Argentina and Andean Frontiers Discovery Tour Detail Page

Arrive at Martín Miguel de Güemes International Airport and transfer by private car to your carefully selected boutique hotel in the heart of Salta — one of the most beautifully preserved colonial cities in South America and the undisputed gateway to the extraordinary Andean northwest of Argentina. Set at 1,187 meters above sea level in a lush valley surrounded by the eastern Andes, Salta announces itself with immediate and distinctive character: the magnificent Plaza 9 de Julio flanked by the salmon-pink Cathedral and the colonial Cabildo, the vibrant peñas where folk musicians perform centuries-old Andean music over empanadas and local Torrontés wine, and the extraordinary quality of a light that belongs entirely and unmistakably to this latitude and altitude. Check in, explore the elegant colonial streets at leisure, and allow this extraordinarily beautiful city to make its first, lasting impression over a dinner of outstanding northwestern Argentine cuisine.

A privately guided full day reveals Salta at its most extraordinary depth and cultural richness. Begin at the magnificent Plaza 9 de Julio — one of the finest colonial squares in Argentina — before the Cathedral, the Cabildo, and the outstanding Museum of High Altitude Archaeology deliver a morning of genuine historical and cultural depth: the museum houses the remarkable Llullaillaco Children, three Inca mummies discovered at 6,739 meters and considered among the most important archaeological finds in the Americas. The afternoon brings a private excursion on the celebrated Tren a las Nubes — the Train to the Clouds — one of the highest railways in the world, climbing through extraordinary Andean scenery to the spectacular La Polvorilla Viaduct at 4,220 meters above sea level in a feat of engineering and natural grandeur that constitutes one of the most celebrated rail journeys in South America. Return to Salta for a final evening in Argentina's most beautiful colonial city.

A private transfer north from Salta begins one of the most rewarding drives in all of northwest Argentina — the road climbing through the extraordinary Quebrada de Humahuaca, the UNESCO World Heritage-listed gorge that cuts through the eastern Andes in a succession of geological drama and pre-Columbian cultural significance that has earned its place as one of the most celebrated natural and historical landscapes in South America. The route pauses first at Purmamarca — where the famous Cerro de los Siete Colores rises above the village in a wall of terracotta, ochre, violet, and green of breathtaking natural artistry — before continuing north to Tilcara, whose impressive pre-Inca Pucará fortress dominates the valley from its hilltop position with commanding views in every direction. The remarkable town of Humahuaca itself — its 17th-century church and extraordinary carnival traditions at the very heart of Andean cultural identity — provides a deeply moving final flourish before the return south to Tilcara, where check-in at your carefully selected boutique hotel is followed by a dinner of outstanding regional Andean flavors as the painted gorge settles into evening silence around you.

A morning private transfer from Tilcara carries you west on the extraordinary Cuesta de Lipán road — 25 kilometres of dramatic switchbacks climbing from the painted valley floor above 4,000 metres through increasingly remote and elemental Andean landscape before the world below disappears entirely and the Salinas Grandes open in every direction in a blinding white expanse of crystalline salt of quite overwhelming scale and beauty. A community guide leads an exclusive visit to the Piletones del Salar — the salt pools — where the traditional salt extraction process practiced on these flats for generations is explained with genuine warmth and cultural knowledge before a photography session with the extraordinary perspective of the salt flat stretching to the horizon provides images of breathtaking, otherworldly impact. The descent back through the extraordinary Cuesta de Lipán landscape returns you to Tilcara for a final evening in the Quebrada — a last dinner beneath the painted mountains before tomorrow's departure.

After a final breakfast in Tilcara with the extraordinary mountain landscape of the Quebrada framing the morning in every direction, a private transfer carries you south along Route 9 — approximately one hour through the valley past Maimará and its celebrated Paleta del Pintor hillside — to San Salvador de Jujuy and the Gobernador Horacio Guzmán Airport (JUJ) for the flight south to Buenos Aires. On arrival at Ezeiza International Airport a private transfer collects you seamlessly and carries you into the heart of one of the world's great cities — the broad, French-inspired boulevards of Recoleta or the elegant tree-lined streets of Palermo announcing themselves with the particular, passionate energy that belongs entirely and unmistakably to Buenos Aires. Check into your carefully selected luxury city centre hotel — options range from grand five-star addresses in the prestigious Recoleta neighbourhood to chic boutique properties in the vibrant streets of Palermo Soho — and allow the accumulated richness of five days in the ancient Andean northwest to settle into memory over a first, deeply satisfying Buenos Aires dinner of outstanding Malbec and exceptional Argentine beef.

A privately guided full day reveals Buenos Aires at its most extraordinary depth and passionate, irreplaceable character. The morning begins at Plaza de Mayo — the historic heart of the city — before the imposing Casa Rosada, the magnificent Recoleta Cemetery where Evita's much-visited tomb draws quiet pilgrimage from visitors worldwide, and the vibrant antique district of San Telmo deliver a succession of genuine historical and cultural richness. The colorful waterfront neighborhood of La Boca — birthplace of Tango — and the extraordinary subterranean cisterns and tunnels of the Zanjon de Granados complete an afternoon of deeply satisfying urban immersion before the evening delivers Buenos Aires at its most passionate and complete: a celebrated Tango dinner show at one of the city's finest performance venues, where skill, drama, and raw Argentine emotion combine in an unforgettable finale to a day of complete, irreplaceable discovery.