof of the world, linking three of Peru's most storied cities aboard South America's first luxury overnight train. Departing Cusco — the ancient Inca capital — the route arcs south-east across the high altiplano, touching the shores of Lake Titicaca before sweeping through remote Andean desert to arrive in Arequipa, the colonial White City.
Along the way, guests step off the train into living history: a vast Inca temple complex at Raqch'i, the extraordinary reed-island communities of the Uros people on Lake Titicaca, a sunrise over the wilderness lagoon at Saracocha, and prehistoric rock paintings hidden inside the Sumbay Caves at more than 4,000 metres. Between excursions, the journey unfolds through panoramic observation cars, a piano bar, and a dining room serving inventive Peruvian cuisine — the Andes as backdrop to every course.
This itinerary operates on a Thursday departure from Cusco's Wanchaq Station, arriving in Arequipa on Saturday afternoon with a complimentary transfer to Rodríguez Ballón International Airport. It is the definitive high-altitude rail experience in the Americas, and one of the most scenically varied luxury train journeys anywhere in the world.
- ✦Guided excursion to Raqch'i — the largest Inca temple complex on the southern route
- ✦Sunrise and boat tour on Lake Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake
- ✦Visit the Uros Floating Islands and UNESCO-listed Taquile weaving community
- ✦Private stargazing overnight at remote Saracocha Lagoon in the Andes
- ✦8,000-year-old rock paintings at the Sumbay Caves (4,127 m)
- ✦La Raya Pass crossing at 4,350 metres — the altiplano at its most epic
- ✦Arrive in UNESCO-listed Arequipa, Peru's White City, beneath Volcán Misti
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Day 1 — Cusco & the Road to Raqch'i
The journey begins with a check-in at the Belmond Hotel Monasterio in central Cusco from 09:15, where guests are welcomed and briefed before a 10:15 transfer to Wanchaq Station. The Andean Explorer departs at 11:00, immediately climbing away from the red-tiled rooftops of the former Inca capital. Brunch is served in the restaurant car as the train traverses the Vilcanota Valley, the scenery shifting from terraced hillsides to open pampa.
At approximately 14:00 the train pauses at the village of San Pedro for a guided excursion to Raqch'i, the great Inca archaeological site. Here guests walk among the ruins of the Temple of Wiracocha — once the largest single-roofed structure in the Inca Empire, stretching more than 92 metres in length with a central adobe wall rising nearly 20 metres — as well as more than 200 circular qullqa storehouses and ancient ceremonial baths. The site sits at 3,480 metres and retains a profound atmosphere of Andean spirituality.
The train resumes its journey south, climbing toward the La Raya Pass at 4,350 metres — the highest point on the route — as alpacas graze on the altiplano and snowcapped peaks line the horizon. Afternoon tea is served in the observation car. At 19:00 cocktails and canapés are served in the piano bar, followed by dinner in the restaurant car at 19:30. The train arrives at the Puno Muelle dock on Lake Titicaca at approximately 23:30 and remains overnight.
Day 2 — Lake Titicaca & the Uros Islands
Guests wake to the extraordinary spectacle of sunrise over Lake Titicaca — the world's highest navigable lake at 3,810 metres — its deep blue waters reflecting the first light of the Andes. Breakfast is served from 06:00 as the train sits moored at Puno.
At 08:30 the day's excursion begins with a boat ride across Lake Titicaca to the celebrated Uros Floating Islands, a short distance from shore. These extraordinary man-made islands — up to two metres thick, woven from totora reeds and anchored to the lake bed — have been home to the Uros people for centuries, pre-dating the Incas. Guides explain the reed-harvesting and island-building traditions while community members demonstrate daily life. The excursion continues to the natural island of Taquile, where the Quechua-speaking community maintains textile traditions recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage — men weave intricate chullo hats from childhood. Lunch is taken at Taquile's Collata shore, described as the world's highest beach at 3,900 metres, before the group returns to the train.
At 16:50 the Andean Explorer departs Puno heading south-west toward Arequipa. Cocktails and canapés are served at 19:00, dinner at 19:30. The train arrives at Saracocha Lagoon at approximately 21:15 and rests overnight. Guests who venture onto the observation platform are rewarded with exceptional star-gazing in the clear Andean night sky — weather permitting — far from any city light pollution.
Day 3 — Sumbay Caves & Arequipa
Dawn breaks over Saracocha's still waters, offering a quiet, private sunrise in the heart of the Peruvian Andes. Breakfast is served from 06:00. At approximately 09:50 the train slows at the desert plateau of Cañahuas for the morning excursion to the Sumbay Caves, set within the Salinas and Aguada Blanca National Reserve at 4,127 metres. Inside a series of nine sheltered rock cavities, guests view more than 500 prehistoric paintings — zoomorphic figures of guanacos, vicuñas, and camelids alongside human hunting scenes and abstract geometric designs — created with natural pigments between 6,000 and 8,000 BC and declared National Cultural Heritage in 2000. It is one of the most significant rock-art sites in South America.
At KM 93 (approximately 11:30) guests may optionally disembark to explore Colca Canyon independently — one of the world's deepest canyons and a prime spot for watching Andean condors — at their own cost, then make their own way to Arequipa. All other guests remain aboard for a final lunch service as the train descends toward the city.
The Andean Explorer arrives in Arequipa at approximately 15:30, the White City's sillar-stone skyline framed by the volcanoes Misti, Chachani, and Pichu Pichu. A complimentary transfer is provided to Rodríguez Ballón International Airport (AQP). Those with time before their flight may choose to explore the UNESCO-listed historic centre independently.
Destinations & Highlights
Cusco — The Navel of the Inca World
Perched at 3,400 metres in a high Andean valley, Cusco was the capital of the Inca Empire — Qusqu in Quechua, meaning 'navel of the world'. The city's urban fabric layers Spanish colonial baroque over Inca stone foundations with uncanny elegance: the Cathedral of Santo Domingo was built atop the palace of Inca Wiracocha; the Convent of Santa Catalina replaced the Inca Acllawasi. UNESCO inscribed the Historic Centre in 1983. For guests of the Andean Explorer, check-in at the Belmond Hotel Monasterio — itself a converted 16th-century monastery — offers a fitting prelude to the journey ahead.
Raqch'i — The Temple of Wiracocha
Located 110 kilometres south-east of Cusco, Raqch'i is among the most impressive and least-visited of all Inca sites. Its centrepiece is the Temple of Wiracocha, dedicated to the creator deity who was believed to have fashioned humanity from clay at Lake Titicaca. The temple's surviving wall — rising nearly 20 metres of adobe atop stone foundations — once supported the largest gabled roof ever constructed in the Inca Empire. Around it stand the circular qullqa storehouses and an ancient spring with ceremonial baths, giving a rare sense of Inca urban planning beyond the better-known sites of the Sacred Valley.
Lake Titicaca & the Uros Islands
Lake Titicaca, shared between Peru and Bolivia, is the highest navigable lake on Earth at 3,810 metres, covering 8,372 square kilometres. The Uros people — who predate the Incas and originally spoke the now-virtually-extinct Pukina language — built their floating island communities to maintain independence. Today roughly 1,200 Uros people inhabit 62 artificial islands of woven totora reed, moored to the lake bed and continuously replenished. The natural island of Taquile, 45 kilometres from Puno, hosts a Quechua-speaking community whose men's weaving tradition has been on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list since 2005 — the cloth patterns encode social status, marital status, and community identity.
Sumbay Caves & the Andean Reserve
The Sumbay Caves lie within the Salinas and Aguada Blanca National Reserve, a high-altitude ecosystem home to vicuñas, flamingos, and Andean foxes, on the road between Arequipa and Colca Canyon. The nine sheltered cavities contain over 500 rock paintings attributed to nomadic Andean peoples between 6000 and 8000 BC — among the oldest art in the Americas. Subjects range from camelids and deer to human figures with bows, rendered in ochres and earthy pigments that have survived millennia at 4,127 metres. Discovered by archaeologist Máximo Neira Avendaño in 1968 and designated National Cultural Heritage in 2000, the site is invariably moving in its remote, austere setting.
Arequipa — Peru's White City
Arequipa, Peru's second city, sits at 2,335 metres beneath the perpetually snow-dusted cone of Volcán Misti. Its Historic Centre was inscribed by UNESCO in 2000 for its exceptional colonial architecture built from sillar — a luminous white volcanic stone that gives the city its nickname. Founded by the Spanish in 1540 on a valley intensively farmed by pre-Hispanic communities, Arequipa's Plaza de Armas, Cathedral, and the 17th-century Monastery of Santa Catalina — a city within a city — represent a supreme fusion of Andean and European Baroque traditions. It is also a city of celebrated gastronomy, widely regarded as the culinary capital of Peru.