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The world's highest railwayThe railway going from Lima to Huancavelica, through La Oraya and Huancayo was built by Henry Meiggs, an American engineer. He supervised the work from 1870 to 1877, when he died. The work was then pursued under the supervision of Pole Ernesto Malinowski and were achieved in 1893. Pole Ernesto Malinowski imported workforce from China between 1870 and 1893. This explains the reason why there are so many Asians and "chifas" (typical Chinese restaurants) in Peru. The railway's point of departure is located at the Desamparados station, in the heart of Lima. This historical monument was built by the architect Rafael Marquina in 1912, and stands in the area of the governor's palace.  Infiernillo bridge Along the railway, long of 335 kilometres and with a global incline of 4,5°, we can find 68 tunnels, 61 bridges and 9 zigzags… The mountainous and hostile ground did not allow to go about it in another way. Along this impressive journey, there are world known bridges such at the Carrion bridge and the Infiernillo bridge. Ticlio, located between Lima and Hyancayo, is the highest rail point of the world: 4829 meters. After this point, the railway goes down to Hyancayo. Another record… the Lima - La Oroya - Huancayo railway goes through the station of La Galera situated at 4781 meters. It is the highest station of the world!  Spectacular landscapes During its working time, travelling was hard going for passengers, as they were often suffering from "soroche", the heightsickness. Oxygen carboys were at disposal in trains in order to compensate for the oxygen's rarefaction in high altitude. Additionally, technical problems were frequent and often slowed down the journey. This uncommon journey offers a spectacular view. Besides the summits, you can also see lamas and alpacas on the high plateaus. Unfortunately, the landscape has been damaged by the mining work in the surroundings of La Oroya.  Huancayo-Hunacavelica's railway is still active nowadays For railway lovers, it should be pointed that the type 2-8-0 steam train number 206 (built by Beyer Peacock in 1953) is still running. It's being retired at Huancayo, after being many years of service. Without any doubt, it is one of the most gorgeous and steep railway of the world. Nowadays, this way is being partially exploited: There is about one tourist train per month, going from Lima to Huancayo. Yet, the Huancayo-Huancavellica is still active. TimetablesNo more departures in 2004 !
Price: US $ 30 per person (round trip) Travel length: 12 hours The price does not include the food in the train. For more information on departures on this mythic train, contact us! Author : Guy Sydor, translated by Gwénola Herbette |
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