Experience a vibrant train ride through the dramatic Andes landscapes near Cusco, Peru.
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Latin America’s Most Scenic Train Journeys

ByJordan

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Latin America never built a great continental rail network, which is exactly why the trains that survive feel so special. Scenic train journeys in Latin America tend to be short, purposeful and wildly photogenic: a glass-roofed carriage sliding toward Machu Picchu, a narrow-gauge steam engine puffing across the Patagonian steppe, a canyon railway clinging to the Sierra Madre. Here are the routes worth building a trip around.

Peru: The Andes by Rail

Peru is the region’s rail superstar, and the PeruRail Vistadome is the classic introduction. The route runs from Cusco and the Sacred Valley down the Urubamba gorge to Machu Picchu, with panoramic windows on the sides and ceiling so you can watch the cloud forest close in around you. The upgraded Vistadome Observatory adds an open-air balcony car for those who want the wind in their hair.

For something slower and far more indulgent, the Belmond Andean Explorer is a sleeper train that crosses the high Altiplano between Cusco, Lake Titicaca and Arequipa. Expect long views of grassland, grazing alpacas and snowcapped peaks, plus the kind of dining car that makes you forget you are above 13,000 feet. It is a splurge, and booking well ahead is essential.

Ecuador: The Devil’s Nose

The Nariz del Diablo line near Alausí is one of the great engineering stories of the Andes: a zigzag descent carved into a near-vertical mountainside. After a long pause, the route was rehabilitated and reopened to visitors in 2026, now run by the local Alausí government. It is a short ride, so pair it with time in the central highlands rather than treating it as a day trip from Quito.

Argentina: Clouds, Steam and the End of the World

Argentina offers three very different rail moods. The Tren a las Nubes climbs from the Salta region into the high puna to the La Polvorilla viaduct, one of the most dramatic railway bridges on the continent. The air is thin, the colors are mineral-bright and the scale is hard to absorb.

Further south, La Trochita, the Old Patagonian Express, still steams out of Esquel on a narrow-gauge line through open steppe. It is part museum, part living railway and entirely charming. At the bottom of the map, the Tren del Fin del Mundo near Ushuaia follows the route of a former prison railway into Tierra del Fuego National Park, with forest, rivers and mountains framing every window.

Brazil and Mexico: Rainforest and Canyon

In southern Brazil, the Serra Verde Express runs from Curitiba down through the Serra do Mar to the colonial town of Morretes. The line threads tunnels and bridges through some of the best-preserved Atlantic rainforest in the country, and the ride ends with a long lunch in a riverside town.

Mexico has two very different headliners. The Chepe Express crosses the Copper Canyon, a system of gorges in the Sierra Tarahumara that rivals anything north of the border, with stops for canyon-rim viewpoints. In the southeast, the newer Tren Maya links the Yucatán Peninsula’s beaches, colonial cities and archaeological sites, making it easier to combine Mérida, the Riviera Maya and the jungle ruins of Palenque without endless highway driving.

What the Ride Is Really Like

Scenic trains in the region are rarely about speed. Even the shortest routes move slowly through mountain terrain, and that is the point: you get time to watch landscapes change from farmland to gorge to forest. Bring a light layer, since carriages in the Andes can be cool in the morning and warm by midday, and keep your camera within reach on the side facing the river or valley.

Altitude is the other thing to plan for. The Andean Explorer and Tren a las Nubes both reach elevations that can leave visitors breathless, so schedule them after a couple of days at height rather than straight off a long-haul flight. Drink water, go easy on dinner the night before and let the scenery do the work.

Finally, think of each train as an anchor rather than a standalone experience. The Serra Verde Express pairs naturally with a night in Morretes, the Chepe Express with canyon-rim hotels and hikes, and La Trochita with the lakes and forests of Los Alerces National Park nearby. Building a few days around the ride turns a pretty journey into a memorable trip.

How to Choose Your Route

  • Short on time: the Vistadome or Tren del Fin del Mundo fit neatly into a trip you are already taking.
  • Bucket-list splurge: the Belmond Andean Explorer or Chepe Express are worth planning around.
  • Rail nerds: La Trochita and the Devil’s Nose are about the engineering as much as the view.
  • Slow travel: the Tren Maya lets you hop between stops over a week or more.

Because many of these lines run on limited days or seasonal calendars, it helps to map the journey before you book flights. Save routes and plan the journey in Rallii, then browse more ideas in our Scenic Journeys hub.

Plan your visit

  • Best time: the Andes are driest roughly May to September; Patagonian lines are most comfortable in the southern summer.
  • Getting there: most departures start in a gateway city, so build in a night before and after.
  • Where to base: Cusco for Machu Picchu and the Andean Explorer; Arequipa for the southern end of the Altiplano route.
  • Booking tips: reserve directly with the operator where possible, book luxury trains months ahead and confirm departures shortly before travel, since schedules change by season.

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