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Andes outback drive

Drive Argentina

Route: Salta - Purmamarca - Salta - Cachi - Cachi - Cafayate - Salta

Discover an unexpected side of Argentina in this 6-day Argentina self drive tour through the red heart of South America. In Salta and Jujuy, you’ll get a taste of authentic Argentinean culture before driving onto the vast Altiplano past ancient Inca ruins, tiny white-washed villages, salt lakes, giant cacti and palm trees. On the way, you’ll be staying in local accommodation in small villages.

On Day One of your Argentina self drive, you’ll drive through the Humahuaca canyon and pass a small Indian village and several bizarrely coloured rock formations. Before long, you’ll turn off the comfortable tarmac road and continue along sandy tracks into the middle of nowhere. The route is breathtaking but you’re on your own here, so it helps if you know how to change a flat tyre. If you’d rather not do any driving yourself, you can stay in Salta and book a couple of organised day trips to the Humahuaca canyon, Cachi and Cafayate. This 6-day Argentina self drive tour can also be done in two parts.

Duration	6 days - 5 nights Departure daily from Salta or Jujuy	Accommodation	Double room in small, charming guest houses, see our photos, category basic accommodation
Price	£380 per person - based on 2 people sharing	Includes	Transport, hire car incl. 200km mileage per day, accommodation with breakfast
Transport	Hire car (economy class) (There is about a €500 cc deposit for the car).	Excludes	Other meals, fuel costs, extended insurance (see car hire page)

Day 1 Salta - Purmamarca

Travel time: approx 4 hours

Salta is the starting point of your Argentina drive, you can pick up your car at the airport rather than having to go all the way into town first. The tourist office at the airport has some good free maps of the area and plenty of local information. Once you’ve been given the keys to the car, hop in and head off along the Ruta 9 towards Jujuy. It’s 2 ½ hour drive along a narrow winding, but spectacularly beautiful, road.

From Jujuy continue along the Ruta 9 towards Purmamarca, another 1 ½ hour drive (56km) along a smooth and easy road. You’ll pass through lush, tropical scenery before the green vegetation gradually makes way for a more arid, rocky landscape.

The last stretch passes through the spectacular Quebrada de Humahuaca. The canyon can be very windy, which is why we’ve selected accommodation for you just outside. The villages of Humahuaca, Tilacara or Maimara lie deep within the canyon and tend to be so dusty that it can feel like you’ve been caught in a giant sand storm. Purmamarca, the next stop on your Argentina self drive is just 3km outside the canyon, out of the wind and a lot more comfortable.

You’ll be staying in a friendly ‘refugio’, a typical village hotel with 9 basic but clean rooms with private bathroom and solar-powered hot running water and heating (nights can get cold here!). The refugio has been built in local style using local building materials and is surrounded on all sides by rugged mountain scenery.

You can spend the rest of Day One of your Argentina drive exploring the village. Purmamarca is a peaceful village, made up of tiny clay houses nestled at the foot of the Seven-coloured hill (Cerro de los Siete Colores). The hill gets its rainbow-coloured appearance from the rich mineral content in the rocks and draws many travellers to the area. Most of the local population run a hotel or restaurant or sell traditional crafts and souvenirs.

The main square in Purmamarca is a good place to grab a bit to eat and enjoy the laid-back village atmosphere. There’s also a small tourist office where you can get information about excursions and hiking trails in the area. There’s an interesting trail that begins at the back of the cemetery up the Cerro de los Siete Colores. It’s about an hours’ walk, but you can take your time to stop and admire the amazing colours. The hill is most beautiful early in the morning, so it’s best to do this walk early in the day.

Day 2 - Purmamarca

On Day Two of your Argentina drive, you’ll have time to explore the villages and scenery of the Quebrada. If you’re planning on visiting the villages Maimara, Tilcara and Humahuaca you’ll need to take the car.

The villages are the quintessential image of South America with white-washed churches, clay houses and people in ponchos and bowler hats strolling along the narrow cobbled streets. Most of them speak Quechua, the local dialect that dates back to the Incas. Tilcara has an interesting archaeological museum and Inca Fort. On the way from Tilcara to Humahuaca, you’ll pass the Tropic of Capricorn. Humahuaca lies right at the end of the Quebrada, about 60km drive from Purmamarca. There’s a village market selling several local arts and crafts and a small folklore museum.

Day 3 - Purmamarca - Salta

On Day Three of your Argentina self drive, you’ve got a number of different options. If you’d like to spend some more time exploring the area around Purmamarca you can go hiking, cycling or horse-riding with a local guide. Around 3pm, you’ll be back in the car to begin the return journey to Salta via Jujuy and the faster road via Guïmes. Travel time: approx. 3 hours.

If you began your Argentina self-drive tour at Jujuy airport and missed out on Salta, you could leave Purmamarca around 9am and take the scenic Ruta de Cornisa to Salta. You’ll arrive in Salta around midday, leaving you the rest of the afternoon to enjoy the charming atmosphere of this friendly colonial town. Travel time: approx. 4 hours.

The third option is to leave Purmamarca around 8am (with a full tank!) and take the loop via San Antonio de los Cobres to Salta. It’s a bumpy, mostly gravel road so you won’t be driving much faster than 40km p/h.

The route is spectacular though, passing the Salinas Grandes salt plain and the famous Polvorilla viaduct built for the Train of the Clouds.

Travel time: approx. 8 hours.

Day 4 Salta - Cachi

Travel time: approx 4 hours

After breakfast, around 9am, you’ll set off on the second leg of your Argentina self-drive. This time you’ll be heading south along a particularly scenic route from Salta to Cachi through Valle de Calchaquies. For about half of the way, the road is ‘ripio’, untarmacked, so you’ll be driving slowly again. Make sure to fill up before you leave – and bring a spare tyre.

As you trundle along the bumpy road, the adobe houses of Cachi village suddenly appear from behind the hills. Cachi is the primary village in the valley, with 1500 inhabitants. Spend the rest of the afternoon wandering through the quiet streets or take the car to see more of the surrounding area. Nearby Las Pailas is a lovely area for hiking. During the summer months (January – March) you can also hang out by the hotel pool.

Drive Argentina- between Cachi and Cafayate

Day 5 Cachi - Cafayate

Travel time: approx 5 hours

Enjoy a bit of a lie-in today and after breakfast, around 9.30am, it’s time to hit the road for the next stop on your Argentina self drive. Today you’ll be driving to Molinos, a tiny village hidden away among the bare, desolate hills. The village church is actually a historic monument. Once you’ve taken a look around the church and the village, head to the small square for some lunch, before continuing on to Cafayate around 12.30pm.

The road from Molinos to San Carlos is gravel again and you really can’t go much faster than 30 km/h. Luckily, this is the prettiest part of the whole route, green valleys, cacti and some very unusual looking rock formations. After San Carlos the road is tarmacked again so you can enjoy a smooth ride into Cafayate.

Benefiting from a mild climate and 1660m altitude, Cafayate is ideally located for wine production. The most characteristic wine from this region is the crispy white torrontés, so make sure you try a glass (or bottle) while you’re here.

On Day Five of your Argentina self drive, you’ll be staying in a small hotel just one block from the main plaza. Once you’ve checked in you might want to visit one of the nearby bodegas to taste some of the local wines. You can always leave it till tomorrow, but early morning may not be the best time for wine-tasting, and tomorrow you’ll be driving back to Salta. Some of the bodegas are a bit touristy but nevertheless it’s interesting to walk down into the cellars to see the huge oak barrels piled up in rows. There are several bodegas on the edge of the village so you won’t need to go far, which is just as well as a long drive is probably the last thing you want after an afternoon of wine-tasting.

Day 6- Cafayate - Salta

Travel time: approx 4 hours

Enjoy another leisurely start on Day Six of your Argentina self drive. Depending on how much of the local wine you sampled last night, you can set your alarm clock to see a fantastic sunrise over the vineyards.

The last stretch of your Argentina self-drive will take you through the Quebrada de Cafayate. Though not quite as technicoloured as the canyon at Purmamarca, the rocks here have beautiful pastel shades, ranging from pale pink to terracotta to crimson. In places, you can see signposts for the oddly shaped rocks that carry imaginative names like the Castle or Devil’s Throat. The road from Cafayate to Salta is tarmacked and you can top up your tank just before you reach Salta.

At around 5pm you’ll arrive in Salta and it’s time to hand in your hire car, marking the end of your Argentina self drive tour. If you’re planning on flying out tonight you can drop off the car at the airport, though you might prefer to have a bit of a rest and enjoy a last evening in Salta before travelling on to your next destination tomorrow.

From Salta, there’s a direct bus connection to Chile on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. The route via San Antonio de los Cobres to San Pedro de Atacama takes 10 hours with a couple of stops on the way and passes through the driest place on earth, the Atacama desert. In San Pedro de Atacama you can continue with our 3-day Atacama desert tour.

Click here for a map of Argentina and Chile.

Drive Argentina- spectacular rock formations around Salta

Best time to travel

Unlike Patagonia in southern Argentina, the best time to travel to Salta on an Argentina self drive is April – October. It rarely rains, the days are comfortably warm and the nights cool. November – May is hot and humid, but still fine for travelling.

January – March are the wettest months, and due to the increased chance of rain, we recommend renting a higher category car.

A 4x4 is easier to drive on muddy roads and won’t have any problem going through those big puddles.

If you go on an Argentina self drive at the right time of year, there are a couple of great festivals in the area. Carnival, held in February, is one of the biggest celebrations of the year and is still celebrated in traditional style. In March there are several wine harvest festivals, especially around Cafayate.

Interesting cultural and religious celebrations include the Easter processions (March – April) and the festival of Pachamama on 1 August, honouring Mother Earth. During the 2nd week of September you can witness the processions of the Fiesta del Milagro (Festival of the Miracle). If you happen to be in Cafayate in late November you can’t miss the Fiesta del Vino Torrontès.

Food & drink: Posta de Purmamarca is a cosy village restaurant that serves up a great ’piquente de pollo’, spicy chicken. Los Dos Marias on the central square in Cafayate has good food, friendly service and excellent wines. For the best ice cream in town head to héladeria Miranda.

Drive Argentina accommodation (Click to enlarge)

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