Salta and the Northwest
Mountains striped in seven, then fourteen colours, a blinding salt flat at 3,450 m and some of the highest vineyards on Earth: the Northwest is Andean Argentina, mineral and mestizo.
Suggested stay — 5 to 6 nights
From colonial Salta — the country's most beautiful main square, empanadas that set the national benchmark — two loops share the journey. To the north, the UNESCO-listed Quebrada de Humahuaca: Purmamarca and its Cerro de los Siete Colores at first light, Tilcara and its pre-Inca fortress, then the vertiginous track climbing to the Hornocal viewpoint, the fourteen-colour mountain, at 4,350 m — the short breath is normal, and so is the visual slap.
To the south, route 68 drops towards Cafayate through the Quebrada de las Conchas, a gorge of sculpted red sandstone (the Garganta del Diablo, the Anfiteatro and its perfect acoustics) down to the high-altitude vineyards: torrontés, a dry, floral white done well nowhere else, is tasted in bodegas at 1,700 m. The truly hooked close the loop along route 40 via Cachi and the Cuesta del Obispo, hairpins among candelabra cacti — part gravel, all landscape.
Don't miss
- Purmamarca's Cerro de los Siete Colores in the raking morning light
- The Hornocal viewpoint at 4,350 m, mid-afternoon when the colours switch on
- The Salinas Grandes, an immaculate salt flat at the top of the Cuesta de Lipán
- The Quebrada de las Conchas and a torrontés tasting in Cafayate
Our tips on the ground
- Altitude is non-negotiable: sleep in Salta (1,150 m) or Purmamarca (2,200 m) before heading up to the Hornocal or the Salinas, hydrate, and accept the coca-leaf mate offered everywhere.
- Go up to the Hornocal after 3 pm: the folded relief takes on its colours with the sinking sun — in the morning it's flat and grey, and many leave disappointed without understanding why.
- The southern loop via Cachi and route 40 includes ripio and narrow stretches on the Cuesta del Obispo: leave early, allow a full day for 160 km, and back off in summer rain.
Our flagship guide — €29
Guide available“Argentina Self-Drive”, the complete edition, is out
10 chapters: day-by-day itineraries, driving and transport, a costed budget and checklists — the same method as our Namibia guide.
The guide is currently written in French — an English edition is in the works.
Before you go
Readers' questions about Salta and the Northwest
Should you worry about altitude sickness in the Northwest?
It's managed more than feared: the roads climb fast (Salta 1,150 m, Salinas Grandes 3,450 m, Hornocal 4,350 m) but you drop back down to sleep low every night, which changes everything. Climb gradually over the first two days, skip alcohol the first evening, and keep coca leaves or paracetamol handy. Anyone with a heart condition should ask a doctor before the Hornocal.
When is the best season for Salta and the quebradas?
April to November: dry skies, sharp colours, cool nights. The austral summer (December-March) brings the rains that green the valleys but regularly cut tracks and roads — the Cuesta del Obispo and the Hornocal track sometimes close for hours or days. The Humahuaca carnival in February is a huge party… and the wettest window.