Trip to the Clouds with Salinas Grandes and Purmamarca

Departure from Salta (downtown) – 1180 meters above sea level (6:30 – 7:15 am) Route 51

Campo Quijano Stop – 1520 masl Route 51 Cloud Train Path You will depart from the city of Salta, heading to the gateway to the Andes, Campo Quijano along Route 51, where you can enjoy the variety of landscapes that this road offers. Campo Quijano is a melting pot of sweet and salty flavors, where empanadas, humitas, spicy dishes, locro, stews, masitería and its ripe fruit sweets stand out. In this municipality is one of the most nationally recognized dulce de leche factories: Dulce de Leche Campo Quijano. A multi-award-winning dulce de leche, which won the gold medal at “Mercoláctea 2008”, several local awards and was chosen the best at the “Feria Caminos y Sabores”.

Stop next to the train tracks Route 40 Towards Salinas Grandes San Antonio de los Cobres is the capital city of the Los Andes department, located in the central-west of the province of Salta and in the northwest of Argentina. Deserts, mountains and salt flats surround San Antonio de los Cobres, a landscape that the Train to the Clouds travels through and where the Puna is manifested in all its immensity.

Stop at Salinas Grandes (Salt Fields) – 3400 masl Route 52 Cuesta de Lipán You will travel to the Salinas Grandes, passing first through San Antonio de los Cobres, in the heart of Puna Argentina. On this excursion you will travel to the Salinas Grandes, shared territory between Salta and Jujuy. In this way, you will be able to enjoy the best landscapes at their best, where you will capture the best and most creative selfies in the vast and stunning Salinas Grandes

Stops at Mirador el Balcón and Maximum Height – 4170 masl Route 52 Cuesta de Lipán It is part of the road that leads us to the border with Chile on National Route No. 52, characterized by the winding of the road and the imposing landscape represented by the Quebrada de Sepultura and Lipán. Advancing in height from Purmamarca along the winding Cuesta de Lipán, the vegetation disappears. The colors of the hills are lost in the distance. Only a few animals, some llamas, a couple of donkeys, can be seen on the side of the road. As if suddenly, a vast white desert looms on the horizon. It is a cornice road - with a completely paved route and in very good condition - made up of hundreds of curves around which the vegetation disappears until it is practically nothing. Stopping at some point on this slope allows you to enjoy magnificent panoramic views of the Quebrada de Humahuaca, the Nevado del Chañi – the limit of the Quebrada and the Salinas – and even the Andes Mountains.

Stop at Purmamarca – 2324 masl We will tour the beautiful town of Purmamarca. We will see the Plaza 9 de Julio, where you will find many artisan stalls, as well as some historical buildings such as the Santa Rosa de Lima Church and the Cabildo. The Purmamarca Cabildo, where a library operates today, holds the title of being the smallest Cabildo in all of Argentina. Around Plaza 9 de Julio, you will also find the Santa Rosa de Lima Church, which was built in 1648 and declared a National Historical Monument in 1941. It is worth a visit, without a doubt. Without a doubt, the Cerro de los Siete Colores is another of the unmissable things to do in Purmamarca, it is the star of Purmamarca and the most photographed thing in the place. This wonder of nature can be seen from almost the entire town, but one of the best points to photograph it is from the street that begins in the main square where you will find the contrast of the typical buildings with the hill in the background.

Technical stop at Volcán – 2084 masl In Volcán we can see the General Belgrano Railway Station, built in 1905, it was the last in the region and has a repair workshop, the Crafts Market with original, symbolic and significant crafts from the towns of Jujuy. In this market you can find products made by the townspeople, made of leather, wood, images, fabrics, looms, pottery, musical instruments, baskets made of stones and antlers.

Arrival at Salta (downtown) (8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.)