The Essence of Northern Argentina

Argentina's northwest is a land of impossible colours — ochre canyons, seven-hued hills, blinding white salt flats, and endless vineyards ripening under the highest desert sun on earth — and this 8-day journey traces the very best of it at your own pace, with your own driver and a local team handling every detail. Base yourself in the colonial city of Salta, framed by green hills and steeped in Andean tradition, then set out on a week of unforgettable drives. Wind south through 83 kilometres of wind-sculpted red rock in the Quebrada de las Conchas to the vineyards of Cafayate, where high-altitude Torrontés and Malbec are poured over lunch at a traditional bodega. Climb the spectacular Cuesta del Obispo into Los Cardones National Park, where giant cacti line the arrow-straight Recta del Tin Tin on the way to colonial Cachi. Stand beneath Purmamarca's Hill of Seven Colours, then cross the dramatic Cuesta de Lipán to the Salinas Grandes — 21,000 hectares of dazzling salt flats and mirror-bright lagoons. Follow the UNESCO-listed Quebrada de Humahuaca, inhabited for 10,000 years, through the villages of Tilcara, Huacalera, Uquía, and Humahuaca, before closing with a horseback ride through the hills near Salta, a three-course regional lunch with wine and live folk music, or a hands-on cooking experience with a local chef. This is northwest Argentina at its most complete: colonial cities and Andean villages, world-class wine and otherworldly landscapes, all at the unhurried pace of the journey.