Salta Trip Overview
A 4-day tour touring the most relevant sites of interest in Northern Argentina. The Calchaquies de Salta valleys and the Humahuaca gorge in the neighboring province of Jujuy, declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco. This tour takes place with a maximum of 7 passengers, so being a small group of participants, the service is very personalized.
Additional Info
Duration: 4 days
Starts: Salta, Argentina
Trip Category: Cultural & Theme Tours >> Cultural Tours
Explore Salta Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting Salta, Northern Argentina, Argentina
A 4-day tour touring the most relevant sites of interest in Northern Argentina. The Calchaquies de Salta valleys and the Humahuaca gorge in the neighboring province of Jujuy, declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco. This tour takes place with a maximum of 7 passengers, so being a small group of participants, the service is very personalized.
Itinerary
Day 1: JUMP TO CAFAYATE FOR THE MYTHICAL ROUTE 40
Stop At: Quebrada de Las Flechas – Angastaco, ruta 40 Km 1116 bajando de Cachi a Cafayate,Salta, Argentiina, Angastaco Argentina
It is a system of valleys and mountains with very high peaks, such as the Nevado de Cachi, with 6,380 m.a.s.l. They were inhabited since pre-Inca times by diaguitas or “Calchaquís”. The Inca Trail and caravan of llamas passed to or from Alto Peru through this area. Some of the main attractions are those that can be seen on the way to Cachi, the highest sector of the valleys; and on the route to Cafayate. The attractions of National Route No. 40: Seclantás, called the “Cradle of Poncho Salteño”, are also added, as it is the land of expert craftsmen on the looms. Windmills, of irregular layout, highlights its Church (National Monument), built in 1639, where the mummified remains of the last realistic governor, Nicolás Isasmendi. Angastaco: From this town begins the Quebrada de las Flechas, alluding to the capricious forms of the mountains eroded by wind and rain. San Carlos, an ancient population that originated when the Jesuits settled in the so-called “Mission of San Carlos”. In its surroundings (Finca Buena Vista), the only stone mill in operation in the region with this millenary system. Animaná: town famous for its artisan production of patero wine.
Then you get to Cafayate where you spend the night.
Duration: 30 minutes
No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.
Day 2: CAFAYATE JUMP FOR QUEBRADA DE LAS CONCHAS
Stop At: La Garganta del Diablo, Ruta Nacional 68, Cafayate Argentina
Cafayate, the wine center of the province, cradle of the Torrontés varietal, on the second day of this excursion we will visit a winery where the whole wine production process will be explained to the passenger, as well as some wineries offer a small tasting as a courtesy. The return will be touring the Quebrada de Las Conchas, which originated in the Tertiary Era, 70 million years ago and separates the Lerma Valley from the Calchaquí Valley. Wind erosion has formed a succession of natural whims such as the Garganta del Diablo, a deep and closed canyon, or, The Amphitheater (of perfect natural acoustics), El Sapo, El Fraile, El Obelisco, Los Castillos. Crossing the Lerma Valley again, we return to the city of Salta.
Duration: 30 minutes
No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.
Day 3: JUMP TO PURMAMARCA THROUGH THE LARGE SALINAS
Stop At: Salinas Grandes, 4600 Argentina
The beauty of the white horizon of salinas touching the very blue sky of the puna. The Quebrada del Toro, witness of the passage of the Incas, of the colonists, and millions of years before, of the immense sea that covered those lands. A journey of unmissable nuances. An amalgam of 2 walks: Salinas Grandes and Quebrada de Humahuaca. A visit to the destination consecrated as Natural and Cultural Heritage of Humanity (UNESCO) through the Quebrada de Humahuaca, discovering landscapes, villages and exceptional cultures. To enjoy and get caught in the atmosphere of the place.
The first day, after passing the town of Campo Quijano, accompanying part of the route of the C-14 Branch, you ascend through the Quebrada del Toro, to Santa Rosa de Tastil, a small town with only one street. Continuing north on National Route No. 51, is the town of San Antonio de los Cobres, named for being within its jurisdiction the famous Copper Mountain rich in this mineral. Continuing along the former National Route No. 40 and after an hour and a half following the old road of the troperos we will find the majestic Salinas Grandes, whose origin dates from an extensive period temporarily located between 5 and 10 million years before the present. Ascending through an amazing mountain road, and in a few kilometers we will reach the highest point of the route and the beginning of our descent to the town of Purmamarca, the Abra de Potrerillos (4170 masl). Now we will take the famous Lipan slope that in just 20 km in length will lead us to descend about 2000 m until we reach Purmamarca (2300 masl) at the foot of the hill of the 7 colors, on a curved road and against curves with amazing landscapes. Night in Purmamarca.
Duration: 30 minutes
No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.
Day 4: BROKEN OF HUMAHUACA HERITAGE OF HUMANITY
Stop At: Humahuaca, Humahuaca, Province of Jujuy, Northern Argentina
On the second day we made a visit to the destination consecrated as Natural and Cultural Heritage of Humanity (UNESCO) through the homonymous Quebrada, discovering landscapes, villages and exceptional cultures. The change that occurs in the vegetation as it rises is notorious; the cloud cover that covers the hills gives rise to the live rock eroded from the hillsides and the lonely cardones appear. Unique villages are shown, such as Purmamarca, famous for the framework of the Hill of Seven Colors, visible from its scenic streets and from the handcrafted market around the main square. Maimará, of colorful slopes called Paleta del Pintor. It also surprises its cemetery, ‘suspended’ at the top of the hill and visible from the route. Tilcara stands out for its local festivities (Carnival and Holy Week) and for its Pucará (fortress in height) whose ruins have been partially rebuilt and convey a notion of the development achieved and pre-Hispanic way of life. Further north, the Tropic of Capricorn is crossed in Huacalera, identified with a white monolith. Uquía shows its chapel, built in the seventeenth century with the oldest altarpiece in the region, worked in laminated gold, being one of the 2 existing in Argentine territory decorated with oils from the Cusco school, ‘Los Angeles Arcabuceros’ nine in total, testimony of colonial architecture. Humahuaca gives its name to the Quebrada and is its largest population, with cobbled streets and iron lanterns in the corners, it is also the highest point of the route on this second day, 2,940 m.a.s.l. Main attractions: The Independence Monument, Cathedral Church and Municipal Building. Return to Salta.
Duration: 1 hour
No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.
