Salta

Experience Chile can a stay at Salta within your South American itinerary. The best way to get here would be with a flight from Buenos Aires. However, a rather long land transfer can also be arranged between Salta and San Pedro de Atacama, or vice versa.

Introduction

Located in the north-west of Argentina, close to the border with Chile (San Pedro de Atacama in Chile is on the other side of the Andes from Salta) it has a registered population of around 550,000 people. The city is in the northern Argentine desert, 1,152mt above sea level in the foothills of the eastern edge of the Andes Mountains, offering a warm, dry climate for most of the year.

About Salta

Salta was founded on April 16, 1582, by the Spanish conquistador Hernando de Lerma, in order to establish a settlement between the Spanish Colonial capital in Lima, Peru and Buenos Aires in Argentina. During the independence struggle (1816 – 1821) Salta was of strategic military and commercial importance between Peru and key cities in Argentina.

After the war of independence, the city was in disarray and financially bankrupt throughout much of the 19th century. However, in the latter part of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the arrival of immigrants from Italy, Spain, and the Arab countries, particularly Syrians and Lebanese, revived trade and agriculture all over the area while further enhancing the city's multicultural flavour


Salta is similar in style to the Andalucía towns of Southern Spain. However, the local culture is a mix of Spanish and gaucho (mestizo, corolla, both indigenous and nonindigenous peoples) traditions, giving the city a distinctive identity and somewhat different from southern Argentina cities that tend to be in a more traditional European in style.

Salta Places of Interest

Each year Salta is becoming a more popular tourist destination because of the beautiful natural geographic scenery and colonial architecture.

The city centre features several impressive buildings dating back to the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. Clockwise around the Nueve de Julio (9th of July) Square are the neoclassical Cathedral, the French style Museum of Contemporary Art, the Cabildo (in former times, the city's town hall) and the neoclassical Museum of High Mountain Archeology. This museum houses artefacts from the Inca civilization, including the magnificently preserved mummies of three Inca children.

Within walking distance of the 9th of July Square are the impressive Saint Francis Church and the city's two pedestrian streets: Alberdi and Florida. The three blocks in Balcare Street closest to the train station are now the centre of night life in Salta, with restaurants, pubs and cafés on both sidewalks and concerts every night. Rising imposingly in the east is San Bernardo Hill. Its summit, from which visitors can get a panoramic view of the city and the entire valley, can be reached by car, cable car or stairway.

One of the main activities in Salta is the April Culture Festival, which lasts the entire month and offers a wide variety of activities, such as culture display performances, handcrafts exposition, and live orchestra performances.

Clothes to Bring

Summer clothes, light tops ad pants with warmer tops and pants for cooler evenings. Hat, Sunglasses and sun-protection cream.

Experience Chile Salta Itineraries

We can include Salta as an all-inclusive or part inclusive itinerary into the rest of your South American travel itinerary and would suggest a minimum of 3 nights if arriving by air from Buenos Aires and 4 nights if coming over from San Pedro de Atacama in Chile.