Room with a View: the Andean Explorer

Traditional artisanal fabrics and local crafts weave through two bar carriages, two restaurant cars, a spa, and sleeping accommodations that range from cozy bunk cabins to suites with double beds and lounge areas. But the train itself is only part of the story.  "The breathtaking landscapes that evolve along the route—snow-capped peaks, glaciers, lagoons, lakes, volcanoes, rivers, and a display of our nation's magnificent biodiversity—are truly captivating," says general manager Javier Carlavilla. Along the journey, visitors also discover the floating islands of Lake Titicaca, the world's highest navigable lake, where people have built entire worlds on totora reeds; the Sumbay caves, adorned with ancient rock art; and Raqchi, where Inca temples still stand tall.

The dining experience captures this philosophy of discovery perfectly. In the restaurant car, you'd barely know you were moving if not for the countryside unfolding beyond the windows, yet the menu draws directly from the regions you're crossing. Pre-dinner cocktails in the piano bar or the observation car (which features an outdoor terrace, because sometimes even floor-to-ceiling windows aren't enough) feel like natural pauses in a conversation with the landscape itself. The local arts and crafts, the contemporary design infused with traditional color, everything is intentionally designed to create what the train's designers call "a look and feel rooted in Peru," says Carlavilla. 

The train doesn't just traverse the Andes, it teaches you to see them, perhaps for the first time.