Salinas Grandes

The Salinas Grandes are one of the largest salt flats in Argentina, more than two hundred square kilometres of white crust on the high plateau between Jujuy and Salta. The road from Purmamarca climbs the Cuesta de Lipán to over four thousand metres and drops onto the flat, where the salineros still cut blocks of salt by hand and dig the long pools where the brine crystallises. Around it, the villages of the Puna live from llamas, salt and small fields: Barrancas, with its petroglyphs and rock paintings, San Francisco de Alfarcito, Santa Ana and Sausalito, and to the north the Laguna de Guayatayoc.

Most travellers cross it in a day, on the way from Purmamarca to San Antonio de los Cobres or over the Paso de Jama to San Pedro de Atacama. Staying is different: families of a community tourism network host travellers in their houses for one or two nights, with a morning among the salineros, a hike to a nearby peak and meals at their table. Lodging is simple and the altitude is felt, so a night in the Quebrada first helps.

April to November is dry, with clear days and nights well below freezing. In summer the rain can flood the flat and turn it into a mirror, but it also cuts the roads.