The Northwest — Colored Mountains & Wine Valleys — Full Guide (Argentina)

Overview

The Argentine northwest is a different country within Argentina: colonial towns in high desert valleys, red-rock canyons, rainbow-striped mountains and wine at altitude, all wrapped in the driest air on the continent. The classic loop starts and ends in Salta and takes six or seven unhurried days by rental car.

The route has three acts: the wine valley of Cafayate, the gravel passes of Cachi, and the celebrity landscapes of the north — Purmamarca's Cerro de los Siete Colores and the high salt flat of Salinas Grandes. Summer rains wash out roads, so travel the loop between March and November; autumn is the golden season.

Day 1–2: Salta to Cafayate

The first leg follows RN 68 south through the Quebrada de las Conchas gorge — a series of sculpted red-rock formations (the Amphitheater, the Devil's Throat) that set the tone. Cafayate is the wine town of the loop: 1,700 m altitude, dozens of small bodegas, and Torrontés, the aromatic white Argentina grows nowhere else. The classic outing is a bike ride between three or four bodegas on the flat valley floor, followed by an empanada and the sunset from the Quilmes ruins viewpoint on the way back.

Day 3: Cafayate to Cachi

The showpiece day: the Ruta 40 segment via Molinos and Angastaco, then the climb over the gravel Cuesta del Obispo. The pass tops out around 3,300 m with fog rolling through the valley below, and drops into the whitewashed colonial village of Cachi, framed by the Nevado de Cachi's snow fields. Cachi is small, sleep-worthy and home to the region's best weaver's market.

Day 4: Cachi to Salta (via the Cuesta)

Return to Salta over the same pass — the morning light on the Cuesta is worth the repeat — or push straight for the north. In Salta, refuel the car and the wallet: from here the loop runs north toward the Jujuy border.

Day 5–6: Purmamarca and Salinas Grandes

Purmamarca is the loop's postcard stop: the Cerro de los Siete Colores, a hill striped in seven mineral bands, photographed best in the early-morning light from the village's west edge. Above the village, the climb to Salinas Grandes crosses the 4,170 m pass — the salt flat spreads below like a white sea, freakishly bright at noon; sunglasses are essential.

From Purmamarca continue north through the UNESCO-listed Quebrada de Humahuaca to Humahuaca town, with its hilltop monument and market, and the market-plus-ruins stop at Tilcara on the way south. The gorge's colored walls are at their most dramatic in the late-afternoon shadow play.

Day 7: back to Salta

An easy highway day returns to Salta via the Quebrada and the RN 9 lowlands. Total driving on the loop: around 900 km, mostly easy roads; the only real gravel is the Cuesta del Obispo section.

Practical tips

• Rent a high-clearance SUV in Salta; standard cars manage the paved sections but suffer on the Cuesta and the salt-flat approaches.
• Fuel is available in Salta, Cafayate and Humahuaca — top up whenever you see a station.
• Carry layers: 4,000 m passes are cold in the morning and hot by noon; the sun at altitude burns fast.
• Book Cachi and Purmamarca accommodation ahead from March to November — the loop is packed in autumn and spring.
• No car? Day tours from Salta cover Cafayate, Cachi and the Jujuy highlights separately.