Argentina's north west

Argentina's north west has a unique cultural identity within the country, which can best be described as a blend of classic Argentine culture and that of the Andean countries of Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador to the north. The influence from the north is reflected in the population mix, the architecture, cuisine, and the arts (notably music).

The three major cities in the region are Tucuman, Salta and Juyjuy, in descending order of size. Of the three, Salta is generally considered the most interesting to visit, due to it's picturesque location and architecture, cultural sophistication, its colonial charm. The real highlights of the region though lie outside of the cities, in the foothills of the Andes and in the mountains themselves, where natural wonders abound, including eighteen thousand foot peaks, salt flats, multicoloured rock formations and, to the east, subtropical jungles. The region's climate can be described as subtropical but mountainous, so that in Salta for example warm sunny days give way to clear, cool nights, but then in late summer a two month rainy season takes over.

Prior to the arrival of the Spanish in South America in the early sixteenth century, the region was the far south-eastern province of the Inca empire governed from Cuzco in Peru, and as such when the conquistadors toppled the Incas it passed into their hands. It took a few decades for the Spaniards to properly explore the area though, and the city of Salta was founded in 1582 by Hernando de Lerma. The region grew in wealth and influence slowly over the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, its fortunes linked to the seemingly bottomless silver mines at Potosi in the north. (At the turn of the eighteenth century. Potosi was the biggest, richest city in the world). Potosi is at an altitude of nearly twelve thousand feet above sea level though, and the lower-lying regions around Salta, Tucuman and Juyjuy to the south were ideally situated to provide food and mules for the mining city. During the independence wars of the early nineteenth century, Salta again played a prominent role, as after Argentina declared independence the loyalists of Peru to the north sent troops to retake it, and arguably the battle of Salta in which they were repelled was one of the key turning points that sealed the outcome of the war leading to the birth of Argentina as an independent nation.

Today, the region continues to be prosperous, thanks to the cultivation of corn, sugar and tobacco, with tourism being the other predominant industry


Exploring the Argentine north west

From Salta, two popular circuits allow tourists to experience the best of the region over just a few days:

The Southern Circuit:
Salta – Cachi – Molinos – Cafayate – Salta
From Salta, a five or six hour drive to the south-west through incredible landscapes leads to Cachi, an oasis of green in the otherwise dry Calchaqui valley. At Cachi tourists enjoy trekking, riding, or just ambling about the town taking in the colonial architecture and laid-back ambience. From Cachi it's a three or four hour drive to Molinos, where you can stay in the last royalist governor of Salta's house and taste wine in the world's highest altitude commercial vineyard at Colome. Another three or four hours on is Cafayate, the region's wine producing town, where the Spaniards introduced the white Torontes grape which later died out in Spain following a blight, leaving Cafayate as its bastion. The return drive to Salta passes such notable rock formations as the Amphitheatre and the Devil's Throat, carved out of the mountains by glaciers and rivers millions of years ago.

The Northern Circuit:
Salta – San Antonio de las Cobres – Salinas grandes – Purmanarca – Salta
Heading north-west out of Salta, the road to San Antonio de las Cobres passes the pre-Incan ruins at Santa Rosa de Tastil, before following the route of the old narrow-gauge railway up to an enormous viaduct at thirteen thousand feet above sea level constructed from steel from Newcastle. North from San Antonio are the Salinas Grandes salt flats, where tourists can drive across endless an endless white sheet, framed by the peaks of the Andes beneath a blemish-less blue sky, before continuing to Purmamarca. Purmamarca, at the foot of the Hill of Seven Colours, is the best base from which to explore the cave paintings and colourful rock formations of the Humahuaca gorge. The following day, on route back to Salta, tourists often stop in Juyjuy to have lunch and a wander.

Hugo Lesser is an Anglo-Chilean-Peruvian based in Salta in north west Argentina. He is the founder of Estados, which sells beautiful leather goods handmade in Argentina. (www.estados.co.uk)