The colonial city, the salt flats at four thousand metres with the Hill of Seven Colours, and the wine valley of Cafayate through a canyon of red rock. The three faces of the north-west in one trip from Buenos Aires, with flights, hotel, transfers and guided days included.
Arrival. Your flight leaves from the Buenos Aires domestic airport. When you land in Salta our guide is waiting with a sign with your name, and takes you to your hotel in the centre.
Salta city tour, in the afternoon. Around 4 pm we collect you at the hotel for a tour of the colonial centre: the Cathedral and the San Francisco church, the Cabildo on the main square, the Historical Museum of the North and the craft market. Then up to the top of San Bernardo hill for the view over the whole Lerma valley, and out to San Lorenzo, the leafy summer village just outside the city, before returning to the hotel. About 100 km and four hours.
Full day to Salinas Grandes and Purmamarca. An early start, around 7 am, for the longest day of the trip: north into the province of Jujuy and up to the Puna, with the road climbing to around 4,200 metres. The white salt flats of Salinas Grandes, where you walk out onto the salt and photograph the turquoise pools cut into it, and Purmamarca, the adobe village at the foot of the Hill of Seven Colours, with its square full of textiles and crafts and time for lunch. Back to Salta in the late afternoon. About 450 km and 12 hours, with a guide throughout.
Full day to Cafayate. Another early start, around 7 am, this time south along the Calchaqui Valley through the Quebrada de las Conchas, a canyon of red rock carved into shapes with names: the Garganta del Diablo, the Amphitheatre. In Cafayate, the wine village of the north, a visit to a winery with a tasting of Torrontes, the white grape that grows nowhere better than here, and time in the colonial centre and its craft market. Back to Salta in the evening. About 390 km and 12 hours.
Departure. Breakfast at the hotel and transfer to Salta airport for the flight back to Buenos Aires.
Regular service as described; it can also be quoted private, and tailored to your dates, interests and budget.
Tell us your travel dates and how many of you there are. We send a free, no-obligation quote within 24 hours, with hotel options from comfortable to five-star.
As described it is a regular service: you share the vehicle and the guide with other travellers on the two full days, which is what keeps the price sensible. We can also quote it private, with your own guide and driver throughout. Ask for both and compare.
Salta city is at 1,187 metres. The Salinas Grandes day crosses a pass at around 4,200 metres and spends the middle of the day above 3,400 on the salt flats; Cafayate stays low. Most travellers feel no more than a headache or breathlessness at the top: drink water, eat lightly, and tell your guide if you feel unwell. If you have a heart or lung condition, talk to your doctor before booking.
Because in four days these two give you the most: the salt flats and Purmamarca cover the Puna and the coloured mountains in one day, and Cafayate is a completely different landscape in the other direction. The Quebrada de Humahuaca, Cachi and Iruya are days you can add if you stay longer.
April to November, the dry season, with clear skies and the best colour on the mountains. July is the busiest month. Summer brings afternoon rain and the chance of a closed mountain road for a few hours.
Yes, and many travellers do. One more night gives you the Quebrada de Humahuaca; two, Cachi over the Cuesta del Obispo; a night in the city with the peñas costs no extra day. See the optional day tours in Salta and tell us which ones you want.
Hotels in the centre of Salta, from comfortable three-star to five-star, chosen with you when we quote. Tell us your budget and whether you prefer a classic colonial house or a modern hotel.
Salta is the colonial capital of the Argentine north-west, two hours by air from Buenos Aires and at the foot of the Andes. From the city the roads go out in three directions, and in four days you take two of them: north to the Puna and the salt flats of Jujuy, south to the red canyon and the vineyards of Cafayate.
The Salinas Grandes day is the one people remember: the climb to four thousand metres, the white salt to the horizon, and the Hill of Seven Colours above Purmamarca on the way back. The Cafayate day is lower, warmer and about wine, with a canyon on the way that would be a destination on its own anywhere else.
We include the flights, three nights with breakfast, the airport transfers, the city tour and the two full days with an English-speaking guide. Tell us your dates and how many of you are travelling, and we come back within 24 hours with the trip quoted as one figure.
Both sides of the falls, then the direct flight to Salta for Salinas Grandes and Cafayate.
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The city and the full train day to the La Polvorilla viaduct at 4,220 metres.
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The Quebrada de Humahuaca, Cachi, Iruya, a night in the peñas and the Train to the Clouds, to add to any of these.
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