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Published: January 27th 2010
It was a relief to finally leave behind roasting hot Mendoza and to arrive in the atmospheric colonial city of Salta. Cooler and more attractive than Mendoza due to its grand architecture we decided to relax and make a week of it.
We had hoped to do a day trip on the Tren a las Nubes "Train to the Clouds" from Salta as its supposedly one of the great South American railways journeys. However upon arriving we found that the train only ran certain times of the year and unfortunately did not run at all in January and February. We decided to instead book a driving tour with one of the many agencies advertising trips around Salta. After a bit of research we found a tour that followed the Tren a las Nubes route. It was a long day travelling with our driver/guide, Raul and two young Argentinean students (good opportunity to practice our Spanish though.) We saw some amazing scenery as we travelled through the altiplano "high plains" of the Andes climbing as high as 4170 metres, taking in the amazing colourful ravine of Quebrado del Toro and also stopping at the Argentine salt flats.
At one point we
stopped at San Antonio de los Cobres, a simple and remote mining town sitting 168km from Salta in the vast emptiness of the mountains. A little boy who told us his name was Joaquin approached us there and asked for some ´moneda¨ we refused his request for money but when he suggested that we buy him something from the local shop we agreed to follow him. From the corner shop he choose two yogurts, quite a healthy choice we thought for a 6 year old. He even shared one with his little sister after she protested.
Salta is also well know for its peñas (folklore music nights). We went along to La Vieja Estacion bar on the main strip of bars and had a really good and long night (5.00am in the morning) listening to the passionate folklore music and watching the locals dance with their handkerchiefs waving in the air. Well worth going to if you happen to be in Salta on a Friday or Saturday night.
The other thing of interest in Salta are the museums, we would recommend Museo de Arqueologia de Alta Moñtana. Its a controversial exhibition however as it features a number of
Statue of General Guemes
Very popular fella in Salta. Repelled 7 Spanish invasions you see.Inca mummies dating back 500 years that are almost perfectly preserved. Not for the faint hearted but interesting nonetheless.
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