On your way to San Antonio de los Cobres you visit aboriginal ruins and impressive railway engineering works. The high and deserted environment of Puna region and Salinas Grandes salt lake displays a rough and deep beauty.

In the afternoon you arrive to Purmamarca, at the foot of the Seven Colors Hill –Cerro de los Siete Colores.

You spend the day exploring the beautiful gorge -its adobe villages, silent valleys, colorful markets, pre-hispanic remains and hidden corners.

Scenic drive to Salta via La Caldera. The mountain road cuts through the jungle offering great panoramic views of the lush vegetation.

Rental car drop off at Salta Airport.

The winding mountain road finds its way up the impressive Cuesta del Obispo and through Los Cardones National Park and leads you to Cachi. The picturesque town presents cobbled streets with high sidewalks and a quaint church.

A few km from Cachi, Colomé Wine Estate has some of the earliest high mountain vineyards -dating back to colonial times- and hosts the distinguished James Turrell museum.

You then drive past picturesque settlements and small agricultural communities where alfalfa, potatoes, onions and chili peppers are cultivated by the means of old traditional irrigation systems and arrive to Cafayate.

Situated at 1700 m above sea level, Cafayate is one of the most important wine production areas in Argentina.

You visit the Wine Museum, local bodegas and vineyards and enjoy the peaceful surrounding of the Calchaquies valleys. The beautiful hollows produced by eolic erosion on the rocky formations of Quebrada de las Conchas hold religious significance for prehispanic and local cultures and can be visited as well.

Quilmes was the largest, bravest and most advanced pre-hispanic civilization in Northwest Argentina. El Shincal, on its side, is said to be the most important center of the South of the Inca Empire (Collasuyo). You visit both archaeological sites on your way to Tingoasta Town and Puna region.

Scenic drive to Las Grutas, on the Chilean border. The road ascends to 4020 m between soft, colorful mountains spotted with vicuñas, lagoons and hot springs. The high puna scenery hosts the highest volcanoes on Earth, including Ojos del Salado (6879 m), Incahuasi (6621 m) and San Francisco (6016 m).

Tinogasta is part of the “Adobe Route”, with old and picturesque adobe churches and houses. You drive South to Chilecito, where you visit the remains of La Mejicana mine station from 1905. The 35 km-long structure went from 1100 to 5000 m.a.s.l. and was one of the finest works of engineering of its time.

Cuesta de Miranda snakes across a mountain range of intense reds and greens with spectacular views and gets you to Villa Unión.

Located at 4300 m above sea level and framed by solemn volcanoes, the nature reserve of Laguna Brava forms part of the southernmost portion of the High Puna ecosystem and shelters a variety of migratory birds as well as native camelids (vicuñas and guanacos) and other endemic species, such as the suri or ñandú, foxes, puma and the Andean condor.

In the depths of Talampaya you explore the wonderful Rainbow canyon and hike along a gigantic tectonic depression in search of the “lost city”, that invites to explore its squares, avenues, amphitheaters and labyrinths. Talampaya Canyon, on its side, has vertical walls and bizarre rock formations.

In the afternoon you continue to El Chiflón. The hotel offers interesting hiking trails.

You explore the desert badlands of Ischigualasto, also known as “Moon Valley” for its pale colors and earthy textures, and continue to Barreal.

Day drive around Barreal region. You drive along scenic Río de los Patos to the foot of Mt Mercedario. In the afternoon, you visit “Pampa del Leoncito”, a barren area used for landyachting. In the evening, El Leoncito National Park Observatory offers a guided star observation to enjoy the southern hemisphere skies.

On your way to Mendoza City you visit Puente del Inca, a mineral structure forming a natural bridge over the river, and get to the lookout point of the 6,959 m high Aconcagua – “stone sentinel” in the aboriginal Huarpe language.