Salt & Seven Colours
Trip Highlights
The majestic Cuesta de Lipan, Jujuy
Tastil ruins in the Quebrada del Toro
Explore the old road from Buenos Aires to Lima
Description
This trip combines the historic UNESCO site of the Quebrada de Humahuaca with the Salinas Grandes salt flats of the Altiplano mountain plateau.
We can often combine this trip with our Classic Wine route by taking the mountain pass of Abra el Acay, the highest road crossing in the world outside the Himalayas, at just under 5,000m altitude.
Click here to view map route.
Tour info
Why take this tour?
We head north along the mountain road from Salta to San Salvador de Jujuy, a taste of the verdant sub-tropical forest to the east of the Andes mountain range, rising into the Quebrada de Humahuaca, a canyon gouged out of the landscape with the eruption of the Andes between 12 and 15 million years ago.
The Quebrada de Humahuaca is remarkable not just for its great multi-coloured landscape, but its pre-Inca ruins, numerous old colonial churches, and characterful indigenous markets. It is also developing into Argentina's latest wine region, so let us know if you'd like to visit some of the world's newest boutique wineries. And of course, there’s the famous Seven Coloured Hill in Purmamarca which we’ll see in its best (morning) light, climbing up to a superb viewpoint which takes us away from the crowds.
From Purmamarca, we climb 2,000m in altitude in a winding 30km drive up the Cuesta de Lipan: a spectacular ascent of the outer Eastern range of the Andes, before descending to the Salinas Grandes, one of the most beautiful salt flats in Argentina.
Here you’ll see miners digging crystal salt from high altitude pools in temperatures of 30°C plus. You’ll also meet ex-workers who, thanks to tourism, now make a living carving salt block into ornamental llama and cacti, and etching impressive carvings on slates from the surrounding hills.
After a night in the high-altitude town of Susques (3,615m), we travel along the iconic Route 40 which runs all the way to Patagonia. We'll see a wealth of stunning Altiplano scenery, including a close view of Tuzgle volcano, before emerging at La Polvorilla viaduct, the final destination for the Train to the Clouds near the mountain town of San Antonio de Los Cobres (at an altitude of 3,770m), where the sky is always blue and clear and the sunsets are spectacular.
On our final day, we’ll visit the pre-Inca ruins of Tastil and discover the mysterious story of the community who lived here, before returning to Salta through the multi-coloured and sparsely populated Quebrada del Toro.
On the four-day trip, we can also take a hike along a rugged and little-explored section of the Inca trail.
Included
Local Tour Guide
Own Private Vehicle
Excluded
Food
Water
Accommodation
Things to know
Your Budget
Argentina has a parallel economy in which the official rate of the dollar is roughly half its real value. What that means is you need to leave your bank cards for emergencies and bring US$ or euros in cash which we can change into pesos for your everyday expenses. You’ll find Salta city is a lo...
Argentina has a parallel economy in which the official rate of the dollar is roughly half its real value. What that means is you need to leave your bank cards for emergencies and bring US$ or euros in cash which we can change into pesos for your everyday expenses. You’ll find Salta city is a lot cheaper than Buenos Aires, and your holiday in Argentina is even better value once we take you on the road on one of our trips. Read our guide to the "Blue Dollar" here.
Accommodation & Food
Double rooms at the privately owned B&Bs and small hotels we work with start from US$50 per night. You can eat well in some of the simple rustic places we use where you will be rubbing shoulders with the locals for less than US$10 per person. And splashing out on a three-course meal with wine in ...
Double rooms at the privately owned B&Bs and small hotels we work with start from US$50 per night. You can eat well in some of the simple rustic places we use where you will be rubbing shoulders with the locals for less than US$10 per person. And splashing out on a three-course meal with wine in a smart restaurant is unlikely to set you back more than US$50 for a couple.
Pricing
Headline price based on four people travelling together in one of our 4x4s with an English-speaking driver/guide.
Below are our DAILY rates PER PERSON excluding food and accommodation: valid to end 2023.
One person - US$350
Two people - US$200
Three people- US$150
Four people (one vehicle) - US$125
Four people (two vehicles) - US$200
Headline price based on four people travelling together in one of our 4x4s with an English-speaking driver/guide.
Below are our DAILY rates PER PERSON excluding food and accommodation: valid to end 2023.
One person - US$350
Two people - US$200
Three people- US$150
Four people (one vehicle) - US$125
Four people (two vehicles) - US$200
Group Size
We operate with comfortable 4x4s which can accommodate up to four people, but if you’re travelling with a larger group, please contact us and we will see what we can arrange.
We operate with comfortable 4x4s which can accommodate up to four people, but if you’re travelling with a larger group, please contact us and we will see what we can arrange.
Check Availability
More Experiences
Footsteps of the Conquistadores
A high altitude 4x4 adventure along the old colonial mining route: bringing you into close contact with the Altiplano wildlife of vicuña, flamingoes, and rhea.
This tour combines the must-see highlights of the UNESCO-protected Quebrada de Humahuaca with little-explored sections of the Argentine mountain plateau, close to the border with Bolivia.
Click here to view map route.
Wine and Mountains
A 4WD safari tour of the heart of Argentina’s Andean mountain plateau, combined with the Valles Calchaquies wine region.
It’s combined with a tour of the Valles Calchaquies wine region, where the white grape of Torrontes finds its best expression, and apart from the classic Argentine Malbec, you can also sample Tannat, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Wine lovers should see our Classic Wine route or Salta to Mendoza trip for more details on the sacred grape: either of those trips can be combined with this one.
Click here to view map route.