The heavy rains caused severe damage to the 122-kilometer long railway infrastructure between Cuzco, Ollantaytambo and Aguas Calientes. While work to restore rail service into Machu Picchu has commenced and rains have in part subsided, it is a rainy season in Peru and the inclement weather will continue to adversely affect the repairs.

Tours operators have assisted in the evacuation operations of their stranded clients as well as other travelers caught buy the rains in the area. The Cuzco local government, Peruvian national government, the US embassy and the Peru Rail have all provided helicopters to evacuate the tourists from Machu Picchu to Ollantaytambo, from where they can be safely then transferred by road to Cuzco.

Although more than ten helicopters have been involved in the evacuations, weather conditions have slowed down the evacuations. Full evacuation of all travelers from Machu Picchu is expected to be completed this weekend. Though stranded at the Machu Picchu ruins the tourists stay at local lodges and medical services have been provided by the Peruvian army.

To restore the railway line may take at least another week although the engineers of the Orient Express owned company that leases and operates the railway infrastructure between Cuzco, Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu have inspected the tracks and announced that complete reconstruction works will take minimum three to eight weeks.

The sector from Ollantaytambo to Piscacucho, fully accessible by road from Ollantaytambo, is expected to last the longest, with service to be restored no earlier than early April. Piscacucho is only a short distance from Ollantaytambo in direction of Machu Picchu and serves as the trail head of the four-day Inca Trail.

The three common denominators of the above three towns is their altitude and prominent location in the Andes. Each is found in elevations over 11,000 feet above sea level and amidst dazzling environment and on important ancient as well as present day routes.

The northernmost of the three is Huaraz. It’s close proximity to Lima offers convenient and impressive entry into the heartland of High Andes. Located in the stunning Callejon de Huaylas Valley with towering snowcapped peaks rising on all sides, the area is known for its wonderful mountain scenery which is often compared to that of the Swiss Alps. Huascaran, Peru’s highest mountain, and its mesmerizing neighbor, Alpamayo, bewitch and in every sense of the word rival the most spectacular peaks of the Himalayas.

In central highlands of the Andes the place to see is the striking Valley of Mantaro. Huancayo is its as well as Peru’s key market town and a junction. The most memorable entrance to Huancayo can be made by train that follows a rail line over Ticlio Pass of 15,700 feet above sea level, the highest railroad mountain pass in the Peruvian Andes, an elevation that is nearly 1500 feet higher than the very top of the Rocky Mountains!

The last of the three 11,000-feet plus high towns in the Andes is Cusco. Of the three it is undoubtedly most visited on account serving as the key access point for Machu Picchu. But its prominence is not only in relationship to the Inca culture that permeates it but the art and architectural monuments of the Colonial era that are well represented as well.

Each of the above towns is blessed with wonderful Andes mountain climate of sunny blue skies and suitable to visit throughout the year with the exception of the rainy season December to March.

Train to the Clouds, in Spanish Tren de las Nubes, is one of the highest railway lines in the world, traversing the altiplano of the Andes amidst dramatic landscapes between Salta, where it departs from an elevation of below 4,000 feet, and its final destination, the La Polvorilla Viaduct, at nearly 13000 feet.

On account of the incredible elevation rise, the train ride is slow, traveling at speeds of only 20 to 25 miles per hour. A round trip takes some sixteen hours, with two stops along the way up and at final destination for sightseeing and at least partial acclimatization to the altitude. Medical assistance is available on board as is oxygen for those that may experience slight nausea due to the oxygen-thin air.

The rail line, which construction started in 1932 and was completed in 1948, refurbished in 2008, is 217 km long and passes over 29 bridges, 13 viaducts and through 21 tunnels. As in places the altitude gain is rather steep, the train negotiates track spirals as well as zigzags, indeed marvels of railroad engineering.

At present the train leaves Salta every Saturday at 7 AM and returns just before midnight. It has a capacity of nearly 500 passengers, and the tickets cost $120 per person, $20 more during Easter and winter holidays, July 18 to August 2nd.