The ''Belmond Andean Explorer'', launched in May 2017, is

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

's first luxury sleeper train. It replaces the eponymous Pullman day train, between

Cusco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous Cusco Province, province and Cusco Region, department. The city was the cap ...

and

Puno Puno ( Aymara and ) is a city in southeastern Peru, located on the shore of Lake Titicaca. It is the capital city of the Puno Region and the Puno Province with a population of approximately 140,839 (2015 estimate). The city was established in ...

, at

Lake Titicaca Lake Titicaca (; ; ) is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. Titicaca is the largest lake in South America, both in terms of the volume of ...

. By the new train this trip is converted to a one-night journey, and extended from Puno for another overnight ride to

Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara language, Aymara and ), also known by its nicknames of ''Ciudad Blanca'' (Spanish for "White City") and ''León del Sur'' (Spanish for "South's Lion"), is a city in Peru and the capital of the eponymous Arequipa (province), ...

. From Cusco the train climbs to on the

Altiplano The Altiplano (Spanish language, Spanish for "high plain"), Collao (Quechuan languages, Quechua and Aymara language, Aymara: Qullaw, meaning "place of the Qulla people, Qulla") or Andean Plateau, in west-central South America, is the most extens ...

, before arriving at Lake Titicaca to pause for excursions to floating islands. It then continues to

, a city with a UNESCO

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

centre, stopping en route at Sumbay Caves. It is possible to add on a visit to the Colca Canyon, known for its condors. The trainset used to serve as the

Great South Pacific Express The Great South Pacific Express was a luxury Australian train service, run in by Queensland Rail and Belmond Limited, Belmond, the operator of the Venice-Simplon Orient Express. History In December 1996, Queensland Rail announced it would ente ...

in Australia between 1999 and 2003. The since-mothballed carriages were shipped to Peru in February 2016, where they were refurbished. The three accommodation levels of the GSPE with double, twin and bunk beds - all of them with en-suite bathroom - has been kept, as well as the two dining and bar cars, and the last car having an open-air observation deck. ''Belmond Andean Explorer'' is owned by

PeruRail PeruRail is a railway operator providing tourist, freight, and charter services in southern Peru. It was founded in 1999 by two Peruvian entrepreneurs and the British company Sea Containers. The main line between the port of Matarani, Arequipa ...

, and is a 50%/50% joint venture between Belmond and Peruvian investor Lorenzo Sousa, founder and chairman of the board of PeruRail SA. It will be operated by PeruRail, which also has the Hiram Bingham Pullman train from Cusco to

Machu Picchu Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru on a mountain ridge at . Often referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas", it is the most familiar icon of the Inca Empire. It is located in the ...

Belmond Andean Explorer cars

Hancock, Basil (2019). "The ''Great South Pacific Express'' goes west,
57 ''Railway Digest'', No. 4 (April 2019), at 52-55Zachario (2019). ''Belmond Andean Explorer arriving to the city of Puno'', YouTube r0JE_tvlYHk
/ref> (''Belmond Andean Explorer'' cars retained their original Australian numbers. However, Southern Peru-related car names were added.)

References

External links

* {{official website, belmond.com/trains/south-america/peru/belmond-andean-explorer Railway services introduced in 2017 Named passenger trains Passenger rail transport in Peru Luxury trains