We arrived in Salta at about 2100, Angie, our guide, was at the airport to meet us and take us to the Salta hotel. The Salta hotel is about a twenty-minute drive from the airport and located in the middle of Salta near the main plaza, the Plaza de Julio. We had a one-bedroom suite and one jr. suite. The hotel would be best described as a two to three star hotel. The rooms were clean and beds comfortable. The jr. suite had a small shower/bath and the suite had a large Jacuzzi tub, each bathroom was equipped with a small vanity area. After putting our suit cases down we decided to grab a bite to eat at the hotel restaurant. The restaurant was cozy, and had good beef empanadas. After dinner we quickly checked our emails in the Internet room on the second floor.
The next morning we awoke and had a continental type breakfast downstairs in the restaurant. Angie picked us up at about 0900 in her four-door Peugeot sedan. We had to leave some of our luggage at the Salta hotel as her trunk capacity was somewhat limited and could not take our 4 suitcases (22/22/24/garment + carryon). We dropped off some laundry at a local Laundromat on the way out of the city on our way to Purmamarca. The drive was long and the roads were paved and mostly 2 lanes. The weather was clear and about 75 degrees. We stopped for lunch after passing through Jujuy at the Hotel Termas de Reyes for a nice meal of quite moderate cost (about $40 US for 5 of us). The hotel had a nice, old hotel/spa overlooking a gorge north of Jujuy. As my back had been bothering me for a few days (unusual) I and my oldest daughter had 50 minute massages at the thermal baths. The massages were 50 pesos each and were given in small rooms I would describe as being similar to army hospital rooms. The massages were just okay but did make my back feel better. We then left Jujuy and drove up to the Quebrada de Humahuaca to Purmamarca. The drive was scenic with beautiful mountains of multicolored rocks along the way. The road was fairly good, as it is the northern pathway to Bolivia.
Angie speaks excellent English and knows the Northwest extremely well. She has worked in the tourism industry for sometime and now works independently. She was very intelligent and quite talkative in her narration as we drove.
Purmamarca was windy but quiet at the same time and reminded me of something out of a Carlos Castanda novel. I imagine that this could be a town in the US southwest a 100 years ago except populated by a different indigenous people. The town was obviously undergoing change with much building. The people were friendly and the town was filled with lots of friendly well fed dogs. The landscape was dramatic because the town sits at the base of the Cerro de los Selete Colores. We were dropped off at our hotel, El Manantial del Silencio, that is an old estancia with about 25 rooms. We had two connecting rooms with tile floors and stucco walls. Small bathrooms with one sink and bath/shower units. I found the hotel to be comfortable to the level of a small 4- star hotel. The cost for the two rooms was $300 US. There was a small pool out back and a small field with a baby bull that attracted my daughter’s attention. Later at 1900 we meet Angie for dinner at the La Posta restaurant in town. This is about a 10-15 minute walk from the hotel. Food is inexpensive and hearty with dishes such as humitas, empanadas, tamales, and Llama stew.
The next morning we had a simple continental breakfast at the hotel and left with Angie for a short drive around the hills of Purmamarca followed by a drive up the mountains towards Bolivia to see the salt flats. We stopped at the peak of this mountain range at 4170 meters to buy some Llama figures made of salt. As we descend into the Salt flats we saw wild burros and Vicuna (Llama like animals). The Salt flats are made of salt with square holes cut for the salt to leach out of the ground and into a pool of water for later harvest. We drove back to Purmamarca for lunch at La Posta. Roundtrip, our drive was about 3+ hours. We checked out of our hotel and drove three hours back to Salta. We picked up our clean laundry on the way back to the Hotel Salta. My wife and two daughters emerge from the small sedan and ask that we get a larger vehicle. I agreed with them that hours of driving packed in the back of a small sedan could not be comfortable. Angie charges $75/person per day for her services and while her car is fine for two or three passengers it is not very comfortable for a four person family. I asked if we could get a larger vehicle for our next trip from Salta for our $300/day and Angie readily agreed.
We ate dinner across the street at the El Solar del Convento. The restaurant was very nice. The greeted us with a bottle of local champagne and were very friendly. It was a nice parilla and very modestly priced. They served very nice garlic bread appetizers. The total food/beverage bill was 150 pesos. The cover charge was 3 pesos each. Salads 6 pesos. Main meals cost 16 pesos for a beef brochette and 23 pesos for a filet. Beer 10 pesos and soft drinks 3.50 pesos. We tip about 10% +
The next day we woke up at around 0730 , had our breakfast and left in a very large Mercedes van with driver and his daughter, plus Angie up front. We were in the second and third rows. There was lots of room for luggage in the back. A regular mini van would have been fine but apparently that was her next largest vehicle and it came with a driver. We drove along a decently paved road via route 68 to Cafayate. The road passed through the Quebrada de las Conchas which is a gorge with many multicolored rock formations. We stopped at the Devil’s throat where some “hippies” sell their handmade jewelry made from local silver, tin and semi precious stones. My daughters and wife indulged themselves. We made another stop for a gentleman with his Llama selling pottery. My wife bought a nice pot which survived until our return flight. Tallia, the Llama kept the girl’s attention. We arrived around noon in Cafayate and had lunch at La Carreta de don Olegario on the main Plaza. Lunch for five was 80 pesos with tip as we ate lightly. We stopped at Helados Miranda for some ice cream and a local winery for some rather pedestrian wine tasting.
We leave Cafayate somewhere around 1330 and ran into a road that was washed out by some water overflowing a local dam. This was apparently the only road to our destination for the night. We backtracked to the nearest village and informed the local government of the problem than returned to the washed out road. One bus made it through so we attempted to forge the 8foot river which appeared to be about a foot in depth at it’s worst. We made it through. Thankfully we had a truck/van and an experienced driver. The road was route 40 to Molino and it was not paved. The entire trip was very dusty and windy. We passed through several villages with adobe houses in Valles Calchaquies. The van ran along the valley floor surrounded by the Andes and massive rock formations. We arrived finally at our destination after dark at Colome after driving up and down many twisty roads on hills that surrounded the area. Many cattle also seem to like to use these roads. Colome is literally in the middle of nowhere and is a winery owned by the Hess group. It produces the highest altitude wines in the world at 2900 meters. There are 9 rooms in this 5 star property and we were met at the entrance by the manager, and Alejandro who took care of our needs during our stay. Alejandro was quite gracious and spoke very good English. We were taken to our suite, which was quite large with a king size bed and two nice rollaway beds in the study. Separate room for the toilet and for the bathroom with nice shower/tub. It was very nice and well worth the $405/night. We washed up and showered as we were tired and rather dusty. Then we went to the library where we were served some welcoming wine which was quite good. I believe they served a white Torrontes and a red Malbec blend. Dinner was quite good although we were limited to two choices each for appetizer, entree (vegetarian and non-vegetarian) and dessert. I believe all the food comes from being grown on the estate or raised on the estate, very fresh. After dinner we took a walk outside and were amazed by the stars because you could easily see the milky way galaxy in all it’s glory. I can understand why astronomers are building telescopes in the high Andes as the sky is incredible. If the wind had not been blowing I wonder if the view would be any better with no pollution and high altitude. I have never seen skies like this and I have been to many desolate places around the world.
The next morning we are treated to a very nice breakfast. The girls then went off for horseback riding for a couple of hours at a cost of around 50 pesos each. My wife and I decided to have what turns out to be a very nice combo facial and massage for 60 pesos each. When the girls came back we had a lovely lunch outside on the terrace. Food, while being limited to what is grown or produced on organic principles, was excellent and quite reasonably priced. The wines also complemented the food well. When we finished lunch we left to go back to Salta. Leaving at 1400, we drove through a lot of dirt roads and through the Parque National los Cardones. We then found ourselves in some heavy fog as we wound down a mountain to the valley where Salta sits. There was little visibility on these winding roads and I am glad our driver knew the roads well. We arrived back in Salta at about 1900. We had dinner at the same restaurant. We wondered around the Plaza afterwards, then we returned to the hotel to go to sleep.
Getting money at the ATM was a bit of a problem because all the ones I found limit you to 350 pesos per withdrawal which is slightly over $100 and you can only do it twice a day. As we owed Angie $1200 for the 4 days we had to use most of the cash we came with plus do max withdraws every day. I had a $500 daily limit on my ATM card but not in Argentina.
The next morning we were picked up by Angie after breakfast for our transfer to the airport for our Aerolineas flight to Buenos Aires with connection to Iguazu. The flight to BA is on time and we left. On the plane we talked and we all thought we needed a few more days in the Northwest as doing all that we did required a lot of car time and little local time. We are more slower travelers than fast ones, and 24 or so hours of driving in 4 days would have been better spent for us by just staying longer in Colome and the south and skipping Purmamarca. Angie to her credit did the best she could do for us given our limited time for the Northwest and I would use her again if we were to return.

Great, Doc! Keep'em coming!

The NW is wide and varied, and the time is always not enought to see everything. Certainly, people need much more time. Colome, Cafayate and Purmamarca deserve a slow taste of blue skies, and sunshine.
Thank you very much for yout review!
Flintstones

JIC someone doesn't know, the above mentioned Angie and the above poster Flintstones are the same person.

Thanks for your trip report. We are thinking about going to the NW. How much time would you have preferred to have spent in the NW? How would you have divided that time? Any reason u can share for skipping Purmamarca?

I do not mean to say that I did not enjoy my travel to Purmamarca. There is something almost mystical about this area. I just think that it is a place to savour if that makes any sense. Colime also requires more time IMHO. I think with 5 nights and four days I would in retrospect pick going south and spending more time in Colime and perhaps Cafayate over going north but this is just my opinion. If I had a full week I would
do both.

It is a pity to only spend one night in Colome! We only had two, but at least we got to enjoy the full day. The horseback ride is fantastic.

Mjs, did you stop in Cachi? We loved this little village.

Yes, I think you need five days to do the full southern loop (including the road that passes through Molinos and Cachi) and northern one as well. A week or ten days would be fantastic in this area, as it would give time to spend enjoy the surroundings and get out of the car.

I suggest in Purmamarca to walk that road behind the village (or at least walk part of it). Our driver took us part way up and then we walked the rest. If we'd had more time, we would have walked the whole way, making it more of a hike.

We did not have time to visit the Salt Flats, but did go to Tilcara, which was a wonderful place, too, with Inca ruins high on a plateau, nice restaurants, a small museum, and a crafts market in the square.

Thanks so much, mjs and skatedancer. I find its always so hard to judge how much time to spend where and more information the better.

Mjs, I loved your report. Thanks so much for posting.
We are booked to go the the NW next year and are hoping Angie is available for us.
Boy, we aren't event here yet and I don't have enough time.
WE only have 14 nights, and want to see Buenos Aires, Iquazu ( 2 nights, and hopefully 5 full days in the NW.. that means 6 nights.
DOes that sound about right? Are the travel days totally wasted days? Can we reasonably go from Iguazu to Salta ( via BsAs) in one day. ...and just waste the one day?
On returning from NW, should be get back to BsAs the day before our flight home, which is I beleive 4 in the afternoon, but I'd have a heart attack if I missed it.
Any advice on time frames> Help!!

I think your overall proposed itinerary sounds ok to me. One thing you should keep in mind is that flights within Argentina, particularly with Aerolineas seem to be less than reliable. I have been told that Andes seems to be the best. LAN somewhere in the middle. Do get back to BA at least a day before your return flight.Highly recommend you use a BA travel agent. I used Isabel and she really made the trip go smoothly.
I would probably do the trip something like this: Fly into BA in the morning and than fly to Salta in the afternoon. You will have to transfer to AEP from EZE which should not take more than about an hour. Check to see when the next flight is and what the change fee is just in case your international flight is delayed. (we were delayed about 4 hours in Dulles) This is where someone like Isabel is gold. I think 6 nights in the Northwest is fine. I am sure that Angie can help you here,
What you do in the Northwest will depend on your budget and desires. One night in the north followed by Salta than 2 nights in the south and a last night in Salta would work. It is alot of driving.
If you want a slower pace I would just go south.
Could also do Iguazu first than Salta. Have to fly from Salta to BA to Iguazu or vice versa. This will basically take 1 day. You need at least a full day in Iguazu so you really need to stay 2 nights. Would stay at the Sheraton with such short times. Fly back to BA for x nights than return home.

do you recomend Angie as a guide and if so does she have a contact e-mail. we are going to argentina in august and are trying to plan our trip.
thanks

Angie has many great recommendations from travelers both here and on TripAdvisor. You can put a search on for her. She posts on TA as "Giena."

Six nights will be ok for the NW. It is one more than we had!

We flew into Jujuy and drove right up to Purmamarca, where we walked around the hills and saw the village that afternoon, so our travel day was well spent. We flew Aerolineas, and had no delays, luckily, because we planned it very tight in terms of our timing!

It looks like you will still have six nights in BA, which will be great.

Thank you all so much. I really appreciate it.
Part of the problem is that we want to rent an apartment for 7 days in Buenos Aires, so we are trying to do the other two trips at the beginning and end of our trip.
Mjs, do you have Isabel's email?
We don't get in to EZE til early afternoon, so I'd hate to chance taking another flight. ....besides, we'll be exhausted!
So I'm thinking of flying to Iguazu on an early flight the next day. Ahm but the Sheraton is so expensive. Is it that much more of a hassle and time waster to stay somewhere else?

Skatedancer, I know you've written alot.. Now that we know we are going for sure...I'll have to go back and really start studying previous posts.
Where did you fly out of then? Did you have to go back up to Jujuy?

no, we flew into Jujuy and returned from Salta. Same sort of plane (I was worried the plane to Jujuy would be a small prop plane or something, but the planes were the same type, whatever it was.)

Isabel's contact info:
[email protected]
www.buenosaires-tours.com.ar

Avrooster, thank you. I will be in touch with Isabel.

Skatedancer. That sounds like it might be a good idea. It would save time, depends on how much extra it would be...

You can stay in Puerto Iguazu which has accomodations at all cost levels. It is a 20 minute (40 peso) taxi ride from the park. I am also sure there are buses which would be cheaper. The Sheraton advantage is it's location which allows you to get into the park early before the hordes arrive and allows you to stop and rest in between your activities. You could do Iguazu with one night but this requires taking the early flight out of BA and returning to BA late the next day. It is difficult to do this if you are coming from Salta as you would have less time as you cannot get to BA from Salta in time to take a morning flight to Iguazu so even if your flights are on time you would only have most of the next day to see the falls before your flight back to BA. Going to Salta from Iguazu is better as you would take the 1450 flight back to BA and connect to Salta to arrive somewhere around 1900-2000. This of course assumes all flights are flying and on time.

Thanks for a great travel report on Salta region. Oh how it brings back such fantastic memories of almost a year ago. I would go again anytime and would like at least 10 days to leisurely enjoy all the areas. Will return again and hope to meet Angie! Also stayed at Hotel Salta and would recommend RAAM museum on the square for a great small display of cultural history. Tilcara was my favorite local market for shopping. Also FYI it is possible to fly into Salta and out of JuJuy to BA. Enjoyed the Manantial Del Silencio in Pumamarca. Its location to the colorful mountains and reputation made a good experience, but the rooms were rather ordinary (but very clean). As for the Sheraton at Iguazu Falls, the convenience for earlier and later (than the tour buses) access to the falls plus the ability to go change to dry clothes during the day if you wish, made the additional fee worthwhile. The "forest side" rooms are about $40/pp less per night. IMO there is no need to stay on the "falls side" since the falls are dark at night and during the day it is better to be outside enjoying a falls much closer. The falls are visible from the lobby and diningroom so even within the hotel you can get the view. If you like to stay on a hotel balcony or in your room during the day, then opt for the falls side. Both Iguazu and Salta are worth the cost of the flights there!

HI, Kodi... once again... I think you can take 5 or six days, and see... The CAlcahquies Valleys three days, and Tilcara, Purmamarca and the Salt Flats two days and one day at least for Salta Town which deserves it...YOu can also start or in Jujuy and finish in SAlta or the other way round,... I mean, starting in SAlta and finishing in JUjuy... It is up to you but you have to make the arrangements to be taken to the airport in time or not to run any risk just start in SAlta and finish in SAlta you can arrive in the last fligh one day and take the first flight in the morning on the 7th day. If I were you I would make it easier for everybody. Start in SAlta and finish in SAlta. Your tranfer from SAlta can waste a lot of time waiting for a flight in Jujuy! Once you planify everything... just relax and enjoy...
Warm regards.
Flint- Angie- Giena

Thanks again everyone. I really appreciate all the great advice. I'm starting to formulate a plan, with everyone's help and I think it will work. I don't need to waste a whole day travelling.
If we take an early morning flight to Iguazu Falls, and a late flight back to BsAs the next evening, then spend a week in the city, before heading to the NW, I think it will all fall into place. Then back to the city the day before we fly home.
Now I want to do so much reading... all the trip reports...