Salta: Tours & Luxury Hotels
Founded in 1582 and surrounded by forested mountains, the atmospheric city of Salta has many fine colonial buildings, plazas and churches. Salta is also well known for it's culture, folkloric music and excellent food. The city is easily explorable on foot, and a full days city tour takes in most of the colonial sites of interest.
The best hotels in Salta include: the ultra luxury Finca El Bordo de las Lanzas; the sumptous former family home of Solar de Plaza; the boutique El Lagar Hotel; the charming Fina Los Los; the minimalist, ultra modern hotel Alejandro L; the colonial Hosteria de Chicoana; the peaceful boutique hotel Papyrus; the chic Gran Hotel Presidente; and the polo-club-esque Salta Hotel. There's a hotel for all tastes in Salta.
Salta is a perfect base for exploring Argentina's Andean regions such as the Calchaqui valley and the Quebrada de Humahuaca north of nearby Jujuy. One of South America's great railway journeys departs from Salta - the Tren a las Nubes (Train to the clouds), which has spectacular views as it zig zags up and down the mountains.
Jujuy & Andean Villages in North Argentina
Though it lacks the elegance of Salta, the Andean scenery around Jujuy is even more spectacular. This region of Argentina feels distinctly Andean and indigenous, as is evident from both the food and local music. The are pre-hispanic ruins at nearby Tilcara, and beautiful small Andean villages to explore. Travel north from Jujuy to the spectacular Quebrada de Humahuaca gorge, full of fascinating small villages en route to Bolivia.
Cafayate & Wine Tours
Travel South from Salta through an increasingly arid landscape of cacti, sand dunes and the bewilderingly coloured rocks in the Quebrada de Cafayate, to the town of Cafayate, which is in one of Argentina's principal wine growing regions. There's an alternative travel route through the equally spectacular Calchaqui valley through little oasis-villages.
The scencic setting and fine wines and vineyards (bodegas) in the Cafayate region make it a popular day tour from Salta, but for those wishing to spend a little longer in this wine growing region, there are some lovely luxury hotels available. Consider staying at the excellent converted old winery hotel of Patios de Cafayate (which also has a spa), the colonial Vinas de Cafayate on a hillside just outside of town, or the converted 300 year old mill at El Molino de Cachi Adentro in the pretty nearby town of Cachi (Cachi itslef is a lovely town to explore with some nearby ruins).
Travel Onwards from Salta & Northern Argentina
There's flights from Salta to Buenos Aires with both Lan Argentina and Aerolineas Argentinas. Aerolineas also has occasional flights to Cordoba. LAB (Lloyd Aereo Boliviano) used to offer flights from Salta to Santa Cruz in Bolivia, but the airline is now bust / suspended. It's still possible to travel from Salta (Argentina) through Jujuy and into Southern Bolivia (eg. the Uyuni Salt Flats). Alternatively, travel overland west into Chile's Atacama Desert.
