January 16, 2022 - Salta to Purmamarca, Argentina

Our pickup today was 8am and we were off for a busy day, not arriving into Purmamarca until almost 4pm! We had a private guide and driver, Raul, who will be with us for the next three days.
We left Salta heading across the Quebrada del Toro (Toro Gorge) and the further we drove, the more amazing the scenery was!
We had checked the weather forecast and it called for rain, but you can see as we left Salta it was mostly sunny skies! A good share of the trip in the morning was on gravel roads, but we were in a large VW truck, so it was a pretty smooth ride.

The Toro Gorge is about 93 miles long and between 32-3000 feet wide. The Toro River runs down the sheer cliffs from the Nevado de Chani at almot 21,000 feet high and flows into the Camp Quijano in the Lerma Valley. The hills were actually formed by marine rocks that date back 550-600 million years ago! Its green or gray chalk rocks have many fossils of the first invertebrates. Right now, there is very little water in the river.

Following along on Route 51 is also the "Train to the Clouds". It is the third-highest train in the world at 13,000 feet above sea level! Construction began in 1921 and was completed in 1948. Originally intended to connect the northern regions of Chile and Argentina across the Andes as a commercial railline serving the borax mines in the region, and to transport goods from the coast of Chile to Argentina. In 1972 it was converted into a heritage railway and opened as a tourist route. Now the trains a couple times a week.

Continuing along our route San Antonio de Los Cobres, we marveled at the ever-changing scenery.





We stopped at a small hotel in San Antonio de Los Cobres for tea. Tobey tried the coca tea and it had a nice flavor. It's a tiny town in the desert region of the Puna Salterna region.
Then off to Salina Grandes - the salt flats. Along the way were llamas - lots and lots of llamas! In one area there were probably 100 or more!


There are sheep in this area, also.

We also had our first encounter with Vicunas. Vicunas are "camelids" or members of the camel family. They are relatives to llamas, and are believed to be wild ancestors of alpacas.
We also saw some wild mules, but they didn't want to pose for photos! Looking off into the distance, we could still see some of the high mountain peaks covered in snow. It doesn't look that high but it's about 21,000 feet above sea level!

As we approached Salinas Grandes, the road was now paved.

In the photo below we could see some of the mining trucks coming down the side of the mountain.

The Salinas Grandes are in the northern provinces of Salta and Jujuy at an average altitude of 11,318 feet above sea level! It covers an area over 52,000 acres and the desert is about 200 miles wide! There are large commercial mining operations in the area for borax and lithium. Local people also collect the salt from the area.

It was so bright - and hot! You pay $500 pesos (about $1.50USD) per person to go out in an area that is "safe" because the salt is thick enough and we paid another $100 pesos for a local guide to take our picture.




We had our lunch break here at one of the small "salt" restaurants.
They even had tables and chairs made from salt if you wanted to sit at one of them! After lunch we continued higher and higher up toward Alta de Potreillos at 14,681 feet!

Yes, we were up in the clouds - and above them part of the time!

This road is an amazing engineering feat! First we went up, then down!

As we descended on our way to Purmamarca, we contiued to marvel at the beautiful colors.

When we arrived in town around 4pm Rual took us on a small drive through the town, which is also a challenge because the streets are so narrow. We are staying at the Cabanas de Los Colorados, right next to the beautiful mountains. Our room was the first one on the right - and there are only seven rooms in the hotel!

From our hotel, we took the Cerro de los Siete Colores, a 45 minute horseshoe walk that goes around the town.

We were lucky to spot a couple of birds along the way.
Next up, dinner! It is hard for us to get used to eating after 8pm at night, and most of the restaurants that were recommended didn't open until then, so we took off and explored. We found Los Tientos and they were open. It smelled good, so in we went! We decided to try the "lomo de llama." Yep, llama filets with the most deliciously seasoned potatoes we have ever had! The llama was good, too!

We walked around the square after dinner and had fun shopping before our trek back to our hotel.
We had to walk back up this hill, then up a set of stairs and more hill to get back to the hotel!

At the top of the hill, you could pay to have your picture taken with this llama. We passed.

It was a long, but beautiful day, but we don't have internet, so this will go out after we get back to Salta on Tuesday night.