Highlights of Northern Argentina
from 3149 USD
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AR-003
7Days
From USD3,149
Highlights
- Discover the Hornocal in Northern Argentina, also known as the 14 color mountain
- Visit the spectacular white expanse of the Salinas Grandes or salt flats
- See wild vicunas on your way from Salinas Grandes to La Polvorilla Viaduct
- Drive along the Shell's Gorge, considered to be one the most beautiful drives in all of Salta
- Travel to one of the oldest wineries in Argentina, the Bodega Colome
- Sample some outstanding wines as you explore the winelands of Cafayate
- Witness the gigantic cacti inside the National Park Los Cardones
- Observe the beautiful Nevado Cachi snowcapped mountain range from the comfort of your hotel
Accommodation options
You will be collected from the airport and taken along ‘Route 9’, through multicolored canyons to ‘Quebrada Humahuaca’. This mountain valley route runs for around 202 km (126 miles) alongside the Grande River. Historically, this is an old trade route known as the ‘Camino Inca’. Spreading out at intervals along the trail are Inca-influenced towns and villages, namely Humahuaca, Purmamarca and Tilcara. You stop to see ‘The Hill of Seven Colors’ from a lookout point in Purmamarca. You continue to Tilcara, a town of cobblestone streets and Spanish colonial architecture. After a 20-min walk from Tilcara’s main square, you reach the ‘Pucara de Tilcara’, a pre-Inca settlement situated on a hill above the valley of the Río Grande. Next, travel to Uquia. Inside the church, you will find 17th-century paintings by indigenous students of the Cusco School from Peru, with the most renowned of them being the one with the arquebus-wielding angels.
Traveling further north, you make your last stop at the awe-inspiring mountains of Hornocal, located just 25 km (16 miles) from Humahuaca and along a well-graded unpaved road. Hornocal is also known as the ‘14 color mountain’. Later, you will make your way back to Tilcara where you will spend the night.
Traveling further north, you make your last stop at the awe-inspiring mountains of Hornocal, located just 25 km (16 miles) from Humahuaca and along a well-graded unpaved road. Hornocal is also known as the ‘14 color mountain’. Later, you will make your way back to Tilcara where you will spend the night.
After breakfast, you leave the hotel and have time to take a stroll through Purmamarca’s colorful handicrafts market before taking 'Route 5' to Salinas Grandes (66 km/ 41 miles). This spectacular salt pan is located in the Argentinean 'Puna' (at approx. 3,300 masl/10,800 ft.). Stretching for approximately 212 km² (82 mi²), a vast white desert awaits. You will need sunglasses and sunscreen as the sunlight bouncing off the ground is rather intense. Enjoy the presence of vicunas as you take an unpaved road heading 97 km towards 'Viaducto La Polvorilla' (4,200 m/ 13,800 ft.) the highlight of the Train to the Clouds, an absolute masterpiece of engineering. Drive through the 'Quebrada del Toro' gorge. Your guide will have some interesting facts to share with you about the history and the fascinating geology of this region. In the late afternoon, you arrive in La Merced Chica, next to Salta.
Today you head southwards to Cafayate. The impressive landscape takes you through the 'Quebrada de las Conchas', a gorge with bizarre stone formations. En-route you visit two bodegas and taste some local wines.
‘Route 40’ runs between Cafayate and Cachi and provides a dazzling scene with the unusual and colorful geographical formations in the Calchaqui Valley. Molinos and Seclantas lie on this zigzagging road. Seclantas town is renowned for its traditional handwoven ponchos that are carried over the shoulders of the Gauchos in the region. At Molinos, you may take the opportunity to see ’Hacienda de Molinos’, a traditional countryside house dating back to the 18th century and the small church across the way, considered a National Historical Monument.
En-route you make a stop for a wine tasting at ‘Bodega Colome’. The high altitude of the Calchaqui Valley and a greater difference between day and night temperatures ensure a longer growing season, which in turn leads to a more intense accumulation of flavor in the grapes. Located in the upper valley Colome is one of the world's highest vineyards and one of the oldest in Argentina. It is also home to the James Turrell Museum, one of the most important contemporary light and space artists. The museum showcases nine light installations and some major works on paper, representing five decades of Turrell’s career.
IMPORTANT
A guided wine tour and/or a lunch at Colome requires a previous reservation (visits from 10:30 – 18:00, TUE-SUN)
The restaurant at Colome closes at 15:00 hrs
En-route you make a stop for a wine tasting at ‘Bodega Colome’. The high altitude of the Calchaqui Valley and a greater difference between day and night temperatures ensure a longer growing season, which in turn leads to a more intense accumulation of flavor in the grapes. Located in the upper valley Colome is one of the world's highest vineyards and one of the oldest in Argentina. It is also home to the James Turrell Museum, one of the most important contemporary light and space artists. The museum showcases nine light installations and some major works on paper, representing five decades of Turrell’s career.
IMPORTANT
A guided wine tour and/or a lunch at Colome requires a previous reservation (visits from 10:30 – 18:00, TUE-SUN)
The restaurant at Colome closes at 15:00 hrs
You will begin a 3-hours scenic drive to Salta (approx. 230 km/143 miles). You pass through Los Cardones National Park, a designated national park that protects endangered and distinctive cacti. Upon arrival in Salta, you will be taken to the airport and board your flight to Buenos Aires.
You will be transferred to the airport for your flight home.
You will be collected from the airport and taken along ‘Route 9’, through multicolored canyons to ‘Quebrada Humahuaca’. This mountain valley route runs for around 202 km (126 miles) alongside the Grande River. Historically, this is an old trade route known as the ‘Camino Inca’. Spreading out at intervals along the trail are Inca-influenced towns and villages, namely Humahuaca, Purmamarca and Tilcara. You stop to see ‘The Hill of Seven Colors’ from a lookout point in Purmamarca. You continue to Tilcara, a town of cobblestone streets and Spanish colonial architecture. After a 20-min walk from Tilcara’s main square, you reach the ‘Pucara de Tilcara’, a pre-Inca settlement situated on a hill above the valley of the Río Grande. Next, travel to Uquia. Inside the church, you will find 17th-century paintings by indigenous students of the Cusco School from Peru, with the most renowned of them being the one with the arquebus-wielding angels.
Traveling further north, you make your last stop at the awe-inspiring mountains of Hornocal, located just 25 km (16 miles) from Humahuaca and along a well-graded unpaved road. Hornocal is also known as the ‘14 color mountain’. Later, you will make your way back to Tilcara where you will spend the night.
Traveling further north, you make your last stop at the awe-inspiring mountains of Hornocal, located just 25 km (16 miles) from Humahuaca and along a well-graded unpaved road. Hornocal is also known as the ‘14 color mountain’. Later, you will make your way back to Tilcara where you will spend the night.
After breakfast, you leave the hotel and have time to take a stroll through Purmamarca’s colorful handicrafts market before taking 'Route 5' to Salinas Grandes (66 km/ 41 miles). This spectacular salt pan is located in the Argentinean 'Puna' (at approx. 3,300 masl/10,800 ft.). Stretching for approximately 212 km² (82 mi²), a vast white desert awaits. You will need sunglasses and sunscreen as the sunlight bouncing off the ground is rather intense. Enjoy the presence of vicunas as you take an unpaved road heading 97 km towards 'Viaducto La Polvorilla' (4,200 m/ 13,800 ft.) the highlight of the Train to the Clouds, an absolute masterpiece of engineering. Drive through the 'Quebrada del Toro' gorge. Your guide will have some interesting facts to share with you about the history and the fascinating geology of this region. In the late afternoon, you arrive in La Merced Chica, next to Salta.
Today you head southwards to Cafayate. The impressive landscape takes you through the 'Quebrada de las Conchas', a gorge with bizarre stone formations. En-route you visit two bodegas and taste some local wines.
‘Route 40’ runs between Cafayate and Cachi and provides a dazzling scene with the unusual and colorful geographical formations in the Calchaqui Valley. Molinos and Seclantas lie on this zigzagging road. Seclantas town is renowned for its traditional handwoven ponchos that are carried over the shoulders of the Gauchos in the region. At Molinos, you may take the opportunity to see ’Hacienda de Molinos’, a traditional countryside house dating back to the 18th century and the small church across the way, considered a National Historical Monument.
En-route you make a stop for a wine tasting at ‘Bodega Colome’. The high altitude of the Calchaqui Valley and a greater difference between day and night temperatures ensure a longer growing season, which in turn leads to a more intense accumulation of flavor in the grapes. Located in the upper valley Colome is one of the world's highest vineyards and one of the oldest in Argentina. It is also home to the James Turrell Museum, one of the most important contemporary light and space artists. The museum showcases nine light installations and some major works on paper, representing five decades of Turrell’s career.
IMPORTANT
A guided wine tour and/or a lunch at Colome requires a previous reservation (visits from 10:30 – 18:00, TUE-SUN)
The restaurant at Colome closes at 15:00 hrs
En-route you make a stop for a wine tasting at ‘Bodega Colome’. The high altitude of the Calchaqui Valley and a greater difference between day and night temperatures ensure a longer growing season, which in turn leads to a more intense accumulation of flavor in the grapes. Located in the upper valley Colome is one of the world's highest vineyards and one of the oldest in Argentina. It is also home to the James Turrell Museum, one of the most important contemporary light and space artists. The museum showcases nine light installations and some major works on paper, representing five decades of Turrell’s career.
IMPORTANT
A guided wine tour and/or a lunch at Colome requires a previous reservation (visits from 10:30 – 18:00, TUE-SUN)
The restaurant at Colome closes at 15:00 hrs
You will begin a 3-hours scenic drive to Salta (approx. 230 km/143 miles). You pass through Los Cardones National Park, a designated national park that protects endangered and distinctive cacti. Upon arrival in Salta, you will be taken to the airport and board your flight to Buenos Aires.
You will be transferred to the airport for your flight home.
Based on two people sharing TWIN or double room (excluding international & domestic flights)
USD 3,149 per person
Serena Hotel Buenos Aires, Al Sereno & Spa, Finca Valentina, Patios de Cafayate Wine Hotel, La Merced del Alto
- Transfers from/to the airport, bus or train station
- Accommodation based on the selected hotel category
- Private services with local English-speaking guides except for:
- Transfer to the tango dinner show (with Spanish speaking driver only)
- Entrance fees to the sites mentioned in the itinerary
- Meals as noted (B: breakfast, L: lunch, BoxedL: boxed lunch, D: dinner)
- Permanent assistance by our Guest Experience Department
