LIMA (AFP) - A multi-day forest fire stranded 200 tourists on a remote stretch of railroad connecting the Peruvian tourism hub of Cusco with the ancient Inca hideaway of Machu Picchu, rail company PeruRail said on Monday.

Train cars were stopped for safety reasons, containing at least 200 tourists with multiple nationalities, a PeruRail spokesman told AFP.

Rail service to Machu Picchu is currently suspended because of the threat of landslides and the fire, which started on Saturday about 14 kilometers (nine miles) away from ruins.

"The suspension of the service is to preserve the safety of passengers," the spokesman said.

Around 600 volunteers from Peru's civil defense institute, firefighters and staff of the National Institute of Culture (INC) are working to quell the flames, the spokesman added.

The head of the civil defense institute in Cusco, Guido Bayer, told AFP that the fire-fighting team had made good progress in controlling the blaze.

At this time of year local farmers often burn their pastures to make land ready for new crops.

Machu Picchu, an UNESCO World Heritage site, is Peru's largest tourist attraction. The citadel sits on a forested mountain top, 69 miles (111 km) from Cusco, the ancient capital of the Inca empire.