Northwest: Salta, Jujuy & Puna

The Northwest is the oldest Argentina, the part that belonged to the Andean world long before Buenos Aires existed. Salta, a colonial city at the foot of the hills, sits at the centre of it; around it open the Quebrada de Humahuaca to the north, the Calchaquí valleys and the vineyards of Cafayate to the south, and above everything the Puna, a high desert of salt flats and volcanoes at four thousand metres.

The classic loop runs south from Salta over the Cuesta del Obispo to Cachi, down the valley past Molinos and Colomé to Cafayate, and back through the Quebrada de las Conchas: four or five days, with time for a bodega and a night in an adobe village. North of Salta, Purmamarca, Tilcara and Humahuaca follow the Quebrada towards Bolivia, and Iruya is the detour for those who want to sleep somewhere the road barely reaches. The Puna, from San Antonio de los Cobres to Tolar Grande, is a journey of its own, for travellers who have already done the valleys or who come for the emptiness.

The region works all year, which is rare in Argentina. Winter, from May to September, is dry and clear with cold nights, and the best time for the Puna. Summer brings afternoon rain and green hillsides, and in February the Quebrada celebrates its carnival. Easter week and July are the busiest moments; the rest of the year the roads are quiet.