Must-see attractions in Salta & the Andean Northwest

  • Los Seismiles

    Catamarca & La Rioja

    West of Fiambalá, the paved road winds through the high desert, past picturesque red rock escarpments known as the Quebrada Angosturas, and into some…

  • Parque Nacional Talampaya

    Catamarca & La Rioja

    The spectacular rock formations and canyons of this dusty desert national park are evidence of the erosive creativity of water. The sandstone cliffs are…

  • Serranias del Hornocal, wide colored mountains, Argentina; Shutterstock ID 670687489; your: Sloane Tucker; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI
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    Serranía de Hornocal

    Quebrada de Humahuaca

    Located 25km east of Humahuaca, this jagged row of rock 'teeth' offers utterly spectacular colors. Tours run here but it's drivable in a normal car with…

  • The Shincal Inca Ruins in Argentina.

    El Shincal

    Catamarca & La Rioja

    The Inca ruins of El Shincal are located 7km west of Londres. Founded in 1471, the town occupied a commanding position in the foothills of the mountains,…

  • Quilmes

    Salta & the Andean Northwest

    Dating from about AD 1000, Quilmes was a complex indigenous urban settlement that occupied about 30 hectares and housed as many as 5000 people. The…

  • Museo de Arqueología de Alta Montaña

    Salta

    One of northern Argentina's premier museums, MAAM has a serious and informative exhibition focusing on Inca culture and, in particular, the child…

  • Historic adobe church in the little town of Susques, Argentina.

    Iglesia de Susques

    Quebrada de Humahuaca

    Susques is well worth a stop for its terrific village church. Dating from 1598, it has a thatched roof, cactus-wood ceiling and beaten-earth floor, as…

  • Museo del Cablecarril

    Catamarca & La Rioja

    This old cable-car station documents the extraordinary engineering and mining project that created modern Chilecito at the beginning of the 20th century…

  • Finca las Nubes

    Cafayate

    Located 5km southwest of Cafayate along the road to Río Colorado (it’s signposted ‘Mounier’), this small, organic and friendly winery has a fabulous…

  • Museo Arqueológico Adán Quiroga

    Catamarca & La Rioja

    This fine archaeological museum displays a superb collection of pre-Columbian ceramics from several different cultures and eras. Some pieces –…

  • Museo Folklórico

    Catamarca & La Rioja

    This worthwhile museum is set in a wonderful early 17th-century adobe building, and has fine regional cultural displays. Themes include chaya (local La…

  • Centro Cultural del Bicentenario

    Salta & the Andean Northwest

    This excellent cultural center is an airy, modern space housing three museums, all imaginatively displayed; the highlight is the anthropological…

  • Talampaya Canyon.

    Cañón de Talampaya

    Catamarca & La Rioja

    The focus of a visit to Parque Nacional Talampaya is this spectacular, (usually) dry watercourse bounded by sheer sandstone cliffs. Condors soar on…

  • The Centro Cultural América in downtown Salta.

    Centro Cultural América

    Salta

    A former church built in French academia style between 1721 and 1732, in 1913 it became Salta’s most important social club until the government took it…

  • Pachamama Museum, Amaicha del Valle, Argentina.

    Museo de Pachamama

    Salta & the Andean Northwest

    The ornate and unusual Museo de Pachamama combines a picturesque collection of indigenous art and artifacts with the sculpture and tapestries of the…

  • Duna Magicá

    Catamarca & La Rioja

    A network of stunning, red and white sand dunes rises from the desert floor 15km north of Fiambalá. It's best to arrive in the early morning before the…

  • Parque Nacional Campo de los Alisos

    Salta & the Andean Northwest

    To the south of Tucumán, Parque Nacional Campo de los Alisos is a tempting destination, particularly if you have your own transportation. A hilly park at…

  • San Pedro Yacochuya

    Cafayate

    An atmospheric boutique winery set at the end of a dusty desert road with cacti on one side and vineyards on the other. It makes 250,000 bottles of wine…

  • El Porvenir

    Cafayate

    This well-run family bodega has recently been taken over by the 30-something daughter, who knows how to keep good torrontés from touching corrupting oak …

  • Iglesia San Francisco

    Salta

    This magenta-and-yellow church is Salta’s most striking. The exuberant facade is topped by a slender tower; inside are several venerated images, including…

  • Domingo Molino

    Cafayate

    A small producer, perched on a gorgeous hillside overlooking the verdant valley, backed by rugged mountains, with vineyards cascading down the slopes. It…

  • Catedral Basilica de Salta

    Salta

    Salta’s pink cathedral was consecrated in 1878 and harbors the ashes of (among other notables) General Martín Miguel de Güemes, a salteño (resident of…

  • Ciudad Perdida & Cañón Arco Iris

    Catamarca & La Rioja

    In Parque Nacional Talampaya, accessed from the road 14km before reaching the main park entrance, these impressive formations are visited via guided 4WD…

  • Pucará

    Quebrada de Humahuaca

    This reconstructed pre-Columbian fortification is 1km south of Tilcara's center, across an iron bridge. Its location is strategic, commanding the river…

  • Casa de la Independencia

    Salta & the Andean Northwest

    Students and families descend from far and wide to visit this late-colonial mansion where a collection of Unitarist lawyers and clerics declared Argentina…

  • Pajcha – Museo de Arte Étnico Americano

    Salta

    This eye-opening private museum is worth seeing if you’re interested in indigenous art and culture. Juxtaposing archaeological finds with contemporary and…

  • Museo Arqueológico Eric Boman

    Salta & the Andean Northwest

    On one corner of Santa María's plaza, Museo Arqueológico Eric Boman has a worthwhile collection of ceramics that dates back to the 8th century, plus gold…

  • La Posta de Hornillos

    Quebrada de Humahuaca

    Part of a chain that ran from Lima to Buenos Aires during viceregal times, La Posta de Hornillos is a beautifully restored staging post 11km south of…

  • Ruta del Adobe

    Catamarca & La Rioja

    The road between Tinogasta and Fiambalá is designated the 'adobe route' for its ensemble of fantastic historic buildings. These are built with thick walls…

  • Museo de la Virgen del Valle

    Catamarca & La Rioja

    Quirky, strange and sanctimonious, this relatively new museum is free and stocked with sculpture, paintings and even digital and photographic art, all of…

  • Catedral Metropolitana

    Salta & the Andean Northwest

    Tucumán's neoclassical cathedral is a handsome presence on Plaza Independencia, and has a Doric facade with a pediment depicting the Exodus. Curiously,…

  • Capilla La Banda

    Salta & the Andean Northwest

    This is an 18th-century Jesuit chapel, built in 1708 and acquired by the Frías Silva family of Tucumán after the Jesuits’ expulsion. It was expanded in…

  • Termas de Fiambalá

    Catamarca & La Rioja

    Lying 15km east into the mountains from Fiambalá, these thermal springs emerge from rock and cascade down the mountainside in a series of pools: the…

  • La Riojana

    Catamarca & La Rioja

    La Riojana is the area’s main wine producer, and a sizable concern; some 30 million liters a year are produced here thanks to fruit sourced from vineyards…

  • Museo Arqueológico

    Cafayate

    This private museum’s collection was left by enthusiastic archaeologist Rodolfo Bravo and merits a visit. Sourced mostly from grave sites within a 30km…

  • Iglesia de Uquía

    Quebrada de Humahuaca

    It’s not often that you imagine the heavenly host armed with muzzle-loading weapons, but in this roadside village’s picturesque 17th-century church that’s…

  • Convento de San Bernardo

    Salta

    Only Carmelite nuns may enter this 16th-century convent, the oldest building in Salta (though it was rebuilt into its current form in the 1840s after…

  • Cristo del Portezuelo

    Catamarca & La Rioja

    Head down Maestro from Chilecito's plaza to reach this relatively recent addition to the town: a huge statue of Christ on a platform accessed by a 203…

  • Cerro San Bernardo

    Salta

    For outstanding views of Salta, take the teleférico from Parque San Martín to the top of this hill, a 1km ride that takes eight minutes. Alternatively,…