Palace Tours 12000 Biscayne Blvd. #107 Miami FL 33181 USA 800-724-5120 / 786-408-0610 Call Us 1-800-724-5120 Taste of Luxury Rails in South America - Tren Crucero and Vistadome/Hiram Bingham Experience the best luxury trains in South America in one trip - The Great South American Luxury Train Experience Travel on the Tren Crucero in Ecuador - Voted the best train in South America from Guayaquil to Quito Travel to Lima, Cusco and Machu Picchu on board the Vistadome train Travel on board the Belmond Andean Explorer first ever sleeper luxury train of South America in Peru from Cusco to Puno Book Now for the following Add-Ons : Sight Seeing tour of Quito Free! Choose from - One night at 5 star hotel in Guayaquil before the trip OR Cartagena luxury escape (2 nights in Cartagena - Colombia before or after your trip) This amazing combination tour allows you to experience the wonders of two South American countries by luxury rail. First, a luxury experience from Guayaquil to Quito by train! Onboard the Tren Crucero you will climb 3,600 meters from the coast to the Andes, and experience one of the most dramatic changes in vegetation and scenery in the world. The train travels through the coastal plains into a dense cloud forest that slowly clears before the imposing walls of the Andes and the looming “Nariz del Diablo” pass. Here the train will slowly zigzag its way up the daunting tracks to arrive at the quaint village of Alausi in the Andean Highlands. From then onwards, imposing volcanoes preside over the landscape as the train cruises through colorful quinoa fields and lands dotted with grazing herds of sheep, llama, and alpaca. On the eastern flanks of the Chimborazo volcano you may meet the last “ice merchant" and sample ice cream made from fresh fruit and ice from the glacier! You will then make a slow descent towards Quito across the Avenue of Volcanoes, where you may visit a mountain forest as the Cotopaxi Volcano looms in the distance. After this you will pass through the Northern Andes, where you can spot the Cayambe Volcano while you cross rose plantations and livestock farms. In the impressive city of Otavalo, home to a large handcraft market, a steam engine will await you at the recently restored train station. There will be many wonders in store for you on this section of the tour: skilled Quiteña style woodcarvers, rich Ecuadorian Gastronomy, and local traditions used by weavers, musicians, and healers. Your journey ends back in Quito, with a visit to its World Heritage Colonial Quarter. Then head to Peru to come face to face with the Sun centric religion of the Incas and the many monuments dedicated to the Sun God (Inti). Here as your journey from Lima to the capital of the Incas, Cusco, you will see remnants of the Temple of the Sun and the Sacsayhuaman fortress. As you travel along the paths taken by the Incas to Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley you will discover many of the beliefs and rites that were held sacred by them. Also you get to travel on two trains the Andean Explorer and the Vistadome, bask in their luxurious surroundings and taste great food and wine. Itinerary Your tour starts in Guayaquil with the departure of the Tren Crucero. Train departs at 8:30 am from the Eloy Alfaro Train Station in Duran. Your tour will be starting at the Eloy Alfaro Station in Duran. Please arrive at the station promptly at 7:30 AM to ensure you have time to check in and board the train, which will depart at 8:30 AM. Upon arrival at the train station, you will see a check-in station for Tren Crucero: Please present your voucher, along with valid photo ID, to the representative. All necessary paperwork, as applicable, will be handed over to you at this time. Taste of Luxury Rails in South America - Tren Crucero and Vistadome/Hiram Bingham(© www.palacetours.com) 1/24 **Remember to be in the train station at least 30 minutes before your scheduled departure with your personal identification. Embarkation and Disembarkation: Prior to the train's departure, guests have a meet and greet in Duran If a guest plans on joining Tren Crucero at a station besides Duran, train staff will be available to assist him or her. Day 1 - Saturday: Tren Crucero - Greetings and Chocolate Please Note: All itineraries are approximate and subject to change based on availability and conditions at the destination. Our journey to the Andes begins in Duran train station where we will board a convoy pulled by a carefully restored steam locomotive. The roaring engine, steam whistles and steel wheels over the railways will take us back in time to the early XIX century and the adventurous experience that is the Tren Crucero. Our first stop is Yaguachi, were we will switch engines to continue our trip across vast plantations of sugar cane, banana, rice and pineapple until we reach the Naranjito station. A short bus transfer will take us to a local hacienda were we will learn about the cocoa bean and we will be part of the chocolate making process. Ecuadorian cocoa beans are considered to be the best of the world and you would have the opportunity to taste them while we visit the hacienda. In the afternoon a “montubio” show will welcome us before we taste the delicious food of the coast of Ecuador. A bus transfer will take us to Bucay were we will take a hike around the tropical forest, home of countless plants, birds and orchids that will marvel us with their different sizes and exuberant colours. We will check in at our hotel and prepare for dinner. Meals: Lunch Dinner Day 2 - Sunday: Tren Crucero - Traverse the Devil's Nose! Our next day adventure continues by bus when we climb the Andes on a pleasant 4 hours drive. During this ride we will look at the amazing changes in, landscape from the peaceful green plains of the coast to the colossal Andean mountains that cast their shadows on the road. Our destination is the town of Alausi were we will embark on a thrilling adventure on board the famous Devil´s Nose train. Upon arrival at Alausi Train station we will join a restored XX century convoy and we will start our trip to the Devil´s Nose pass, a 450-meter descend in barely 12 kilometres on a zig-zagging railway that allows the locomotive to pull forwards and backwards the convoy to reach its destination, Sibambe train station. At Sibambe a colourful Andean community ballet will welcome us. Many are the histories that tell us why this pass was baptized as La Nariz del Diablo or The Devil´s Nose, from the shape of the mountain that awakens our imagination to the number of human lives that took to overcome this nearly impossible obstacle. After our thrilling adventure of The Devil´s Nose, we will take a bus ride to Guamote. Lunch will be served on board and afterwards we will continue or journey north to Colta were an impressive steam engine locomotive known as “The Black Monster” will be waiting for us. This huge steam engine was carefully overhauled and is strong enough to pull convoys over the railways of the Andes where the altitude and lack of oxygen makes this a titanic task. Once we arrive to Riobamba a bus transfer will take us to our hotel for a delicious meal and a good night sleep. Meals included. Breakfast Lunch Dinner Taste of Luxury Rails in South America - Tren Crucero and Vistadome/Hiram Bingham(© www.palacetours.com) 2/24 Day 3 - Monday: Tren Ecuador - Ice, Forests, and Volcanoes We depart for Urbina train station, the highest point in our itinerary at 3,600 metres above sea level. There, on the eastern flanks of the Chimborazo Volcano, we meet the fascinating last ice merchant, Baltazar Ushca, to tell the tale of his ancestral trade. We continue north across the Avenue of Volcanoes a term coined by Alexander Von Humboldt due to the impressive number of volcanoes present in this part of the Andean mountain range. In between the two flanks of the Andes colourful valleys extend for many miles, offering you unique landscapes along the way. While our train continues making its way up north the devils will take over the train. A picturesque and ancestral tradition the “Diablada Pillareña” parade will add a touch of joy and music to this beautiful day. Under the watchful eyes of the Cotopaxi our train will makes its way to of the local haciendas to take part on the daily farm activities. At the hacienda we will be greet by the “chagras” the cowboys of the Andes, who will share part of their culture with you. We arrive to Quito train Station located in the traditional neighbourhood of Chimbacalle were a bus will be waiting for us to take us to our hotels for dinner and a peaceful night at this UNESCO Cultural Heritage City. Meals included. Breakfast Lunch Dinner Day 4 - Tuesday: Tren Crucero - Otavalo and Quito Our journey continues in the morning with a 2 hours bus ride north across rose plantations and charming mountains that seem to be patched up in different colours by the many plantations along the way. Our destination will be the valley of Otavalo in the Imbabura Province. Otavalo is home of ancient cultures, skilled craftspeople and the world- renowned Otavalo market. We arrive at San Roque Train station where we will embark a panoramic convoy on a journey full of hidden wonders, musicians, painters, weavers and the skilful woodcarvers who keep the complicated Quito School of Art style alive.