Christof's Blog: Salta, the beautiful North

Arctic winds and subtropic humidity called for something more in the middle, like Argentina's North. So the last stop before Buenos Aires would be this pearl of a city.

Salta is a really beautiful town with colonial architecture. I especially enjoyed the central square around the cathedral with some really great cafés and St. Francisco, a beauty of a church that unfolds it's whole picturesque potential at sunset and after dark. An added benefit is that Salta is a lot cheaper than every place in Patagonia and though there are tourists, it felt a lot more relaxed and closer to everyday life.

I spent a nice time just sipping café con leche and eating huge steaks. A tour of the area led me to the Great Salt Fields, Salinas Grandes, that I found really beautiful.

The Train in the Clouds leaves close to Salta as well. This project was approved in 1916 and due to great execution opened "only" 32 years later in 1948. The goal of the line was to foster trade and use the ports in Northern Chile. Since the 1970ies the train line has become more of a tourist attraction. There is a valley with interesting steel bridges, that looks like the set for a Western movie, boasting hundreds of large cacti.

After this, we drove along the highest road in Argentina at around 4100 metres. So not only did I cover several climatic zones in two weeks, but also over 4000 metres difference in altitude. Although it is not the Aconcagua (the highest point in Argentina at 6999 m), it felt like an achievement.

The last stop was Purmamarca in the Jujuy-province, famed for it's seven coloured hill that I personally found rather underwhelming, compared to e.g. the coloured canyon in Egypt. What I liked more was the church there, which was built in 1648 - not that special by European standards, but one of the oldest on the new continent. A little touristy market around the church added to the atmosphere, as it was probably more colourful than the famed hill. See for yourself.