Salta and Jujuy are two beautiful provinces in the North of Argentina. They are famous for their incredible quebradas (ravines) and indigenous culture, especially Jujuy. Since there is so much to see on the road, the best way to explore Salta and Jujuy is with a road trip! We rented a car for 5 days, returning it on the 6th and below you will find the perfect Salta and Jujuy road trip itinerary based on our experience.
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Table of Contents -
- Where are Salta and Jujuy
- When to visit Salta and Jujuy
- How to get to Salta and Jujuy
- Where to stay in Salta before your road trip
- Where to rent a car in Salta for your road trip
- Where to eat and drink in Salta before your road trip
- 5-day Salta and Jujuy road trip itinerary
- Other things to do in Salta and Jujuy
Where are Salta and Jujuy
When to visit Salta and Jujuy
Salta and Jujuya are arid provinces, with a desert climate. You can visit them year round, there is not really a bad time to visit. Do note that summer can get very hot, so you’ll want to look for accommodation with air conditioning, or at least a good fan. January and February are the local holiday months, so it will be a bit busier with local tourists, but since it’s not considered the best time of year to visit due to the heat it doesn’t get crazy busy here. Winter will still offer sunny days, but nights can get cold. Spring and Autumn generally offer the best weather conditions.
How to get to Salta and Jujuy
Both Salta and Jujuy are well connected with other touristic cities in Argentina, like Mendoza and Cordoba by bus. Do note that the distances are big though, so be prepared to spend a long time in the bus, or look at flights to the cities of Salta or San Salvador de Jujuy instead. Andesmar and Pullman Bus also have daily connections with San Pedro de Atacama in Chile from both Salta and San Salvador de Jujuy and various companies connect these cities with the Bolivian border (La Quiaca)
Where to stay in Salta before your road trip
We started our road trip in Salta and stayed at Tradicion de Salta which was really good value for money. The girls at reception where very helpful, we could wait in the reception area until check-in and the room was great. Comfortable bed, private bathroom, and a much-needed airconditioning since we visited in February. The hotel is walking distance from the bus terminal, and close to the center.
Where to rent a car in Salta for your road trip
We found a very good deal at Fox Car Rental. The staff was very helpful and friendly and the car was in an excellent condition. However, prices and availability always vary, so I recommend shopping around a bit but definitely include them on your shoppinglist!
Sharing the trip: If you’re traveling alone, or with one other person, and would like to share the cost and experience, many other travelers are often looking to team up and rent a car together for a Salta and Jujuy road trip. A good place to find travel buddies are Facebook groups like Argentina Chile Travel Community.
Where to eat and drink in Salta before your road trip
We had an amazing meal at Aires Caseros, around the corner from the square. It’s very good value for money and great staff, so I highly recommend this restaurant. If you want to venture out a little further or are looking for a more lively atmosphere, check out Balcarce Street. Here you’ll find many peñas: restaurants with live music. A famous one just off Balcarce Street which is very good is La Vieja Estacion (the old station). Salta is also famous for its empanadas, they are supposed to be the best in Argentina, so getting some here is a must as well.
5-day Salta and Jujuy road trip itinerary
I’m starting this 5-day Salta and Jujuy road trip itinerary in Salta, as this is how we did it and it is the most common thing to do. However, if it works out better for you to start in Jujuy, you can easily change the order of the days around, and start halfway day 3 instead, with the drive to Tilcara.
I will recommend some nice photo stops throughout the itinerary but don’t get too fixed on them. There are plenty of beautiful photo- and viewpoints. So stop wherever you see fit (that’s the beauty of a road trip after all!
Day 1: Salta to Cafayate
We chose to start our road trip around midday, so we’d have more time to drive back on the last day. If you choose to do the same, you can take it easy in the morning and have time for a nice breakfast and to pick up some snacks for on the road.
The first interesting stop on the way is the abandoned town of Alemanía. It’s famous for the railway station and handicrafts. The best way to see Alemanía is from the viewpoint just before the exit to town.
The next stops are all in the Quebrada de las conchas (shell’s ravine). A ravine with gorgeous red rocks and some of the most interesting rock formations in Salta and Jujuy.
- Mirador Quebrada de las Conchas and Mirador del Valle – Offering beautiful views over the ravine
- Garganta del Diablo (Devil’s Throat) – This giant hole in the mountain is probably the most famous rock formation in the Quebrada de las Conchas. It gets quite busy at the bottom, but if you can climb up, there won’t be as many people there and views are even better than from the bottom!
- Anfiteatro (Amphiteater) – Not as impressive as Garganta del Diablo, but still cool. And just down the road.
- Mirador Tres Cruces (three crosses viewpoint) – This viewpoint also has very beautiful views over the valley
- El Fraile (The monk) – This one is quite difficult to spot, but a rock formation that looks like a monk, across the valley from the viewpoint.
- Yesera – This is my favorite stop on the first day’s itinerary. The colorful stripes on these mountains are just incredible! You can do a short hike here, which is nice to stretch your legs after all the driving.
- El Obelisco (the obelisk – A rockformation that looks like an obelisk
- Las Ventanas (the windows) and Los Castillos (the castles) – As you probably already imagined, Las Ventanas is a rock formation that looks like it has windows and Los Castillos looks a bit like a castle.
Visiting these places and reaching Cafayate will take about 8 to 9 hours. If you are faster or have left earlier and still want to do something before reaching your accommodation in Cafayate, you can look at the dunes of Los Médanos, or visit a bodega.
Staying in Cafayate
Huaka Hostel is a nice hostel with a patio and separate beds instead of bunk beds in the dorms. We stayed at Tierra de Vinos which is right next door. They also have a patio and a small pool. It may not be the best place to stay in the middle of summer, as the ceiling fan is not much help. But if you’re visiting another time of year, it’s a nice place to stay offering good value for money.
In regards of where to eat in Cafayate, there are plenty of peñas and retaurants around the square. Peña El Antigal is just around the corner from the square and really nice with lots of options to try Torrontes, the typical white wine from this area. If you’re looking for something more traditional and/or cheaper El Hornito is a great place to go.
Bodegas – Just like Mendoza, Cafayate is famous for its wines. If you have more time, spend an extra night in Cafayate and enjoy exploring some of the bodegas in the area.
Day 2 - Cafayate to Cachi
On your second day, leave Cafayate early to have enough time for today. Our first stop on today’s itinerary is also the most famous one: La Quebrada de las Flechas. The best way to see the immense Quebrada de las Flechas (Arrow Ravine) is from the El Ventisquero viewpoint. Monumento Nacional Anagastaco and Anagastaco are beautiful viewpoints worth a stop as well.
The next stop on this Salta and Jujuy road trip itinerary is Laguna del Brealito. It is a bit of a hassle to get here, so if you don’t want to drive a lot, you might want to skip this one. However, if you have time and enjoy driving, this lake is well worth it in my opinion. For us, it was the highlight of our second day. It’s a gorgeous drive through the mountains and the lake is very serene. There were no other people there when we arrived and we saw a lot of birds, donkeys, a few goats and the cutest black labrador that couldn’t get enough hugs.
Artesanías de El Colte is a handicraft fair on the way. We skipped it as we don’t want any more weight in our bags and spent a lot of time at Brealito so it was quite late already when we passed. But if you’re looking to buy souvenirs, this is a great place to do so.
Today will take about 9 – 10 hours. But a big part of that time is spend on getting to Brealito and back, so if you’re skipping Brealito it will be a much shorter day and there will be plenty of time to visit a bodega in Cafayate or Cachi. Or a sleep-in. 😉
Staying in Cachi
The most strategic town to stay is the town of Cachi. Cachi has the name of being a very beautiful town and many people recommend it. So I don’t know if it was because our expectations were too high, or if we just didn’t get the vibe, but we were quite disappointed with Cachi. It’s quite expensive for this area of Argentina and it just didn’t live up to the hype. Viracocha is a cheap option for the area and as long as you’re not visiting in summer a good option. In summer the dorm room was too hot and one floor fan was not enough.
Day 3 - Cachi to Tilcara
Today is a long driving day but with plenty of nice views along the way. The first stop is the National Park Los Cardones. The cardon is a type of cactus, it’s one of the biggest species. At Mirador Secretos del Cardonal you can go for a little walk and see these giant cacti from up close. Next, there are a couple of nice viewpoints along the road, including the Questa del Obispo and the S F Escoipe viewpoints. Unfortunately we had rain on the way, so we couldn’t see much from the viewpoints, but the little we did see below the clouds was stunning! This area is surprisingly green and very different compared to the other landscapes we had seen so far.
From here, it’s quite a long drive with not so many interesting views to Purmamarca. But as you are getting closer to Purmamarca, the mountains start to get more colorful. Especially from about 6k before the exit to Purmamarca.
Purmamarca is famous for it’s Cerro de los Siete Colors (hill of seven colors) which you can hike around from town. Just look for the paseo de las Colorados, the hike is about 3k.
You can choose to stay here tonight, but the town is very small and touristy, and quite expensive. So we decided to continue to Tilcara which we enjoyed a lot. It’s cheaper, bigger and has beautiful surroundings too. Unless you want to see the sunset and/or sunrise in Purmamarca, or go to the salt flats the next morning, I recommend staying in Tilcara today. It’s less than an hour’s drive and you’ll pass the beautiful Paleta del Pintor on the way.
Overall, today will take about 10-11 hours.
Staying in Tilcara
We really enjoyed our short stay in Tilcara. It’s a very cute little town. There are lots of restaurants with kinds of typical Argentinian foods. A lot of regional specialties, but you can find other types of food as well. There are many souvenir stores as well and some viewpoints. If you want to do something else, you can visit the Pucará de Tilcara, a small archeological site. El Cardon is a very nice place to stay. Good value for money, comfy beds, and once again a very friendly owner.
Salinas Grande – If you want to visit the Salinas Grande, you can do so from Purmamarca. It’s not possible to enter on your own. You will either need to contract a tour in town, or hire a guide there. We skipped it as we had already been to Uyuni, which is very special experience. Salinas grande are more like a mini-Uyuni tour, but not quite the same.
Day 4 - Tilcara to Iruya
We started our day by going to la Garganta del Diablo. It’s a small waterfall close to Tilcara. It’s cool, because it’s something totally different to see, but it’s not the most impressive waterfall so you can skip it as well. You can walk there, or go by car. The walk is about 4k up the hill from the start of the trail and there is very little shade. If you want to dive there, the route is a little longer, and not for the faint-hearted. It’s a narrow and bumpy gravel road, fine for one car, but things get a little more complicated when you need to pass another car. Luckily there are places to give way, and we only passed other cars at places where either we, or they were able to give way.
After visiting the waterfall, we continued our drive to Humahuaca, famous for El Hornocal, also nicknamed the mountain of 14 colors. We were warned about the drive here, but quite frankly, the road to Garganta del Diablo was a lot worse! But we did have to take it slow with our city car on this gravel road. If you’re not sure about driving here, you can take transport too. But unless it has rained a lot, it should be fine to drive yourself.
From Humahuaca, continue your drive to Iruya. People had also warned us about this road, but again, it was perfectly fine. It is a gravel road, with quite a few twists and turns, but we had no problems. Although I can see how it gets complicated after a lot of rain, especially if you don’t have a 4×4. But the conditions were fine when we were there and quite enjoyed the drive through the mountains. very beautiful. If you don’t want to drive, there is a bus too which you can take and you don’t need a car once in town. But do include Iruya in your Salta and Jujuy road trip itinerary, you won’t regret it!
San Isidro – If you love the sound of Iruya, you will also love the sound of San Isidro. San Isidro is an even more remote town, which you need to hike to from Iruya, You can drive part of the way, but unless you have a 4×4, you will need to hike most of it. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to visit San Isidro, as we had the car for 5 days only and the bus to San Pedro already booked, but if we had an extra day, this is where we would have spent it!
Staying in Iruya
Iruya is a very small town in the middle of the mountains. You find any luxury resorts here, this is more of a homestay kind of place. We just rocked up and ended up at Hostal Nahiara, which was really nice. The owner is very friendly, and they have a nice terrace from where you can enjoy a maté when you arrive and observe the beautiful nightsky on a clear evening. As for food, we had a very nice meal at El Caucillar. But there are surprisingly many options for food in town if you’re looking for something else.
Day 5 Iruya to Purmamarca or Tilcara
Visit el Mirador del Cóndor (Condor Viewpoint) in the morning. This is the best time of day to see condors, and it’s less hot as well. We were lucky and saw a few condors fly by, one so close we could distinguish its face! Unfortunately, I did not have my camera handy so I couldn’t take a picture, the memory is still there.
As it’s a long drive back to Salta from here, you will want to start heading back in the early afternoon and spend the night either in Tilcara or Purmamarca. That is if you rented the car from noon, and need to be back by noon tomorrow. We went back to El Cardon in Tilcara, as we quite enjoyed this place and it’s good value for money.
Day 6 - Return the car and head to your next destination
While this Salta and Jujuy road trip itinerary was for only 5 days, if you picked up the car in the afternoon, you’ll still have time on the 6th day to bring the car back and hop on a bus in the afternoon/evening to your next destination, or enjoy an extra night in Salta.
Other things to do in Salta and Jujuy
If you’re spending some more time in Salta before or after the road trip, there are a few things you could do here.
There is a free walking tour, but it’s not the best. It’s quite short and not as informative as others. One of the most popular things to do in Salta, is heading to St Bernard Hill. From here you have nice views over the city. There is a cable car which you can take up. If you’re into musea, there is the Museum of High Altitude Archaeology, which has mummies on display. They normally have one of three children on display, and they rotate. I found the museum quite expensive for what it was, for Argentina, but it was interesting to see a mummy and learn a bit more about the Inca culture and their offerings. The History Museum of the North is just around the corner on the square as well, if you want to visit another one.
Looking for something else to do outdoors? Head to La Quebrada de San Lorenzo. It’s a nice green spot along a river where many locals spend their weekend. It’s the perfect place for a picnic, and there is a restaurant too if that’s more your thing. You can take a bus here from the center, just note that you’ll need a Sube card to board the bus, or ask a local if you can give them cash and they can swipe you in.
This was Salta and Jujuy road trip: The perfect itinerary
If you are hesitant to rent a car, and would like to travel by public transportation instead, you can do so for part of the trip. Day 1-3 have to be done by car, or with a tour. There is public transport between Salta and Cafayate, but the bus doesn’t stop at the sights. You can take Fletchabus to La Quebrada de las Fletchas from Cafyate, but there is only one a day, so then you would need to hitchhike. Also, the bus only goes to Angastaco, not all the way to cachi. Day 4-6 can be done by public transport, there are busses to Purmamarca, Tilcara, Humahuaca and Iruya. It’s probably cheaper by car though if you can get a group of at least 3 people and get a car that doesn’t consume a lot.
