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Salta - City Tour
Reception and transfer from Salta Airport to the hotel. City Tour in Salta. Ascent of Cerro San Bernardo. We will visit the Cathedral, the Church of San Francisco, the Town Hall and the Historic Museum of the North, the craft market and the San Bernardo Hill.
The Church of San Francisco is a magnificent Franciscan temple with fine architecture ornaments. The Town Hall was built in different periods, but has a predominant Baroque style. Looms and silver objects can be bought at the handicraft market. San Lorenzo is the summer village in Salta par excellence. |
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The Calchaquí Valleys – Quilmes Indian Ruins
Breakfast at the hotel. We will depart from Salta heading for the Calchaquí Valleys and passing by Cafayate, where we will have lunch and visit one of the many wineries. After 54km, following Route 40, we will reach Quilmes ruins, where will visit the pre-Inca ruins of Quilmes Indians where we will stay over. |
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Trip to La Puna: Catamarca – Antofagasta
Breakfast at the hotel. We will leave the Valleys, heading for Santa María de Catamarca and Punta Balasto; we will go uphill the Central Cordillera, passing by Hualfín, Villavil and other places where the landscape becomes dry.
We will go uphill Cuesta de Randolfo (Randolfo Slope) along huge sand dunes and, in La Puna, we will observe vicunas. The roads become straighter over the Cordilleras altiplano and, except from the White Lagoon and El Peñon, there is no population up to Antofagasta de la Sierra, where we will stay the night.
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Galán Volcano: The Biggest Crater in the World
Breakfast at the hostel. We will leave Antofagasta towards Galán Volcano. First we will visit El Peñon. We will start a 3-hour trip to the Big Lagoon and the crater. We will see hundreds of Andean flamingoes. We will go up to the crater of Galán Volcano at 4,900m high.
It is the world’s largest crater; it has 40km diameter and in the center are Laguna Diamante (Diamante Lagoon) and Cerro Galán (Galán Hill). We will enjoy the impressive scenery of La Puna in Catamarca. At dusk, we will go back to Antofagasta de la Sierra
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Antofalla – Salt Flats – Tolar Grande
Breakfast at the hostel. We will leave this beautiful oasis of Antofagasta de la Sierra and go deep into the salt flats and volcano views. We will be dazzled by the colors of Antofalla and we will do an 85km trip, only to cross lengthways Salar de Arizaro (Arizaro Salt Flat) to reach Tolar Grande.
In Tolar Grande, we will stay in a refuge built by the French embassy that has two bedrooms with 20 couchette beds each one, divided by sex, being the ladies bedroom the one with a toilet inside. Toilets have hot water and bedrooms have salamander stoves.
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Abra del Acay - Cachi
Breakfast at the refuge. We will leave from Tolar Grande to reach La Polvorilla viaduct (Train to the Clouds). Then we will continue to San Antonio de Los Cobres where we will have lunch and go on traveling along Route 40 up to Abra del Acay, 4,895m high. It is considered to be the highest America’s pass over a road.
We will cross Abra del Acay to go down to the Calchaquí Valleys where the historic town of La Poma is awaiting us. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 1930, and from there we will end our trip in Cachi.
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Cachi - Salta
Breakfast at the hostel. We will visit Cachi’s museum and church and we will go back to Salta later, stopping in Valle Encantado (Enchanted Valley) that belongs to Los Cardones National Park, where we will do a picnic and then continue the trip going down Cuesta del Obispo and getting back to the city at dusk. |
