Salta City Tour
Trip Highlights
Gourmet cuisine at El Baqueano
Salta city at nightfall
Salta's classic empanadas
Description
Salta is one of the best-preserved colonial cities in South America: with excellent museums, bars, restaurants, and nightlife.
We can organise a walking tour of three or four hours which will cover the main highlights of this pretty, laid-back city, starting in the classically Spanish colonial main square.
We also offer a longer tour in a car over four or five hours taking in the environs of Salta.
Tour info
We can pick you up direct from Salta airport or from your chosen hotel in the city.
Open in Google MapsWhy take this 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.
Included
English-speaking Guide
Own Private Vehicle
Excluded
Food
Water
Accommodation
Things to know
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$15 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$15 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$40 per person.
Pricing
The City walking tour is US$50 per person.
The City walking tour is US$50 per person.
2 Reviews
Verified
Alexander P
22nd June 2015
mintie46
24th April 2014
More Experiences
Bolivia’s high altitude wine
Allow us to introduce you to one of the world’s lesser known wine regions: Tarija in Bolivia. With vineyards at 1,850m, this is one of the highest altitude wine regions in the world. The quality of wine, particularly its trademark...
Mountains to Cloud Forest trekking
This is one of our most challenging north west Argentina hiking trips, recommended only for experienced trekkers: covering 58km over four days, we climb to an altitude of 4,200m, gradually descending to 1,325m, following the contours of mountain tracks along...
Essential Humahuaca
Combine the highlights of the colourful Quebrada de Humahuaca with the other-wordly Salinas Grandes salt flats in the Argentina Altiplano. Rich in indigenous culture and colonial history, the old trade route from Buenos Aires to Lima features the Seven Coloured...
Salt & Seven Colours
This is one of our most popular tailor-made tours which combines the historic UNESCO site of the Quebrada de Humahuaca with the Salinas Grandes salt flats of the Altiplano mountain plateau and the colourful and barely populated canyon of Quebrada...
Footsteps of the Conquistadores
A high altitude 4x4 adventure along the old colonial mining route: this Altiplano tour brings you into close contact with the mountain plateau wildlife of vicuña, flamingoes, and rhea. This excursion combines the must-see highlights of the UNESCO-protected Quebrada de...
Wine and History: Mendoza to Cafayate
Take the long and winding road from Mendoza to Cafayate, visiting lesser known boutique wineries in San Juan, La Rioja, and Catamarca along the way. This deep immersion into the wine and culture of Argentina is perfect for those who...
Classic Wine Route
Explore the varied landscape of the Valles Calchaquies and its excellent boutique wineries in this Argentine wine tour par excellence. Our Classic wine route combines Salta's superb boutique wineries in the highest altitude wine region in the world with the...
Wine and History: Salta to Mendoza
Take the long and winding road from Salta to Mendoza, visiting lesser-known boutique wineries in Catamarca, La Rioja, and San Juan along the way. This deep immersion into the wine and culture of Argentina is perfect for those who want...
Colours of Vallecito
A voyage of discovery into the untouched landscape between the Valles Calchaquies and the Quebrada del Toro, only accessible on foot, horse, or donkey. This challenging hike covers 48 km over 3 days, rising to 3,558m altitude. It follows the...
Mountain Trekking in Iruya
This high-altitude trek through the multi-coloured hills around Iruya takes us into the heart of local communities untouched by the modern world. We visit small settlements in the mountains surrounding the tiny hill town of Iruya, close to the Bolivian...
Fourteen Colours & Cloud Forest
Hike Argentina’s Inca trail, linking two completely different eco-systems, the dry canyon of Humahuaca and the Cloud Forest of Calilegua. We take a narrow mountain road which was only finally completed in October 2019, tracing the footsteps of Inca explorers...
Chile: Atacama Desert
A dramatic journey across the Andes to the driest desert in the world, the Atacama in northern Chile. This trip combines with the colourful canyon of the Quebrada de Humahuaca and (if you're doing a round trip from Salta) with...
Salares of Uyuni, Bolivia
The Bolivia salt flats are one of the true wonders of the natural world, the biggest in the world, and visible from space. Experience an unforgettable tour of the Salar de Uyuni, where the lack of artificial light means there...
Expedition to the Cloud Forest
Hiking verdant green trails in the sub-tropical Argentina Cloud Forest in Jujuy: an oasis of plants and birdlife. This is part of the UNESCO region of the Yungas, which contains 300 different species of birds and 100 different types of...
Wine and Mountains
A 4x4 safari tour into the heart of the most remote areas of Argentina’s Andean mountain plateau, combined with the Valles Calchaquies wine region. This high altitude Altiplano tour also includes the best of Salta wine region, where the white...