As part of our 23-day Peru adventure, Susan and I wanted to experience a part of Peru by rail and enjoy the beautiful scenery that Peruvian Andes country has to offer. The PeruRail Titicaca Train from Cusco to Puno exceeded our expectations by far. Since we’re usually budget-to-midlevel travelers, this luxury train ride was a bit of a splurge. But we wanted to give ourselves a little reward and a bit of pampering after completing our trek on the Inca Trail.
We took an early-morning taxi from Ollantaytambo, where we had spent three nights after the trek, to the Cusco Wanchaq PeruRail station for the 7:50 departure to Puno. The pampering begins at check-in, when the friendly porters take your luggage and escort you to your assigned train car and table. Nice touch!
The train features an open-air observatory car with a full bar, and the train cars are decorated in the 1920s Pullman style with all the glamour that goes with that era. Fresh cut flowers on each table showed the level of service that we would experience for the 10.5-hour train ride. A gourmet lunch with wine is included, together with afternoon tea, snacks, and non-alcoholic beverages. Plenty more alcohol is available for purchase in the bar car, of course.
The train has very comfortable dining seating with fantastic views out the large windows, along with top-shelf service by the train porters and wait-staff. Live Peruvian music and dancing is featured in the bar/observation car.
We made one stop at the small town at the summit of the La Raya range, at 14,150 feet. It was our highest elevation on the trip so far! We had a chance to get off and stretch our legs for a few minutes and check out the beautiful Andean handicrafts for sale.
Here’s a little video I made of the tracks rolling out behind us:
One of the best parts of the trip was just watching the world go by. Susan figured out that it’s easy to get good photos just by holding the phone right up against the glass.
In short, the PeruRail Titicaca Train was a very scenic, relaxing way to experience the stunning Andean landscape of southern Peru. It was a big highlight of our trip, and I had to drag Susan off the train when we got to Puno!
PeruRail Titicaca Train Tips:
- You can book online at https://www.perurail.com/
- It was a challenge to make our credit card payment to reserve our date. We finally had to resort to emailing PeruRail to get that accomplished. Once you’re paid, they email your tickets to print out.
- You need to book at least 3 months in advance.
- The train leaves EXACTLY on time. Make sure you are at the station early.
- Take a look at the seat map for each train car and request the seating arrangements you would prefer. The views are spectacular on either side. You will spend a lot of time in the observation car.
- PeruRail is a first-class operation with several other routes. Here’s a short promotional video:
14 Comments
Great photo guys. Would have loved to do that journey. Must add it to our list.
I think you will someday, amiga!
Great post, as usual. Your pictures are stunning! If you use your phone camera, what brand is it that obtains this quality of photos — or is it the photographer’s technique? ;-]
Good ole’ iPhone 7!
Andy and I had a fabulous day today. Reading your blog, JP, was a great way to wind it all down before bed tonite! Thank you for sharing your adventures with us!
Dag
So glad you and Andy enjoyed it, Dag! Hugs from Susan and me.
– John
You really deserved this train journey after that challenging hike on the Inca Trail. I’ve seen photos taken from this train and each and every one of them (including yours) always makes me wish that Peru was closer to my part of the world. 🙂
I have the same feeling about your fantastic photos from your side of the world! I think we’ll be there someday, and I think you’ll experience Peru someday.
I think you thoroughly deserved a little luxury after your hiking exertions! I’m not sure our budget will stretch to it when we visit Peru next year…but at least we’ll know what we’re missing! 😂
And the trick with the phone against glass is a great one – I carry wipes in my bag so that I can clean the windows first…usually illicts a few odd looks.
Ha, that’s a good tip to clean the windows! They were pretty spotless when we got on the train but probably not after I put my hands all over them 🙂
Makes me want to ride a train somewhere. We love the Metro, but the food service is lousy. Thx for another cool post.
OMG talk about adding to my 2019 plans!!!!! Train travel is my second favorite mode of transport after sailing and this trip looks gorgeous (and far more luxurious then what I put the Captain through in SE Asia :-). Thank you for the inspiration and the tips!
OMG talk about adding to my 2019 plans! Train travel is my second mode of transportation after sailing and this looks gorgeous (definitely more luxurious then what I put The Captain through in SE Asia!). Thank you for the great tips. Sign me up!
Ha, yes – after that trip, we’re big believers in train travel! After sailing, of course 🙂