Inside a Luxury Sleeper Train

WORDS Amelia Brown IMAGES Belmond Andean Explorer

The Belmond Andean Explorer in Peru is reimagining slow travel.

Muza Lab was responsible for the interiors, working closely with Belmond to complement the brand’s heritage and weave cultural connections with inspirations from the surroundings.

Carrying up to 48 passengers, the 16 carriages have been updated to suit the preferences of today’s travellers. Drawing upon the palettes and textures of the terrain, beautifully crafted furnishings reflect Peruvian culture. Soft, neutral tones create an open, airy feel that places the emphasis on the amazing vistas. Select nostalgic elements of the original train, Great South Pacific Express, have been restored or added as emblems of the golden age of train travel.

“The train is a place of transition where time seems to slow down between the departure and the arrival,” explains Inge Moore, the South African-born co-founder of the London-based studio, which has also worked on the Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town. “Our vision was to design somewhere to ponder and dream, a space where the beauty of the land can infuse the soul.”

Muza was also involved in the exterior palette, with the carriages’ original maroon and ivory colours updated to glossy blue in a nod to Belmond’s 50/50 partnership with PeruRail, whose day train locomotives are also vibrant blue.

Each cabin is named after Peruvian flora and fauna, with four configurations of private, en-suite sleeper cars. Completing the luxury offering are observation, piano and two dining cars, as well as a library and boutique featuring original, handcrafted items from each destination, and even a spa, with treatments devised especially for the Belmond Andean Explorer from local Peruvian herbs.

Find out more about South America’s first luxury sleeper train here.