Salta to Cafayate: exactly how To road trip in Northwestern Argentina

having your own wheels to check out is the utmost in travel freedom, as well as the region around Salta is the very best place to hit the road! We travelled for 8 days as well as 7 nights around the province of Salta as well as Jujuy in our bit silver Chevy Classic, as well as have nothing however outstanding things to state about this journey. What did we get up to? checked out on to discover out…

Any path that is “wine” associated is a great one to take ?
Day 1: Salta to Cafayate

Distance: 191 kilometers from rental office to Cafayate

Route: highway 68

Duration: 11:00am depart, 4:00pm show up (5 hours including stopping)

Road Conditions: Good. Tarmac.

Highlights: Farmland, Sandstone Formations, Quebradas de las Conchas national Park

After filling out the final rental documents and doing a once-over of our vehicle, we were off.

Armed with a picnic lunch, a paper roadmap (which wasn’t extremely detailed), as well as our Google Maps app on our wise phone, we navigated our method out of the city.

Driving out of Salta was a dusty, hectic experience, as well as it didn’t ended up being “nice” scenery for about an hour or so.

But, when we were out of the hustle as well as bustle, the natural appeal of the area was revealed.

The one small bit of shade we found, a excellent area for a side-of-the-road picnic
We drove alongside lush eco-friendly farmland as well as towering trees, before the topography morphed into desert landscapes total with tall cactus as well as jagged mountains. We were in awe as well as we hadn’t even shown up at the great stuff yet! when we hit the entrance to the Quebradas de las Conchas national Park, we were regularly pulling the cars and truck over to take photos.

With views like this, we couldn’t assist ourselves from pulling over to take photos
The entire area was breathtakingly scenic.

After driving for 141 kilometers, we shown up at the most prominent site in the Quebradas de las Conchas. There are a few primary sandstone formations that are signposted for tourists, however even though we were looking, we nearly missed the primary formation, the Devil’s Throat (la Garganta del Diablo). We pulled over to inspect out the gaping hole in the ancient stone, it was massive!

Other significant sites were the Obleisk, Amphitheatre, Castle, Toad as well as Friar.

The Devil’s Throat formation

For us, it wasn’t so much about the primary rock formations, it was about the surroundings.

The entire trip with the national park was an otherworldly experience. We were totally engulfed by pink, red, purple, rust, as well as grey coloured rocky mountains. The sandstone slopes seemed like they would crumble if we looked at them the wrong way, while the shape as well as structure of the mountains was unlike any type of we had seen before.

The road trip was full of lovely landscapes
With about 20 kilometers left in our drive from Salta to Cafayate, we came across some large oak barrels on the side of the road. Upon additionally inspection, we realized that there was a lady standing in one of them as well as that it was really a bit side-of-the-road white wine bar!

We were provided some goat cheese (very prominent in this region), as well as a tasting glass of white wine from the Finca La Punilla for 50 pesos each ($3.25). This was our very first introduction to the white wine region of Cafayate, which is surrounded by many vineyards as well as wineries as well as dotted with white wine bars.

There’s a lady in the barrel! This produced a great pitstop about 20 minutes from Cafayate
Cafayate may not be a widely known white wine destination like Mendoza to the south, however this northwestern town has rich soil as well as creates high high quality grapes.

We had a feeling we were going to like this area, as well as had booked ourselves 4 nights in Cafayate to see wineries in town, as well as the surrounding vineyards as well.

Our very first night’s stay was at the sensational Patios de Cafayate shop hotel. turning off of the asphalt highway as well as down a dirt road lined with white grapes prepared for harvest, was something out of dream. The blindingly white Bodega El Esteco was directly in front of us, while walking under an arched entranceway brought us to the hotel itself.

The blindingly white Bodega El Esteco greeted us as we shown up at Patios de Cafayate

We were told we had been upgraded to the “suite” room. Upgrades are never a poor thing, as well as as we walked upthe stairs, we were grinning from ear to ear.

Opening the door to our suite we put down our backpacks and couldn’t believe our eyes. The space was massive! The lovely shower room had a jacuzzi tub that might quickly in shape 2 people, there was a living space area as well as a comfy king-sized bed.

Our stunning suite space at Patios de Cafayate – we didn’t want to leave!

But, finest of all was the view from the double-doors leading to our bit balcony. The views of the pool down below as well as across to the vineyards as well as mountains made it tough to leave the room. lovely bit antique touches filled the suite, which were extremely fitting thinking about the original farmstead is from 1892.

The view from our space was fantastic!

The character as well as decoration of this shop hotel was lovely. The only issue was that we might only stay for 1 night as they were completely booked this time around of year! Elated with the hotel as well as exactly how gorgeous the setting was, we made our method downstairs for dinner.

We were greeted with a glass of sparkling white wine.

An upgrade, friendly personnel as well as now a free glass of wine? It couldn’t get any type of better! Or so we thought.

This is the stunning setting of Patios de Cafayate as well as the Bodega El Esteco – amazing!

That night at the on site La Rosa restaurant I had the very best steak I’ve ever had in my entire life. chef Martín served up a rib eye that was marinated in a Red white wine Malbec sauce. It was juicy, oh so tender, as well as seasoned to perfection. On top of the slab of meat sat a bit piece of herbed butter.

OK, so this picture is a tad bit blurry, however I was just so ecstatic about this steak that I couldn’t keep my hand steady! haha

This night was likewise the very first time that Nick had ever tried sweetbreads, which he really truly enjoyed. The chef regularly came around to inspect on everyone’s meals as well as the servers were extremely attentive.

Sweetbreads as well as tempura shrimp – an fascinating as well as tasty combination!

With bellies full from our three program meal, we rounded off the extraordinary day with a kicking back jacuzzi before immediately passing out on the fluffy bed. Day 1 of our road trip was going to be difficult to top.

Click right here to inspect out part 2 of our road trip from Cafayate to Tilcara, with a trip to the Salt flats & Purmamarca!

Check out our video!

Check out a lot more of our Argentina Videos here!

Travel Tips:

We booked our cars and truck with Cactus rental in Salta, as well as at $51.25 / day, it was rather expensive, however a typical cost for Argentina. And, having the flexibility to travel separately was worth every penny!

Even if we weren’t working with Destino Argentina, we would have stayed longer at Patios de Cafayate. space costs begin at $136 / night for 2 people including a buffet breakfast, as well as thinking about we’ve spent around $100 / night for a extremely fundamental room, this is exceptional value.

If you don’t stay at Patios de Cafayate, make sure to at least see their restaurant. The food is so great as well as at around $15 / primary course, it’s extremely affordable.

Bring a picnic lunch to take pleasure in on the method to Cafayate, as well as make sure to have sufficient drinking water – it’s the desert after all.

It’s finest to set off from Salta in the morning (but not as well early), because in the late afternoon, the winds truly pick up in the Quebradas.

A significant thank-you to Destino Argentina for setting up our night’s stay at Patios de Cafayate. as well as of course, a large thanks to the personnel of Patios de Cafayate for holding us at the hotel as well as restaurant, as well as for making our stay a extremely unforgettable one.

Although we were working with the Argentinian tourism Board as bloggers, we were in no method influenced or told we had to compose in a positive way.

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