Salta and Jujuy
 

We'll be in Argentina for a week next month, and wanted to take a 4-5 day side trip from Buenos Aires. We're thinking of Salta and maybe Jujuy. Could anyone who's been there offer advice on how long to go for, what to do, how easy it is to get from Salta to Jujuy and back? We want to avoid spending half our time in transit. Thanks!

Salta is about 800 miles from Buenos Aires. It's two hours by plane, and that's the only way I've ever traveled to and from there.

Salta is full of colonial architecture, probably more so than any other city in Argentina. The real attractions in Jujuy are outside San Salvador de Jujuy, the provincial capital, and lie in the northern part of the province as you ascend to the high Andean region called the Puna. There are wonderful tiny colonial towns like Purmamarca and Humahuaca, and the nearby spectacularly colorful rock gorges. You'd need a car to visit them, or would need to arrange a tour with an operator in Salta or SSdeJ.

This is my favorite part of Argentina, but it's one that doesn't get a lot of attention.

The Northwestern part of Argentina is really amazing. It is a shame people dont go there as they should. As Jeff says it doesnt get the attention it deserves. Here are some webs to get more info about the things you can do there.
http://www.argentinaturistica.com/2jujiresenia.htm
http://www.argentinaturistica.com/2saliresenia.htm
Going by bus takes long though buses are comfortable, planes are a better option.
In 4 days you will be able to visit Salta and Jujuy and the north of Tucuman, depending on the tour you will take. You will not regret this trip, believe me.

I toured the Salta/Jujuy Northwest region in April and 4-5 days is about right (I spent five days there and was satisfied). It cost me $132 r/t to fly to Salta from Buenos Aires on Southern Winds (www.sw.com.ar), although I booked my flight a month ahead.

There are some stunning landscapes in that region! I have a bunch of photos from there at http://picturecenter.kodak.com/share...Jh8mPHLU87kag8 And you can get interesting views into the indigenous culture in the region. I enjoyed my time there a lot.

I took tours three out of the five days to explore the region. I'd recommend basing yourself in Salta for the duration and taking tours, driving is very difficult for the most part, the roads have a lot of blind curves. The one exception is if you are going north of Jujuy along the Quebrada de Humahuaca, the road is an easier drive. I took tours to Cachi (the journey there is the real attraction); up the Quebrada de Humahuaca, which includes Purmamarca and the Pucara de Tilcara; and down the Quebrada de Cafayate through Cafayate, to the Quilmes ruins (most of the Cafayate tours don't include the Quilmes ruins, so ask around to find one that does if you want to see that). The other popular tour (which I didn't take) is either taking the Tren de las Nubes or taking the Safari de las Nubes which pretty much follows the train route by car. I booked through La Veloz Turismo for the Humahuaca and Cachi tours (although the actual tours were operated by Tastil, I think the agencies pool resources) and Movitrack for Cafayate/Quilmes. Movitrack is more expensive than everybody else though.

Go. :)

your remarks were very interesting.
i read them all and find that they can be o f great use to other travellers.
as Jeff said this area doesnt get a lot of attention and personally i think it is one of the most beautiful in the country.
did you get the service of the agencies there or did you here, in buenos aires.?
do you have an approximate cost of the tour you made to check for better prices here?
tks for your input.

I booked my tours when I arrived in Salta. It might be a good idea though to book at least the first tour or two before arriving if one has a tight schedule: I booked late Thursday night and early Friday morning and the tours I wanted were all booked for Saturday already. Can book with some of these places via web/e-mail - both La Veloz Turismo and Movitrack have websites, as well as TEA Turismo. La Veloz Turismo has an office in Buenos Aires on Esmeralda too.

I paid 87 pesos for the 13-14 hr. Humahuaca tour and 78 pesos for the 12 hr. Cachi tour. Most of the agencies charge the same price (as I said, I think they pool resources).

Movitrack charged 124 pesos for the 15 hour Cafayate/Quilmes tour, and charge more for all their tours. They do operate a bit differently though, they let you walk around and climb stuff a lot more than the others, it's a bit more active. Also they feed you breakfast and an afternoon snack. My Movitrack tour only had 3 people on it!

i do agree it is better to have sth ready before you arrive.at least for the 1st and 2 nd day.It gives you time to organize the following activities.
Thoght a bit more expensive Movitrack seems a better option. What a shame you couldnt take the el tren de las nubes
Maybe next time.
Dont want to bother you. but i am just collecting people opinion about the trips and specially recommendations and of course checking prices and comparing services. Last question: hotel, hostel where you stayed.An d again, tks a lot for sharing this info.with the rest.

Thanks to everyone for all the feedback so far!

Like the last message, I'm also interested in hotel recommendations. Charming and convenient to where the tours depart is ideal. My Spanish is okay for travel, so English-speaking is not a strict requirement.

Also, what are some good places to sample the local cuisine?

Thanks again!

I preface this by saying that, while I'm not a backpacker/hostel type, I am somewhat of a budget traveler, I usually stay in 2* hotels when abroad.

I stayed at the Victoria Plaza - great location on the plaza. The hotel itself was OK, not great but OK, one can do better in Salta, I think. And if you want some of that colonial charm, then this hotel is not the place for it. I paid 66 pesos as a single for a standard room (incl. breakfast). The Regidor Hotel is a good cheap pick - 60-65 pesos for a double, I think, it's also right on the main plaza. I wanted to stay there this trip but I left the hotel booking until a few days before arrival in Salta and it was already booked.

I do NOT recommend the Hotel Colonial, also right on the plaza - I had initially booked there but five minutes after they brought me to my room, I beat a path out of there and took a room next door at the Victoria Plaza. The Colonial is very dumpy.

Doesn't really matter where your hotel is regarding catching the tours, the tours will pick up and drop off whereever you're staying, even if on the city's outskirts. Except Movitrack - with them you'll have to meet the tour at their office, which is a half block off the plaza. The tour places will say that their guides are bilingual Spanish/English, but in practice, sometimes they will only speak in Spanish, the guide on my tour to Cachi spoke in Spanish only.

I wish I did, but I didn't pay attention to the names of the places I ate at! The native cuisine consists of things like humitas, tamales, empanadas saltenas, and locro - fairly easy to find around. Some good parillas too. Oh, and New Time Cafe on the plaza makes very tasty brick oven pizza, best pizza I had in Argentina.

tks a lot to MelP. you ve been very helpful to me and many others.

One other option I want to mention because she was so helpful is Cintia at WOW!Argentina. WOW has gotten pretty good reviews elsewhere on this site for their services in and around Buenos Aires, but apparently they can also organize guided tours around Salta.