Salta and BA first trip HELP Please
 

We have a proposed itin and would like some feedback- for 14 nights..
Arrive BA and spend 2 nights and leave in the evening on 3rd dy to Salta
Salta- 2 nights- thendrive to Caci- Colome
Colome 2 nights
Cafayate 1 night- wineries ruins ( Killa)
Salta 1 night
Purmamarca- 1 2 or 3 nights? Not sure how many to stay..

Buenos Aires 3 nights then home
We like the outdoors and will be there in July. If we stay 3 nights it means we will drive from the NW directky to the Airport in Salta to leave for BA but our flight is not until 11pm. Alternatively we could spend 2 nights in the NW and the last night in Salta?

Also regarding hotels-- we originally planned to Stay in Colome at the winery- It is very expensive but I wonder what the benefit is rather than spend the days in Cafayate especiall if our interest is local colr rather than resort.
In Purmamrca- the htoel Slinceio is also pricey but are the other hotels there or in Tilcara that are comfortable?


Thanks in advance

Well, Colome worths two night if you can afford it, if not you have other choices, not so fancy, but not bad.
ACA in CAchi is nice, one of the best places to stay and not so expensive. Hosteria de Angastaco is inexpensive and nice, but needs mainteinance. Killa is perfect in Cafayate and you can take some time to visit Amaicha and Quilmes.
In Purmamarca,... There are plenty of new hotels much cheaper to Manantial del Silencio. My favorite is EL CArdòn which is in town and let you be part of the town all the time.
Warm regards.
Flintstones

Thank you
How do I reach El Cardon- cannot seem to find contact information.

Naxos, el cardon has no website yet, but the address is Belgrano St no number, but only 1.5 blocks from the main square. Telephone number 0388-4908672. They do not speak English at all. If you can manage with some spanish try to call in the morning to Mirta, she can help you a little more.
Flintstones

Calling from abroad, that would be:
54-388-4908672

Yes, Rooster You are always right! You are always alert! How do you do it? CD reaching you.
Flintstones.

I guess I have nothing better to do... LOL!!!

Thank you both for the phone number - I will attempt a morning call. Before I call and amke a reservation I would like to clarify..(Currently I reserved 2 nights at Silencio-)
If I have 2 nights to spend in the north and will be driving from Salta- shall I stay both nights in Purmmamarca or one night in Purmmarca and one night in Tilcara?

Flinstones-- I Know you recommended one night in each but do you have a hotel recommendation for Tilcara?

Angie has the answer for any and all questions about our NW, don't you Angie?

And if she doesn't have it, she will find out for us, won't you, Angie?

Of course, Rooster. I like Tilcara, but ir turns windy every day in the afternoon. Purmamarca worths two nights. You will not regret.
You can drive or take a tour to the SAlt Flats from there, so I really like Purmamarca most.
In Tilcara eat at Yacon... They have great dishes, for all tastes. Quinoa, llama and much more.
Flintstones

This is great information! I'm just starting to plan our trip for April 2008.

Alan, take a time for the NW it worths. Do not miss Purmamarca and the SAlt Flats. I ususally recommned people to walk in LOS COLORADOS in the morning, before the massive tourism invade the little town. CAfayate - CAchi the wines, the alfajores and the wine ice-cream! Do not miss it!
F

OK if we stay 2 nights in Purmamarca, do we have time to drive to Tilcara and Humahuaca?

Also how crowded will Purmamarca be with
tourist buses in July?

What is the best driving route from Salat to Purmamarca and Tilcara?

You can base in Purmamarca and visit Humahuaca and Tilcara. I ususally drive in countertime of the buses: I mean I try not to be in a place at the same time all tourist buses arrive. For instance, Tilcara in the afernoon, Purmamarca in the morning between 9 to 11/12... But there are lots of buses in July, specially during the two-week holiday!
Staying two nights, you can visit the Gorge and the SAlt Flats.
Best route, 9 and to come hack take 9- 56 - 34 - 9 ... see in a map, please. Looks longer but easier driving.
Warm regards,
Flintstones
F.

Thanks for the details- I really appreciate your help.

You are welcome!
Flintstones

Just to clarify-- when are the tour buses in Purmamarca and Tilcara?

If I start the day in Salta and leave early in the morning- what should be my first stop?

If you are going to stay in Purmamarca just skip it i your way to the gorge and go directly to Tilcara. You will have less chances too meet all the tourists in Purmamarca because they usually go in the morning... (big buses) and visit the indian ruins and museum before they reach there... you can stay in Purmamarca and early in the morning take the beautiful pics with no tourists... Walk on los Colorados and drive to the salt flats around 10, you will not find lots of tourists. Tell us about your experience when you com back...
Remember to eat at YACON in Tilcara and at LA POSTA in Purmamarca... You will never regret.
At midday all the tourists are in Humahuaca and to be honest the best sceneries are up to Tilcara.
Warm regards,
Flintstones.

Flinstones

Thank you again for all your specific information. Are you suggesting that we skip Humahuaca?

Is there a particular hike to take in Tilcara?

How long a trip to Tilcara from Salta? Should we leave at 7 or 8 am?

I am excited about your restaurant advice also. I will be sure to post when I return.

It is up to you, naxos,if you feel you are more itnerested in what you see in Tilcara... I really skip it when people ere enjoying Tilacara better because if you run just to see more... you do see either... neither... do you understand...? YWhta I want yu to be sure you are missing something great! I mean You should not miss Purmamarca, and the SAlt Flats, for instance, but Humahuaca has only a huge monument. The work of man is nos as God`s!
Wamr regards.
Angie

I do understand-and I appreciate your advice and your knowledge- as well as your willingness to help those of us planning a trip.- For those of us who are just reading the tourbooks Humahuaca sounds like a plce not to miss. But if there rehikes to be taken around Tilcara- then I would not want to miss the chance to be outdoors rather thanin a car.

But you mentioned that in the afternoon in Tilcara there is lot of wind- is that aproblem for hiking?

skatedancer- Curious about attire for dinner in Colome- or other attire questions for Salta an BA.

Trying to do carry-on only- would a jacket be required or is casual dress ok?

skatedancer has not posted in this thread.

She has posted in
salta itinerary questions

Casual should be OK, unless you go to a very fancy place.

Colome was casual, no jacket required. My husband wore a nice short sleeve shirt w/chinos for dinner, I think I wore black pants (yes, I'm from NY) w/a casual top.

You will love Colome, we thought it was worth every penny, don't miss the horseback ride w/Ernesto!

We also enjoyed staying at the Mantial del Silencio, if you have not done your plane reservations, I would suggest you fly into Jujuy, drive to Pumumarco for the two nights to explore the region, then drive to Salta/Cachi/Colome/Cafayete from there and fly back to BA from Salta.

All this is really making me think about a third trip to AR!

Naxos: there is a hiking to Garganta del Diablo, any kid will guide you there from the bridge close to the Pucara( indian ruin)... DO not miss it. 2.5-3 hours from Tilcara driving safe.
At YACON RESTAURANT in Tilcara, you can see food preparation if you ask in advance. I told the owner about how interested people are in argentinian cuisine... and he has no problem to arrange a time for you to see it. Isn´t it a good new?

Warm regards.
Flintstones

Five days in the Salta region was the highlight of our 3 weeks in Argentina. This is pulled from my full trip report:
"Our private guide, AngelicaValdez de Zaleski, picked us up at the airport. We started our four-day journey south of Salta on Route #68 towards Cafayate, the wine area best known for its Torrontes grapes. Our first stop was at a small roadside restaurant that produces homemade goat cheese from the goats on the property. Our next visit was to the small, picturesque ghost town of Alemania, abandoned buildings and a train station are inhabited by a handful of artisans. In Cafayate we visited 3 vineyards for tastings and had lunch in the center of town. After a few hours we left for the village of Angastaco, our final destination to overnight. In the morning we hiked up a dry riverbed towards an overwhelming array of burnt orange and cream colored mountains. We also discovered what our guide said was an Indian burial site littered with shards of broken pottery. At midmorning it was time to leave for Cachi where we had a delicious lunch overlooking the town at Hosteria ACA. We arrived in Salta around 8:30Pm and checked into the Salta Hotel for the night. Our guide met us at our hotel at 8AM and we drove north to Jujuy. This day we saw beautiful mountains with as many colors as a rainbow called Cerro de Siete Colores near Purmamarca. After an excellent lunch at La Posta in Purmamarca we drove over a mountain pass towards the salt flats. At the top of the pass we stopped for photos at a monument marking about 14,000 feet and saw a herd of 20 or so wild vicunas run by us. These animals are the smallest of the llama family. There seemed to be a shimmer reflecting from the honeycombed patterned salt flats as we approached. After an hour we returned to charming village of Purmamarca where we retired for the evening. The next morning we drove to Tilcara to see a hilltop stone fortress with panoramic views of the valley below. Our next stop was Uquia where we purchased ceramics and visited a church with paintings of Angels holding guns. For the past two years, the artist who owns the ceramic store had promised to show our guide a secret spot with ancient rock carvings. This was our lucky day. We drove just outside of Humahuaca down a dusty gravel road to the Aguasapa Gorge and parked by a single tree with a donkey resting in the shade. After hiking 20 minutes down into the gorge, we saw a 20’ x 20’ flat rock wall with carvings of animals, people and geometric shapes. We felt privileged to have learned about this special place. Finally we drove through Humahuaca, which was nice, but over rated in my opinion. With a quick stop for lunch and shopping in Tilcara, we were back in Salta by 7pm. We enjoyed the dry breezy days and cool nights of this region. By the end of our trip, we discovered the best prices and selection of textiles and ceramics here. For our taste, we thought the Salta/Jujuy region offered the best food with more flavor and spices than the other regions. We highly recommend using our guide who has lived in this area her entire life, worked in the travel industry for over 15 years and speaks fluent English. Her e-mail is [email protected] and her cell phone number is 154088612. We flew to Mendoza at 9:30AM the next morning."

Thanks flinstones, owlwoman and Nicci for all you responses. I will ask about the food preparation @ Yacon- and I will of course wear black pants at Colome ( former NY'er) and I might look for the petroglyphs if angie (flinstones) can tell me where to look. Plane rez already made- so we will drive a bit more.

Nicci and Scott were really lucky, the vicuñas were waiting for us just to cross in front of Scott`s camera at the right time, and the Sapagua`s painting were still open. Now there is a gate there which do not let us drive into the field. Anyway... Walking on the Gorge you can still manage to find them on the left side of the river. There are a few references, but I think somebody has never been there will never find them, unfortunatelly.
Nicci and Scott were in the area in December, for Scott`s birthday and even when they were told not to come in summer thay took my advice and run the risk, and we had a great weather. They were the first americans I met after the devaluation and the first of a big colections of friends from the States. And they never regreted ( I hope!)
Much love for you both, N&S,
warm regards to everybody...
Flintstones

Thank you for your trip report, Nicci. You've helped us decide that the Salta region is for us!

I'm glad that I could help! If you would like to see our photos from Argentina, they are posted on my husband's stock photography site at www.slrobertson.com.

Nicci, I thoroughly enjoyed your husband's pictures of Argentina. Thanks for sharing them.

I also enjoyed the pictures of New Zealand. They brought back so many wonderful memories.
The photos are great!

bkmk

Nicci
Have just seen your lines here.
This is a wonderful surprise!!!!!!
So nice to see you writing again.
But, would enjoy it even more if you came to Argentina again.
We do like people like both of you and you will always be welcome.
with love, milla