Richseen Private Journeys · South America

Peru: Andes, Culture, and Altitude

High Altitude Rail — Cusco · Lake Titicaca · Arequipa
6 Days · 5 Nights
From USD 15,000+ per person
"The Andean Explorer — Peru's most dramatic landscapes, at altitude, aboard Belmond's most considered train."
The Journey

Andes, Culture,
and Altitude

Peru operates at altitudes that require the visitor to adjust — not just physiologically, with the acclimatisation that 3,400 metres above sea level demands, but perceptually. The light at altitude is different: sharper, more directional, and possessed of a clarity that flattens the landscape into something that looks like a painting of itself. Cusco — the former capital of the Inca Empire, now a UNESCO World Heritage city of cobblestone streets and colonial baroque built over Inca stone foundations — sits in a valley of the Andes at 3,400 metres. Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world at 3,812 metres, reflects a sky so close to the lake surface that the horizon disappears into it. Arequipa, the White City, built from sillar volcanic stone below three volcanoes at 2,335 metres, is both the most architecturally coherent city in Peru and the entry point to the Colca Canyon — twice the depth of the Grand Canyon — where Andean condors ride the morning thermals with the confidence of animals that have been doing so for longer than any human record of the place.

The Andean Explorer — Belmond's luxury train operating between Cusco and Arequipa via Lake Titicaca — is the only overnight sleeper train in South America operating at luxury standard. Belmond has equipped it with private cabins with en-suite bathrooms, an observation car for the high-altitude landscape, a bar car with pisco sours prepared at 3,800 metres above sea level, and a dining car serving contemporary Peruvian cuisine from ingredients sourced along the route. The train crosses the Altiplano — the high plateau between the Andes ranges — in conditions of extraordinary visual clarity, passing through Raqchi (site of the largest Inca temple ever built), La Raya Pass (the highest point of the journey, at 4,321 metres), and the reed islands of Puno on Lake Titicaca.

This six-day itinerary begins with one night at the Belmond Hotel Monasterio in Cusco — a former sixteenth-century monastery converted into the most historically significant hotel in Peru — and concludes with one night at CIRQA in Arequipa, the most considered boutique address in the White City. Between them: two days and one night aboard the Andean Explorer, crossing the roof of South America at a pace that allows every landscape to be fully perceived.

Signature Moments

Six Encounters
with the Roof of South America

The Andean Explorer is the only overnight luxury sleeper train in South America — crossing the Altiplano at 4,321 metres, between two of Peru's most extraordinary cities.

01
Belmond Hotel Monasterio — A Sixteenth-Century Monastery
The former Augustinian monastery in Cusco's San Blas neighbourhood, with its 300-year-old cedar in the central courtyard, its gilded baroque chapel, and its oxygen-enriched rooms — the most historically significant hotel in Peru, and the only sensible way to begin a journey at 3,400 metres.
02
La Raya Pass — 4,321 Metres, the Highest Point
The highest point of the Andean Explorer's route — the Altiplano visible in every direction, the Andes ranges on both sides, and the particular clarity of light that 4,321 metres of altitude produces in the dry season. A pisco sour from the bar car, served at the summit.
03
Lake Titicaca — The Highest Navigable Lake on Earth
The reed islands of the Uros floating communities on Lake Titicaca at 3,812 metres — accessible by boat from Puno, where the Andean Explorer stops long enough to make the excursion and return before the train continues south toward Arequipa.
04
Raqchi — The Largest Inca Temple Ever Built
The Temple of Wiracocha at Raqchi — the largest single structure built by the Inca Empire, with walls reaching 12 metres and a footprint that the Spanish chroniclers described as the most impressive building they had seen on the continent. An Andean Explorer shore excursion, conducted by the onboard specialist guide.
05
Arequipa — The White City Beneath El Misti
The city built from white volcanic sillar stone, at 2,335 metres — where the descent from the Altiplano makes altitude feel straightforwardly manageable. The Santa Catalina Monastery occupying an entire city block; the view of El Misti volcano above the rooftiles; and CIRQA for the final night.
06
Contemporary Peruvian Cuisine at 3,800 Metres
The dining car serving ingredients sourced along the route — the ceviche tradition adapted to Altiplano altitude, the Andean grain varieties that Lima's best restaurants have been rediscovering since Gastón Acurio made Peruvian cuisine the most celebrated in South America. The most unusual fine dining venue in the hemisphere.
Curated Highlights

What Defines This Journey

01🚂
Andean Explorer — South America's Only Luxury Sleeper
The only overnight luxury sleeper train in South America — Belmond's Andean Explorer connects Cusco and Arequipa via Lake Titicaca, crossing the Altiplano at up to 4,321 metres above sea level. Private cabins with en-suite bathrooms; an observation car for the high-altitude landscape; a bar car with pisco sours at 3,800 metres; and contemporary Peruvian cuisine in the dining car.
02🏛️
Belmond Hotel Monasterio — Cusco's Historic Heart
A sixteenth-century Augustinian monastery in the San Blas neighbourhood of Cusco — converted by Belmond into the most historically significant hotel in Peru. The central courtyard's 300-year-old cedar tree; the chapel with its gilded baroque altarpiece; the oxygen-enriched rooms that address the acclimatisation challenge of 3,400 metres with the practical intelligence the situation demands.
03💧
Lake Titicaca — The World's Highest Navigable Lake
Lake Titicaca at 3,812 metres above sea level — the highest navigable lake in the world, where the sky and the lake surface merge at the horizon in conditions of extraordinary clarity. The reed islands of the Uros people, constructed and maintained entirely from totora reeds; the Taquile Island community, whose textile tradition has been UNESCO-listed since 2008; the particular light of the Altiplano at this altitude.
04🦅
Colca Canyon — Condors on the Morning Thermals
The Colca Canyon is twice the depth of the Grand Canyon — 3,400 metres from rim to river — and the Cruz del Condor viewpoint above its narrowest section is the most reliable location in South America for observing Andean condors in flight. The birds rise on the morning thermals between 9 and 11 AM with the regularity of a schedule — the largest flying bird in the world, with a wingspan of up to 3.3 metres, at close range.
05🏛️
Cusco — UNESCO Inca and Colonial Heritage
Cusco was the capital of the Inca Empire — Tawantinsuyu, the Four Quarters of the Earth — and the Spanish colonial city that replaced it was built literally on top of Inca stone foundations so precisely engineered that they have survived five centuries of earthquakes without mortar. The Qorikancha temple; the Sacsayhuamán fortress above the city; the San Blas neighbourhood of artisan workshops: a city that contains two extraordinary civilisations in one site.
06🌋
Arequipa — The White City Below Three Volcanoes
Arequipa is built entirely from sillar — the white volcanic stone quarried from the surrounding lava fields — and the Plaza de Armas and the Santa Catalina Monastery represent colonial baroque architecture at its most coherent in South America. El Misti volcano rises above the city to 5,822 metres; the Chachani and Pichu Pichu complete the volcanic backdrop that gives Arequipa its particular sky.
Sample Itinerary

Key Moments & Movements

Peru's high-altitude destinations require acclimatisation — arriving in Cusco at 3,400 metres and immediately attempting a full programme is the most common mistake the well-intentioned itinerary makes. One night at the Belmond Monasterio before embarkation is the minimum; the train's oxygen-enriched rooms assist the process; and by the time the Andean Explorer reaches Arequipa at 2,335 metres, the altitude feels straightforwardly manageable. May through October is the dry season; the light in July and August is at its most extraordinary.

Every Richseen journey is individually crafted. Your private consultant will tailor each day to your preferences, pace, and passions.

Day 1
Cusco Arrival — Belmond Hotel Monasterio
Private transfer from Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport to the Belmond Hotel Monasterio — a sixteenth-century Augustinian monastery in the San Blas neighbourhood, where the oxygen-enriched rooms address the acclimatisation challenge of 3,400 metres with practical intelligence. The afternoon is for rest and gentle orientation: the San Blas neighbourhood's artisan workshops and the Plaza de Armas at the pace that altitude requires. Dinner in the monastery courtyard under the 300-year-old cedar tree.
Belmond Hotel Monasterio, Cusco
Day 2
Cusco / Embark Andean Explorer
Morning in Cusco — the Qorikancha temple, where the Inca covered every surface in gold plate before the Spanish stripped it to build the Church of Santo Domingo on the same foundations; or the Sacsayhuamán fortress above the city, where the largest stones weigh 360 tonnes and were positioned without mortar in a jigsaw-fit that has survived every earthquake since 1438. Afternoon: private transfer to Cusco's Huanchaq Station and embarkation aboard the Andean Explorer. The train departs south through the Sacred Valley as the Andes close around the route and the Altiplano opens ahead.
Andean Explorer
Day 3
Altiplano — Raqchi, La Raya, and Lake Titicaca
The Andean Explorer moves south across the Altiplano — the high plateau between the Andes ranges, at an average elevation of 3,800 metres, where the air is thin and the light produces a clarity that makes every object appear closer than it is. A stop at Raqchi — the archaeological site of the Temple of Viracocha, the largest Inca building ever constructed, whose adobe-and-stone walls rise 12 metres and whose purpose remains partially disputed. La Raya Pass: the highest point of the journey, at 4,321 metres, where the Andean landscape extends in every direction without visible limit. Descent toward Puno and Lake Titicaca as the afternoon light falls across the reed beds of the lake's northern shore. Dinner in the dining car as the lake appears to the west and the Bolivian Andes rise above the far shore.
Andean Explorer / Lake Titicaca
Day 4
Lake Titicaca — Reed Islands and Departure
Morning excursion to the Uros floating islands — the reed platforms constructed and maintained entirely from totora reeds by the Uros people, whose community has lived on the lake surface for centuries as a practical response to the political pressures of their Inca neighbours. The islands are rebuilt as they decay; the boats are made from the same reeds; the community continues its lake-surface existence with the matter-of-fact authority of a culture that has found its solution and is not interested in alternatives. Return to the Andean Explorer for the departure south toward Arequipa as the lake recedes behind the train and the desert landscape of the Arequipa region begins.
Andean Explorer / Puno
Day 5
Arequipa — The White City
Arrival at Arequipa and disembarkation. Transfer to CIRQA — the most considered boutique address in Arequipa, housed in a restored colonial building near the Plaza de Armas. Afternoon: the Santa Catalina Monastery — a city within a city, covering 20,000 square metres of the colonial centro, where Dominican nuns lived in complete enclosure from 1579 until 1970 and the streets, plazas, and living quarters of their community have been preserved in the condition of the seventeenth century. Evening: the Plaza de Armas for the sillar stone arcades and the cathedral that occupies the entire northern side of the square in a coherence that colonial baroque rarely achieves.
CIRQA, Arequipa
Day 6
Departure — The Andes Recede
Morning option: the Colca Canyon — three hours from Arequipa by road, where the Cruz del Condor viewpoint provides the most reliable condor observation site in South America between 9 and 11 AM. Or a final morning in Arequipa: the Yanahuara viewpoint for the panorama of El Misti above the city's rooftops; the Mercado San Camilo for the Arequipeñan breakfast culture of queso helado and picarones. Private transfer to Rodríguez Ballón International Airport for international departure.
Luxury Stays

Where You Rest Matters

San Blas, Cusco, Peru
Cusco — 1 Night
Belmond Hotel Monasterio
San Blas, Cusco, Peru
A sixteenth-century Augustinian monastery converted by Belmond into the most historically significant hotel in Peru — the 300-year-old cedar in the central courtyard, the gilded baroque chapel, and the oxygen-enriched rooms that address the acclimatisation challenge of 3,400 metres with the practical intelligence that the situation requires. The most considered prelude the journey demands.
Cusco to Arequipa via Lake Titicaca, Peru
In Transit — 2 Nights
Belmond Andean Explorer
Cusco · Raqchi · La Raya · Puno · Arequipa
The only overnight luxury sleeper train in South America — Belmond's Andean Explorer crosses the Altiplano at up to 4,321 metres. Private cabins with en-suite bathrooms; the observation car for the high-altitude landscape; a bar car with pisco sours prepared at altitude; and contemporary Peruvian cuisine from ingredients sourced along the route. The most considered way to cross the roof of South America.
Centro Histórico, Arequipa, Peru
Arequipa — 1 Night
CIRQA
Centro Histórico, Arequipa, Peru
The most considered boutique address in the White City — a restored colonial building near the Plaza de Armas, in the UNESCO World Heritage historic centre that represents colonial baroque architecture in sillar volcanic stone at its most coherent in South America. The transition point between the high altitude of the rail journey and the manageable 2,335 metres of the city below El Misti.
Exclusive Experiences

Moments Designed for You

🦅
Wildlife
Andean Condors — Cruz del Condor
The Cruz del Condor viewpoint above the Colca Canyon's narrowest section — the most reliable condor observation site in South America, where the birds rise on the morning thermals between 9 and 11 AM with the regularity that makes planning possible. The Andean condor has a wingspan of up to 3.3 metres; at Cruz del Condor, it passes at eye level. The largest flying bird in the world, at the closest reasonable distance.
🏛️
Inca Heritage
Qorikancha — The Golden Temple
The Qorikancha — the Temple of the Sun — was the most important temple in the Inca Empire, whose walls were covered in 700 solid gold plates and whose gardens contained life-size sculptures of plants and animals in gold and silver. The Spanish stripped the gold and built the Church of Santo Domingo on the same foundations; the Inca stonework beneath is visible in the earthquake cracks that have opened the colonial walls without disturbing the Inca blocks beneath.
💧
Lake
Lake Titicaca Reed Islands — Uros Community
The Uros floating islands of Lake Titicaca — constructed and maintained entirely from totora reeds, rebuilt continuously as the lower layers decay into the lake, and inhabited by a community that chose the lake surface as its permanent address in response to the Inca expansion. The boats are made from the same reeds; the houses from the same reeds; the islands themselves from the same reeds. A complete human settlement built from a single material at 3,812 metres above sea level.
🍽️
Cuisine
Contemporary Peruvian — Andean Explorer Dining Car
Peru's culinary tradition — the most celebrated in South America since Central restaurant began winning awards in 2012 — applied to the specific ingredients of the Andean route: Cusco choclo corn, Puno quinoa, Lake Titicaca trout, Arequipa chilli peppers. The Andean Explorer's dining car serves this cuisine in a setting 3,800 metres above sea level, with a pisco sour prepared at altitude as the aperitif that the landscape demands.
Visual Journey

Through the Lens

Begin Your Story

Craft Your
Private Journey

Every detail — from your first evening in the Monasterio courtyard to your final morning beneath El Misti — is composed entirely around you. Speak with your dedicated Richseen journey consultant today.

From USD 15,000+ per person

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