Cafayate to Tilcara & The Salt Flats: road trip in Northwestern Argentina

“You’re taking that road?” Our guide on the free walking tour in Salta exclaimed. “It’s commonly flooded as well as is a quite crazy drive.”

We had heard that the road from Cafayate to Cachi was poor from other bloggers, however having a regional Argentinian tell us it was poor was one more get up call. We were travelling in the Salta province during the rainy season, meaning we might expect road closures, landslides as well as floods along path 40.

We set off from Cafayate with foggy wine brains, as well as our fingers crossed for sunny days.

To checked out part 1 of our road trip from Salta to Cafayate, click here.

To checked out about our 4 days spent in Cafayate, click here.

Don’t miss the videos at the end of this post!

Cafayate → Cachi

Distance: 171 kilometers

Route: 40

Duration: 5.5 hours, including a lunch stop at a little restaurant

Road Conditions: Gravel, Dusty, narrow Spots

Highlights: Quebradas del los Flechas Scenery, Cachí

Where We Stayed: Hotel Pueblo Antiguo

Within 29 kilometers of leaving Cafayate, the pavement ended. It would be nothing however dusty, bumpy roads for the duration of our trip to Cachí!

The landscape was desolate. We were surrounded by desert, cactus as well as the occasional shack on the side of the road. The views were alright, but so far we weren’t offered on the truth that this path was supposed to be one of the very best in the area.

As soon as we reached the Quebradas de los Flechas, our opinions changed. Drastically.

After driving with the Quebradas de las Conchas from Salta to Cafayate, we didn’t believe that the scenery might get any type of much better on our road trip. But, when we went into into these Quebradas, we were totally blown away by the jagged sandstone rock formations that greeted us at every turn.

The Quebradas de las Flechas were spectacular. This is a must-drive path in the region
With only a couple of other vehicles on this route, we had the gorgeous views basically all to ourselves. We pulled over numerous times to take photos, so we didn’t make the biggest time, however we couldn’t assist ourselves.

After 5.5 hours of driving without any type of rain or flooded roads, we shown up in Cachí. I suppose we were lucky! The little town of about 5,500 inhabitants (who are mainly descendants of the Díaguita people) is found at the foot of the Nevado of Cachi, which is a chain of numerous goliath mountain peaks, the tallest being 6,380m.

The bit town of Cachí was really rather picturesque
With its whitewashed buildings as well as easygoing locals, we truly enjoyed this small town – particularly the side of the road quesadillas with goat cheese!

These were the very best quesadillas made by the sweetest women
Cachí → Salta → Tilcara

Distance: 336 kilometers

Route: 33 Cachí to Salta, as well as Old path 9 Salta to Tilcara

Duration: 6.5 hours including a 30 minute lunch break

Road Conditions: Good. Paved. narrow & windy with path 9

Highlights: Switchback roads. Viewpoints. Old path 9

Where We Stayed: Posada con Los Angeles

The complying with morning we packed up our bit Chevy traditional as well as hit the road again. cars and truck travel is so much easier than taking public transport! sometimes we don’t even completely pack our bags as well as just throw whatever in the trunk.

The plan today was to drive north towards Salta, which is where we started the road trip. But, rather than decrease off the car, we were bypassing the city as well as continuing north to the town of Tilcara, which is found near the borders of Bolivia as well as Chile.

The day started off with us totally missing out on the “must-see” views of the valley down below since of thick, low hanging clouds. Annoyed as well as feeling the impacts of FOMO (Fear Of missing Out) we began our descent along many hairpin turns.

We might barely see in front of us. Our lights were on, the fog was thick, as well as the road was incredibly windy. In many parts, it would have proved impossible for us to pass one more vehicle. Luckily, none were coming up the hill, just going down.

After the anticlimactic drive with the switchbacks, it really ended up being an eventful drive.

We hit as well as killed a bird, saw many dead tarantulas on the road – as well as one that was extremely much alive. We spotted numerous llamas as well as donkeys, a unique cemetery as well as a random regional celebration total with music as well as food!

Continuing on, our scenery altered from dry as well as bare, to rich as well as full. After passing by Salta town on the highway, we got on the old path 9 as well as were surrounded by thick eco-friendly trees, rushing rivers as well as narrow gorges.

We definitely weren’t in the desert anymore…until we shown up in the Jujuy Province.

We were contemplating whether we should total our day of driving in Purmamarca, or Tilcara, however opted with the latter as well as are pleased we did. This bit town had a very “Bolivian” feel to it, with traditional handicrafts, garments as well as artwork that we hadn’t seen so far during our stay in Argentina. restaurants served up llama (yum!) as well as many women were dressed in aboriginal clothing.

Llama meat is really truly tasty!
This unique mountain village is set at the foothills of the Andes mountains in the Quebrada de Humahuaca valley, as well as at an elevation of 2,500m.

Tilcara → Salinas Grandes → Purmamarca → Tilcara

Distance: 124 kilometers

Route: 9, 52

Duration: 4 hours return driving time

Road Conditions: Good. Paved. Windy

Highlights: Switchbacks. Valley Views. High Altitude Point. Salt Flats. Coloured Mountains

Did you understand that there are salt flats in Argentina? We’d heard all about the world’s largest flats in Bolivia, however had no concept that Argentina had their own to offer as well. The salt flats were the goal, as well as the primary site that we were looking ahead to on this day drive, however as it would turn out, we truly enjoyed the journey there as well.

The drive from Tilcara to the pass was gorgeous!

Our bit cars and truck zigged as well as zagged up the mountainside, before reaching the greatest point at 4,170m. We jumped out of the cars and truck for a photo-op, as well as soon realized exactly how incredibly intense the sun was, as well as that our breathing was a bit laboured. having sufficient drinking water during these drives is a must.

Whoo Hoo! We’re at the top of the pass ?

Coming down from that elevation, we might see the blindingly white salt in the distance!

Feeling the cars and truck shake a bit bit, I opened up my window to listen for any type of sounds. There it was, a whistling noise. We had a flat tire.

It seems that whenever we lease a car, we get a flat. Pulling over, we quickly got the spare tire out of the trunk. The sun was beating down on our fair skin. The ground was soft, gravelly as well as sandy, rendering the jack virtually useless. The cars and truck actually fell off of the jack at one point. I searched around for a flat rock to utilize as a base, as well as returned proudly holding the stone. I had done my part!

Changing a tire at 3,500m isn’t ideal
A few minutes later, we were great to go as well as we were back on the road towards the white mass gleaming in the distance.

The fascinating element about Argentina’s salt flat is that there’s a road cutting tight with the center of it. So, rather than having to circumference the area, we might drive directly through. auto parking in what we believed to be the most “white” area, we jumped out as well as attempted to do a few of those optical illusion pictures that everybody does so well, however soon realized we needed a third person to really take the picture.

Regardless of the picture fail, we were in awe of the salt flats, which sit at an elevation of 3,450m as well as cover an area of 212km². After going virtually blind from staring at the white flats, we decided it was time to move on.

Salt, salt as well as more salt!

Making our method to Tilcara, we stopped in at Purmamarca, an even smaller town understood for its colourful mountains.

The hill of seven Colours is precisely what it seems like – a hill made up of 7 different colours! different rocks as well as minerals have led to the development of the lovely reds, pinks, purples, eco-friendlies as well as browns in the mountain. the very best time to see Purmamarca is just after dawn when the colours truly pop, not at 4:00pm when we went…

We had some clouds as well as the illumination wasn’t great, however there they are, the 7 coloured mountains!

Tilcara → Salta

Distance: 200 kilometers

Route: 9 (new), 66, 34, 9 (new)

Duration: 2.5 hours

Road Conditions: Good. Paved.

Highlights: None really!

Where We Stayed: Posada del Angel

Since we had alreadyexperienced the scenic “old” path 9, as well as since our rental cars and truck had to be back by 11:00am, we opted for the quicker highway back to Salta.

There are a few gas stations along the method to fill up before returning to the city, however other than that, there aren’t truly any type of “sights”. This is the quickest method back to the primary city.

Renting a cars and truck to check out the provinces of Salta as well as Jujuy was a significant highlight of our trip to Argentina. In my opinion, having your own wheels in this area of the country is a must. going on a tour would be as well rushed, as well as there are so many remarkable sights to pull over as well as look at along the way. Roadtripping in Argentina, check!

Planning a road trip in Salta / Jujuy Argentina? have a look at our videos!

Check out more of our Argentina Videos here!

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