When I first began researching Argentina, I had never heard of Salta. But blog after blog seemed to pop up about how amazing this area was. After reading about it and looking at the incredible pictures of others, I knew it was a place I wanted to see. I haven’t been disappointed.
Even though I currently have another two day tour still to do, from what I’ve already experienced, this area is on track to becoming my top favourite place from all my travels. Why is that? The scenery in the surrounding area is so varied, breathtaking and different, even the word incredible doesn’t do it justice. I wish I could include more pictures in this blog since these are just a small sample of what you will see.
And it’s not only the scenery that makes this area special. The easy going, generous people, the tasty food and the many wineries made my tour here delightful in every way. Although it was the 3 day tour that I took from Salta to Cachi, on to Cafayate and then back to Salta that put this location in my best place ever category, the city of Salta has a lot to offer as well. So make sure you spend a few days there, especially on the weekend.
Hike up, ride up in the gondola or take a taxi to the top of Cerro San Bernardo. Don’t hesitate to walk down, although there’s lots of steps they are wide and it’s not really steep. Visit some of the many museums, especially the Anthropology Museum if you want see a mummified body. Visit the city tourist centre and get a map because there is a huge array of churches, parks and sights of interest, plus markets, and evening Pena’s where you can have dinner and listen to traditional music along with watching folk dancing.
The most difficult thing in the areas surrounding Salta is getting to the best places, especially for a solo traveler who may have limited Spanish. So find some travel companions to come with you and then hirer an English guide with a vehicle to take you around. With 3 or 4 people splitting the cost it’s not so pricey. Get a guide that allows you to book your own accommodation in the places where they want to stop, that way you can still stay in hostels or home stays. But book ahead, accommodation options can be limited.
On the website, www.toursbylocals.com (a Canadian company) we booked a fabulous, knowledgeable and very personable woman who was born and raised in the area. Because of her we went to special places and saw things that you wouldn’t get to experience on a regular group tour. Besides, it’s not possible to take a day tour to some of the locations we visited.
Some people decide to rent a car and tour around on their own. It can be done but after what I saw, I’m so glad it was someone else driving and I wasn’t worried all the time about damaging a rental vehicle. These are not easy roads to navigate. Some are paved but the section between Cachi and Cafayate is almost all sand and gravel. With the heavy rain received two days before our trip many sections of the road were still in rough shape. A 4-wheel drive and an experienced driver made sure we got across water remaining on the road and we took the necessary detours. These are narrow and very winding road under the best conditions so keep that in mind if you decide to drive them yourself.
There are local buses from Salta to Cachi or Salta to Cafayate, although they may only go once a day. They will get you to each place but they won’t stop for pictures or walking in the most scenic places. There are day tour buses to both Cachi and Cafayate that will stop at designated locations for pictures and possibly a short walk. These are often 12hr tours because of the distance involved and they need to return the same day. I don’t know of any buses that travel between Cachi and Cafayate.
Do your own research about travelling in Salta and the surrounding area. I will be going north of Salta next week and I will blog about that afterwards. Although this part of the country may seem to be out of the way and not as easy to get to, the Argentinian and Andes experience you willI have here, will make it all worthwhile.
