Train Journey from Lima to Huancayo, Peru.

The train journey from Lima to Huancayo, Peru, is the second highest railroad in the world. Starting at sea level and landing at 4,200 meters in a small, valley city high in the Andes Mountains, the train tops out over 5,000 meters — in less than nine hours. The trip took 14 hours.

This tourist trip was the firs time the Huancayo line served passengers since a bomb destroyed bridge on the historic line in 1980s. All but eight passengers were Peruvians, many of whom seemed board on this inaugural tourist trop.

As the train strained forward on steep switchbacks, I found it hard to take in the expanse of the Andes. A treeless, brutal, gray mountain scape.

At the end of the trip, the few passengers still standing were festively celebrating in the rear observation deck, complete with bar, mounted on top of the framework of an old freight train.