Salta City Tour

The best place to begin in most Spanish colonial cities is in the main square.

Apart from the fact that it’s the hub of daily life, with cafes, bars, and usually the old town hall and cathedral, everything you want to see in Salta radiates from here.

On the Plaza 9 de Julio, we’ll visit the Cathedral, and the old cabildo (town hall), and stroll a few blocks to the 17th century San Francisco church and the convent of San Bernardo. Along the way to the Guemes monument, commemorating the local hero from the War of Independence, we will point out some of our favourite shops selling artisan wares from all over north west Argentina.

Apart from the leatherware and expertly crafted knives, typical of this part of Argentina are hand-weavings from llama wool, crafted carvings from cactus wood and religious icons which illustrate the blending of indigenous and Catholic belief.

There are two unmissable museums which you can visit in your own time: the MAAM High Altitude Mountain Museum and the Guemes museum just a couple of blocks away. 

Our longer tour in a car over five or six hours taking in the environs of Salta including:

• The nearby leafy, sub-tropical summer retreat of San Lorenzo (an excellent spot for hiking).
• Campo Quijano: the gateway to the Andes, this town developed in the 1920's as home to railway workers constructing the Tren a las Nubes or Train to the Clouds.
• La Caldera: see the imposing 18 metre high statue of Christ, visible for miles around and explore the picturesque 18th century Jesuit church in this tranquil colonial town, which was once an important stop along the Camino Real (Royal Road) from Lima to Buenos Aires.

For Salta city nightlife, Paseo Guemes has become the “Happy Hour” drinking venue: head there early (which in Argentina is 8pm!) to one of the many of the new pubs like Antares selling craft beer (cerveza artesenal): also in this street is one of our favourite steak houses, or parrilladas, El Charrúa. 

When you tire of steak (if you ever do), try Viracocha or Jose Balcarce, which offers Peruvian and Andean cuisine. Near the railway station is Balcarce street, which is still the best place to enjoy a traditional folk music peña.

And for a truly gourmet experience, we recommend the award-winning El Baqueano on top of San Bernardo hill: the previous incarnation in Buenos Aires was listed among the top 50 Latin American eating places for nine years running.