S. America

In Spanish, Saltar means to jump, or why not, to hop. So as the Northern Argentine province’s name implies, the best thing to do in Salta is to town-hop along the Andes.

The starting line for your town-hoping adventure is Salta Capital, one of Argentina’s fastest growing provincial capitals. Its unchecked-growth is leading to a rather sprawling and messy outer look, but at its heart, where the central square surrounded by the cathedral and the old museums are, Salta Capital is worth exploring for a day. Its colonial charm soon wins you over as you sip a cold beer at one of the cafés on the main square, admiring the old palm trees in the plaza and having your boots shined by one of the many – and famous – shoe-shine boys.

Hotels in Salta Capital are plentiful and you will be able to pick from a long list of family-run B&B’s, small three star hotels or elegant five star hotels. The Hotel Portezuelo, sitting on a hill just outside the buzz but only a 10-minute drive from the plaza, is a wonderful option, boasting a good restaurant and an outdoor swimming pool.

While in town, be sure to check out Doña Salta for the best empanadas (delicious meat or cheese filled pasties) and Locro (meat stew with corn and pumpkin). And whatever you do don’t miss out on the Museo de Alta Montaña (MAM – the High Altitude Museum), where you can see ancient Incan culture and craftsmanship at it’s best.

Once you are done exploring the Capital, hire a car (there are many car rental options) and head for the town of Cafayate. It’s just over a two hour drive along a paved highway with stunning views, as you leave the city behind and hit the Quebrada de Cafayate, one of the most stunning scenic routes in Argentina, with multy-coloured rockscapes and canyons.

Cafayate is the second most famous wine production centre in Argentina, and despite its popularity, has managed to maintain a wonderful small-town feel about it. The surrounding valley is dotted with wineries, many of them offering great accommodation and food. Famous for its Torrontés vines, that produce a wonderful dry white wine, the region also produces great quality high-altitude robust Malbec and Cabertet. If wine isn’t your thing, or once you have had a good wine tasting day, don’t miss out on the under-publicized Quilmes ruins, to see how those who inhabited the valleys before the Spanish lived.

A day or two later, hop to your next stop, Molinos, up the famous Ruta 40, the mountain road that runs along the Andes from the Southern-most tip of Argentina to the Bolivian border up in the North. Gravel and break-neck winding for most of its way, this road possibly has the most stunning views you will ever see, the most famous of them being La Quebrada de las Flechas: a particular bend in the road where you suddenly doubt whether you are in Mars.

Molinos in itself is a very small town, consisting of a main square, a small colonial church, and one very famous and lovely colonial hotel where you must stay a night (Hacienda de Molinos Hotel). The drive will have taken you three hours, so if you are still in the mood for a little more driving, you can take a detour to the Colomé vineyards, belonging to the Hess Estate. Colomé boasts being the highest altitude wines in the world and has its own James Turrel museum to boot (beware, you must call and book to visit the museum, free of charge) which is worth the two hour detour in itself, with or without a glass of wine after.

The next day head for Cachi, a two hour drive away and possibly the most beautiful town in your Calchaqui Valley tour. An exquisitely preserved colonial town 2.700 meters over sea level, Cachi is small and extremely quaint, but yet has a great selection of good restaurants and hotels, from small to large. To stay in the town in a high quality hotel, chose El Cortijo, a stylishly decorated colonial house with a great restaurant. If you would like to take in the awe-inspiring 360° views, La Merced del Alto, a 10 min drive out of town, is a wonderful option which also has a great restaurant, outdoor swimming pool and spa. If you are looking for cheap and cheerful, Hosteria Cardon is both those things, with a lovely tea house and exquisite cakes to boot.

If you would like an unforgettable soul-searching experience, try the smallest B&B in the valley: Lungdan, a 20min drive out of Cachi, it sits in the midst of a grassy valley. With no electricity to distract you, the room is lit with oil lamps, is beautifully decorated and has amazing views. Run by Daniel, a buddhist and writer who will cook you wonderful candle-lit dinners after which you can appreciate the milky way in all its stunning glory.

After Cachi, you can drive back down to Salta down the Cuesta del Obispo, a three hour drive down one of the most beautiful mountain roads in the world.

Of the many places that spring to mind when thinking about Argentina as a travel destination, Catamarca is not one of them.

Run for decades as a mining province by corrupt politicians, its outstanding natural beauty has been very much ignored, both by locals and foreigners. But its combination of awe-inspiring beauty and rustic abandon make it a fascinating road-trip destination.

There is one flight a day to Catamarca from Buenos Aires, and the airport is a strip of old tarmac in a field. Once the plane has managed a safe landing after hitting turbulence generated by different air currents from the Andes, passengers must exit straight onto the landing strip and giddily make their own way across the tarmac to an old and badly kept building, where a single creaking baggage conveyor belt squeaks suitcases around in a loop. Forget duty free, forget cafés and air the conditioned lobbies of the world you are used to inhabiting, think serious backwards middle-of-nowhere-stuck-in-the-seventies cowboy land.

Outside the old building, over thirty old taxis await anxiously for the ride that will make their day. Squabbling amongst the drivers is a very common scene that just adds more colour to the already extremely colourful backdrop.

The capital city, San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca, has grown considerably during the past few years and there is now quite an assortment of hotels and restaurants, but the few old family-run hotels that used to be the only viable options a few years ago still hang on, and if you chose one of these, it will add more zest to your road-trip. Check into the Hotel Pucará for a real seventy’s twilight-zone experience.

Hotels are the one thing that is not cheap throughout most of Argentina, from a B&B to a big chain hotel, they are all charging more than you would expect. Under this panorama, the mediocre medium-size family run hotels are the best quality-price ratio options. You can get a double bedroom with bathroom and TV for around 400$ pesos (about 70U$).

If you’d rather ignore the seventy’s style road trip and prefer a little more quality, then The Grand Hotel might be a better option, and if you want to go all out, the Hotel Amerian is the best one can find in the small provincial capital. But beware, a room at the Amerian will cost you!

Despite the backwardness of everything, car rental is easy and efficient and there are many options, if you splurge you can even get a pick-up. Once you’ve arranged transportation, which is usually delivered the next morning at your hotel door (costing around 250AR$ a day for a car) you are ready to hit the highlands.

A few kilometres after leaving the city, you will soon find yourself on deserted highways with tussocks of grass creeping their way onto the tarmac. If you enjoy solitude, your soul will be elated with the vastness and the wonder of driving for hours without another vehicle in sight. If you are of those who posses a nagging mind with a penchant to worry about flat tires, this might not be the place for you, many of the roads are gravel on high mountain passes.

As one leaves the misty valley and climbs over the mountains, the pale shades of green give way to darker shades of green and finally browns as you drive over the cactus-strewn mountain tops and get hit by the realization that you are on the top of the world. The awe-inspiring views sprawl out in every direction for hundreds of kilometres of red earth, lightly snow-capped peaks and winding rivers.

When you need a rest, you just stop by the side of the road and turn off the engine and climb out of that bubble that connects you with civilization and allow yourself to be awed by the silence. If you walk off into the mountains, there are places where there is no human trace except the sounds of your own footsteps, the silence in between each footstep ringing in your ears.

Head for Tinogasta, a small mining town 260km from Catamarca Capital (today the Dakar goes through it, so you might want to avoid that time of the year, unless you are a Dakar fan of course), where you can stop for the night. From there you can head to Fiambalá the next day, a small town hidden in the middle of the Andes close to the Chilean border, where you can indulge in the hot water springs – another seventy’s twilight zone experience in itself.

It’s good to have some plan worked out, but the best thing is to just allow yourself to meander and let destiny and the beautiful views to guide you.

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