Great South American Rail Journeys

The wild southern American landscape is now accessible via some of the greatest railway journeys in the world, traversing countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador.

Argentina – The Patagonia Express

In Argentina, you can experience a delightful train journey aboard the Tren Patagonico or The Patagonia Express, which departs from the town of Viedma once every week on 6 pm on Fridays, and climbs up to San Carlos de Bariloche, arriving at 1 pm on Saturday. The journey traverses the wild mountains and valleys of the Rio Negro province in Argentine Patagonia. There is a restaurant car and cinema available aboard this train. The journey back from Bariloche will have the train departing at 5 pm on Sunday.

Bolivia – Santa Cruz Train to Quijarro

The train to Quijarro from Santa Cruz is one of the most exciting rail journeys which will take you right through Pantanal, the steamy extension of the Amazon rainforest which is located on the Bolivian border with Brazil. Because of the dense jungle and plantations that this train has to go through to get to the frontier, you will find that most of them normally end up taking longer than the 19 hours described.

Peru – The Hiram Bingham Train to Machu Pichu

This train runs from Cuzco to the ancient Inca city ruins of Machu Pichu. This train was named in honor of Hiram Bingham, the American explorer who rediscovered these famous ruins in 1911. This train journey lasts between 4-5 hours and has stopovers at the sacred valley at Ollantaytambo, before moving on to Aguas Calientes. There are trains that offer first class rail travel including snacks, local trains exclusive to locals only, as well as the backpacker trains. These trains tend to get crowded fast so it is advisable that you always make your reservations for advance tickets beforehand.

Peru – Train from Lima to Huancayo

Also in Peru, you can take the train to Huancayo from Lima which climbs up from the capital, at sea level, to La Galera, which just so happens to be second highest point for a railway line in the world. Thereafter, the train will descend to the bustling Andean city of Huancayo. Be sure to carry some warm clothing and blankets as this journey tends to get cold.

Ecuador – Nariz Del Diablo

If you are a rail journey enthusiast, you will love the Nariz Del Diablo, which is the top train in Ecuador. This is because this train sometimes takes the form of an old American school bus which has been simply mounted on the rails, and at other times it features as a single carriage car. If you enjoy sitting on the roofs of trains, you can indulge yourself here as well. For a little adrenaline rush, you get to go on a thrilling descent from the Alausi mountain town, down several switchbacks, and then skirt the Devil’s Nose – Nariz Del Diablo. This train departs several times a week and you can board it at Riobamba, the big city on your way to Alausi.

Brazil Luxury train

Luxury train journey on the Great Brazil Express. This is Brazil’s first luxury train.

Some of the world best or greatest train journeys

Railway companies in South America  Argentina railways