Visit Salta & The Northwest, Argentina

This far-flung corner of Argentina presents the traveller with a magnificent lunar landscape of ochre deserts dotted with cacti and colourful gorges striped with an array of hues. The historic city of Salta is the base for most explorations of the Northwest, and offers striking architecture and calm, leafy plazas.

Salinas Grandes, Salta

Salta, ArgentinaHumahuaca near Salta, ArgentinaSalta, ArgentinaSalinas Grandes, SaltaSalt restaurant, Salinas Grandes, SaltaSalta, ArgentinaSalta, ArgentinaPillars of Salt, Salinas Grandes, SaltaSalinas Grandes, SaltaThe Convent in Salta, ArgentinaSalta, ArgentinaSafari to the Clouds, Salta, ArgentinaSalta, ArgentinaSalta, ArgentinaSan Francisco Church, Salta, Argentina

• View Gallery
• Add ToTravel Planner

Up in this far-flung corner lie great and magnificent swathes of land that have visibly more in common with Argentina’s Andean neighbours than the modern, European influenced areas further south.

A lunar landscape awaits, a place of ochre deserts dotted with cactus and gorges striped with many different hues.

Exploring the Region

Begin your exploration in the historic city of Salta , where striking architecture and leafy plazas easily justify a stay for a day or two.

During excursions from this charming city, you will climb past giant cactus, grazing vicuña, sculpted rocks and mountains striped red, amber, coffee and ochre, reaching dazzling salt flats and impossibly tiny settlements at nearly 4,000 metres above sea level.

Humahuaca Gorge

From Purmamarca, with its Hill of Seven Colours, you can travel further north into the awe-inspiring scenery of the Humahuaca Gorge, visiting quiet oasis villages, the ruins of a hilltop fortress, exquisite churches and some of the most important archaeological sites in the country.

Combinations

If you wish to combine Argentina with Chile, we can organize for you to traverse the high puna from this point into the Chilean Atacama desert, in a heady day’s travel over a high and quiet border crossing.

South of Salta lie the stunning Calchaquíes Valleys and the vineyards of Cafayate, which can be combined in a day’s trip, both accessible by means of winding mountain passes above which condors glide.