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Driving Distances and Itineraries in the Northwest of Argentina

Driving Distances and Itineraries in the Northwest of Argentina

Old Apr 5th, 2013, 06:59 AM
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Driving Distances and Itineraries in the Northwest of Argentina

Hello. We have 5 days in the Northwest and would like to rent a car to explore the region. We are planning to land in Salta then head north to go to Purmamarca and Humahuaca. It's hard to judge distances since we don't know how the roads are. Would Purmamarca be a good base for two night to explore with day trips to Humahuaca and environs?

We also would like to go to Cachi. Is one day enough there? I've heard the road to Cachi is tricky. Is it wise for us to drive it? Also, I found a nice finca in Coronel Mouldes but it seems quite a distance from Cachi. We were hoping we could use that as a two day base and do Cachi in a day trip. Does that make any sense. Any advice is welcome.

Thanks!
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Old Apr 5th, 2013, 07:48 AM
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We did this trip a few years ago and, hopefully, we will be doing it again this September ( we enjoyed it so much the first time!) . Here is a link to our blog which describes the drive in detail with accompanying photos http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blo...ai/1/tpod.html entries 75 - 81 cover the journey. The trip is doable in 5 days but 6 would be better. The roads are variable to say the least but generally ok apart from the stretch leading out of Salineras Grande to San Antonio de las Cobres which, at times was like driving on a beach. Driving over the high pass to Salineras Grande also took a little time as our small car was suffering with the altitude and we had to do most of the long climb in first and second gear!

The longest stretch was from San Antonio to Chicoana which seemed to take forever but in reality was probably around 5 or 6 hours. We spent a couple of days in Cachi. One night in town and another at the fantastic Finca La Paya about 8 km outside of town. Apart from the aforementioned Finca we just turn up in the various towns and found a place to stay and had no problems finding a bed.

I am sure you will love the trip as much as we did. It was probably our best experience in 5 months in South America.
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Old Apr 5th, 2013, 09:34 AM
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I'll ask Salta resident and top guide Flintstones for her input.

Have a great time in our country.
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Old Apr 5th, 2013, 12:47 PM
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Thanks Crellston and Avrooster. I've read many of your posts on the forum and find them very helpful!!
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Old Apr 5th, 2013, 02:01 PM
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You are quite welcome, feiners01.

Crellston will most likely acknowledge your thanks tomorrow, because it is now late for him.

Or maybe he is busy eating a huge boiled egg salad. LOL!

My favorite private joke, please disregard.
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Old Apr 5th, 2013, 02:40 PM
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Hi, feiner01; to maximize your time you should... not book the hotels for more than one night.... so find the best places to stay a night but also to make your driving ...enjoyable.
Day one; Salta - Cachi stay at ACA ahich is my favorite.... great restaurant...
Day two; Cachi - Cafayate along Quebrada de las Flechas. Stay at KILLA, which you will wnjoy a lot and will forget about driving for a while....
Day three; the drive Cafayate - Salta is beautiful... you can start after lunch... use the mornign for some wine tasting and the goat far Cabras de Cafayate---
Day four; Drive Salta - Purmamarca, Have lunch at EL CHURQUI or at the Hotel LA COMARCA. It is also a great option for a night stay. At 5 p.m. start your drive to the salt flats... you will be back in the hotel about 8;30 p.m. just for dinner...
Day five;Use the morning to do a wonderful walk around Los Colorados... drive to Uquia, see the church and admire the paintings .... drive 10 more kms North to Humahuaca and drive back to Tilcara, visit the Indian ruins and Museum and drive back to SALTA.
Hope I helped...
I wish you a wonderful time!!!
for further info, pls do not hesitate making questions.
Angie/Flintstones
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Old Apr 5th, 2013, 04:55 PM
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Thank you, top guide Angie!
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Old Apr 6th, 2013, 12:31 AM
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You are very welcome feiners. It was upon flintstones advice that we based our trip so I would rely on her suggestions to ensure a great trip.

Avrooster - we were only speaking about you the other day. We have been in Spain for the last few months and have been sampling the " menu del dia" in many of the local restaurants and guess what - the most popular first course here seems to be egg salad!! They are so large that even our mutual acquaintance could not find fault!!

Angie, how is that B&B coming along??
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Old Apr 6th, 2013, 02:38 PM
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Hi, Crellston... I little delayed for personal reasons, but I feel November it will be finished....(or almost. You will be the first person to hear about it.... Better said... teh second or AVRooster will be jealous....
warm regards,
Angie/Flintstones
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Old Apr 6th, 2013, 08:03 PM
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Also loved the NW. You can read about our trip and drive times her
http://www.fodors.com/community/sout...of-arg-pt1.cfm
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Old Apr 7th, 2013, 08:10 AM
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Thank you Angie and Yestravel for your assistance. I am considering two nights in Cafayate and skipping Cachi, even though I have read that many prefer it over Cafayate. Do I hear screams of disapproval?? I'm just not sure I'm an intrepid enough traveller for the rough drive between Cachi and Salta. Lots of hairpins turns, right??? Though if your screams are loud enough, I will reconsider.
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Old Apr 7th, 2013, 08:55 AM
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I really don't recall the drive to Cachi being bad, but perhaps I don't remember. My trip report would describe it. I do remember we took some side road going from Salta to Purmarca and it was very narrow and windy, but beautiful. If you want to avoid those types of roads, stick to the major ones. I thought the road between Cachi and Cafayate the bumpiest of the entire journey. When we drove it it was mostly unpaved. No a problem to drive but bumpy. Cafayate I think has more to do in the area than Cachi, so I think u made a good choice. With the time you have it is a better plan.
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Old Apr 12th, 2013, 04:58 AM
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Dear feiners; more relaxed today, I will try to make YOU take this decision...
When we talk about distance in the NW, it is still not too clear, not too... graphic for you to figure out what the drive is. SO, I will try. Salta- Cachi has half the road paved, but you need to enjoy those sceneries, take pictures and even when the road is ok, it takes time to do it. So, calculate 4 hours to do the drive to Cachi.
Cachi-Cafayate is a little rough, if you plan to stop in Colomé you need to consider you will be there at least three hours. They have a restaurant and the James Turrell Museum, the wines... I would better skip the winery and try to get to Cafayate earlier. Be carefull when crossing the river when you head to Angastaco... take the left sice of the tracks.
you will be about 6;30 in Cafayate if you just stop two or three times for pictures. The moonlike scenery after Angastaco is really stunnning.
Anyway, I would consider two night in Cafayate as it is where you will relax and forget about driving. Take a hotel in town for this reason and just use the car to go to any winery distant from the town or to the goat farm Cabras de Cafayate.
The goat farm does not have an English speaking guide but you will manage to get a taste of their cheese...
Now, take your time and think about it...
Unfortunatelly, you need lot of time for the NW, maybe you should leave something for a second visit...
Good Luck!
Angie/Flintstones
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Old Apr 12th, 2013, 09:41 PM
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Angie, thanks so much! You really have been so helpful!
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Old Jun 3rd, 2013, 12:45 PM
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Hi again. We will be leaving soon for our trip and are trying to get our itinerary narrowed down. I'd love further input on our plans. Because I don't want to rush too much, I'm thinking that we'll have to forgo some very lovely spots and focus more on the areas south of Salta - specifically Cafayate and Cachi - and then Salta. Will we regret not going to Purmamarca and the salt flats? Is that doable as a day trip from Salta? What should we see in Salta?

Any further input would be much appreciated.
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Old Jun 3rd, 2013, 06:53 PM
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I've done that trip twice and will give you some very good advice tomorrow. Beautiful trip you will be doing.
Thanks for coming to argentina. You will enjoy it!!
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Old Jun 4th, 2013, 04:44 AM
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Cachi and the surrounding area is beautiful and the Salineras Grade is incredible (but a long drive, at least the way we went! I found Cafayate to be the least impressive place we stayed on the route, but that is just a subjective view. To do the NW justice, it does take time ( IMO 5-6 days is perfect) we spent several days in Salta before and after the circuit and, nice town though it undoubtedly is, I would not sacrifice time around the rest of the NW for extra time there.

It is not just about the places you will be staying in but also the amazing variety of scenery along the way that will force you to stop many, many time along the way.

I can't really help with the driving times and distances as it was 5 years ago but I do recall that the drive from the salt flats to Chicoana was very long ( but I am not entirely sure we went the right way!!

Looking forward to your trip report as we are planning on taking a diversion from Bolivia in Sugust to revisit the NW.
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Old Jun 4th, 2013, 03:58 PM
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feiners01: so, 5 days in the Northwest. I´d do the following:
Arrive Salta the earliest possible, get a car at the airport and head straight to San Antonio de los Cobres through the "Quebrada del Toro" stop for late lunch and look around. The road to San Antonio de los Cobres takes you along the railway calles "Tren de las Nubes". Following, on the Puna, R40, straightr to the salt flats and then down the "Cuesta de Lipan" to Purmamarca. Night at Purmamarca, I recommend you stay at La Comarca Hotel, which you will suddently run into when you are getting there. Next morning, walk around the town and dont miss the drive through the Colorados which is a road that goes all round the town behind the Cerro de los 7 Colores. Midday, head to Tilcara and book at Posada con los Angeles, a good rest and town walk around. Next day, drive to Humahuaca stoping at Uquia, lunch at Humahuaca and drive back to Salta, but you must go to Salta on the old road, known as Camino de Corniza, dont use the highway, there are highways all over the world and the other road is really worth it, and much shorter in distance. Night in Salta, so many hotels to choose, leave this to you although I could recommend some. We are now on our 3 day (3 nights). So, fist night Purmamarca, second night Tilcara, third night Salta.
Next morning, up you get and head off to Cachi driving through the Cuesta del Obispo, you must get here by midday for lunch and then continue south on R40 straight to Cafayate arriving in the evening, book at the Killa Cafayate hotel. next day, through the Quebrtada del las Conchas, drive to salta airport and off you go. Get the latest flight!!! other option would be to drive to salta for the night and get a flight the next day. Your will do alot of miles driving, but beleive me its the only way to do this if you want to see it all, I highly recommend you don´t miss anything beacause it is all very well worth it, you will not regret this tough drive at all. BE VERY CAREFUL BECAUSE ROADS ARE TRICKY, CAREFUL ON CORNERS AND SPECIALLY CAR COMING THE OPPOSITE WAY, DRIVE VERY CAREFULLY!!!!!!!!!!!
You will love it.
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Old Jun 10th, 2013, 04:24 AM
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This was our itinerary, and I thought it worked out really well:
Day one: Fly into Jujuy, overnight in Purmamarca.

Day two: Purmamarca and TIlcara, drive to Salta, evening in Salta.

Day three: Drive to Cachi, overnight at Colome.

Day four: spend day and night at Colome. Walk, ride horseback, eat, relax, enjoy not being in a car....

Day five: drive to Cafayate, return to Salta for evening.

Day six: fly out of Salta.

Given the limited time in the area, i think we touched on alot, and got to balance being in the car with time to walk and see things.

We also had a guide, which I thought was well worth it. We don't normally use guides or drivers, but for this trip we were really glad we did. It is alot to cover and to make the most of your time, the driver is helpful. That drive from Salta to Cachi is something else. We ran into the worst fog ever, and if we hadn't had a driver, I don't know what we would have done! The road ostensibly is two way, but is not only narrow, but traverses a high, winding cliff without guard rails. There are also very few stops along the way in terms of services. We also had a tire issue, and I am really glad that our guide took care of it and not us being way out in the middle of nowhere!

If it were me, I would not want to do the Salta-Cachi-Cafayate loop in one day. Way too much. There is only one section of paving almost that entire route. I would recommend spending the night in Cachi or at Colome (or elsewhere in Molinos if your budget does not permit Colome).

There are so many different ways to slice this pie. There are no right or wrong answers.

Even though our guide did not do anything with us on the day we spent at Colome, we still paid him for the day -- there was nothing he could do with that day otherwise to make money. He stayed in Molinos, I believe.
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Old Jun 30th, 2014, 11:52 AM
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Skatedancer!!!! a pleasure to hear from you since a long time, since you came last time!!! Colomé is not an option anymore. The hotel was closed but I usually do a stop for lunch and visit the James Turrel´s Museum.
Believe, the loop Salta - Cachi - Cafayate is a "torture"
Hope you come back one day.
Warm regards,
Flintstones /Angie
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