What is now the northwest of Argentina was once part of the viceroy of Peru. During the time of Spanish imperialism the city of Salta was founded. It was founded by Hernando de Lerma, a Spanish conquistador, in 1582. His goal was to build an outpost that could be used to facilitate trade and communication between Lima and Buenos Aires. The city gained great significance during the war of independence. The city was a stronghold for the revolutionaries and was successfully defended by Martín Miguel de Güemes and José de San Martín. Güemes is an iconic figure of the revolution especially in Salta, while San Martín is considered the father of the country and hailed throughout Argentina as its principal liberator.
The city today draws many visitors because of its colonial architecture, museums, proximity to natural beauty, and abundance of outdoor activities. Another plus to the city is its size. Since it is the largest city in the province of Salta, it is big enough to satisfy travelers’ desire for night life and has a variety of eateries to choose from.
The top things to do are visit the Cabildo, check out the MAAM museum, take the cable car up Cerro San Bernardo, go inside the old churches such as the Iglesia San Francisco, and book a ride on the Tren a Las Nubes. We covered the main sites in town. Unfortunately, the Tren a Las Nubes was completely booked the days we were in Salta. Thus, make sure you make a reservation well in advance. I wish we could have done it, but saving the 120 USD has its own benefit as well. Tren a Las Nubes means Train to the Clouds. It is a train that takes you to 4,220 meters above sea level to La Povorilla. The train tracks are impressively engineered especially considering they were constructed in the 1920’s to service the local Borax mines. It is now one of the highest train tracks in the world and considered one of the more dangerous. The views it offers are said to be stunning. At such a high altitude some experience altitude sickness, but fortunately the train staff have coca leaves and tea at hand to help combat its effects. Budget a full day because the train leaves early in the morning and returns to Salta around 11 pm.
The main plaza, Plaza 9 de Julio, is a good place to start. We visited the Cabildo or old town hall built in 1783. You will find these old administrative buildings built by the Spanish in many of Argentina’s cities and towns. They all seem to have the same basic adobe arched structure. The Cabildo now houses a museum, but for English speakers the building itself is the main attraction. Our favorite sight in town was the MAAM museum or El Museo de Arqueología de Alta Montaña. The museum nicely discusses the archeological finds of the region and even has preserved remains of three Inca children who were sacrificed at the peak of Mount Llullaillaco. The degree to which the remains are preserved is phenomenal. We spent a good 5 minutes with our noses up against the glass taking in the sight of the skin, hair, and clothes of a child over 400 years old. Even one of the earlobes was visible! The displays clearly explained in both English and Spanish the Incans’ sacrifice of chosen noble children in the celebration of the capacocha. They were selected from various towns throughout the empire and brought to Cusco for large ceremonial weddings. These weddings between high born children from different regions were performed to build strong diplomatic ties between even the farthest reaches of the empire. After the festivities, the children were given an alcoholic beverage and buried alive along with troves of silver and gold statuettes. The Incas believed that these children would be reunited with their ancestors in the afterlife and that it was a great honor to be selected. I for one wouldn’t have wanted the honor and am completely ok being a commoner. I will write a brief history of the Incas in a future post.
We took the cable car (100 pesos round trip) up Cerro San Bernardo. It was nice, but I enjoyed it more for the company I was with than the place itself. It is just a hill overlooking the city. If you want to take in the view, get some exercise and walk up the 1070 steps.
The two things I enjoyed the most were the hostel we stayed in and the peña, La Casona del Molino, where we dined. One of the things that Salta is famous for are its restaurants that feature live and very personalized folklore music called peñas. La Casona del Molino had been recommended to Nico by several friends and I am glad it was. It was a bit outside of the city center and thus was less touristy. The establishment had a large courtyard with candle laden tables surrounding a large tree and a strong scent of grilled meat coming from the back corner where food was being prepared on the parrilla. Inside there were at least three rooms of more tables. Luckily we got there early on Argentinian standards, 9 pm, because the whole place was booked. The menu included local traditional dishes such as empanadas (small dough pockets filled with meat, cheese, vegetables, or quinoa and then fried or baked), humita en chala, tamales, locro, picante de pollo, picante de lengua, cazuela de cabrito, carbonada, and several dishes with llama meat. We ordered cazuela de cabrito, a stew with meat from a small local animal, and dulce de cayote for dessert (a jam served with cheese, figs, and nuts). Half way through our meal, groups of musicians began to join tables and play up close and personal for small parties of diners. I love the atmosphere this form of performance creates. Instead of having one band playing at the front of a large hall, there was a unique conglomeration of musicians filling the property with a variety of sounds coming from every niche. We finished our bottle of Cafayate wine and called it an absurdly early night compared to our fellow guests. I was yawning and falling asleep at 11pm while all the guests in their 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s were just gearing up for a night of music. One man even asked Nico why we were leaving so soon. All Nico had to do was point at me and say, “Ella esta durmiendo.”
As for our hostel, Hostal Jorge I, it was memorable mainly because we were the only guests there and so the hostel owner invited us to join his friends for an asado in honor of one of their birthdays. It was a large gregarious group. The birthday boy joked around with me in English and when he gave each guest a nickname, he gave Nico the name Nicholas Cage and I was Kristin Obama. The evening was filled with laughter and the food was excellent. The next day we had an early morning pick up to head south for the towns of Cachi and Cafayate.
The city today draws many visitors because of its colonial architecture, museums, proximity to natural beauty, and abundance of outdoor activities. Another plus to the city is its size. Since it is the largest city in the province of Salta, it is big enough to satisfy travelers’ desire for night life and has a variety of eateries to choose from.
The top things to do are visit the Cabildo, check out the MAAM museum, take the cable car up Cerro San Bernardo, go inside the old churches such as the Iglesia San Francisco, and book a ride on the Tren a Las Nubes. We covered the main sites in town. Unfortunately, the Tren a Las Nubes was completely booked the days we were in Salta. Thus, make sure you make a reservation well in advance. I wish we could have done it, but saving the 120 USD has its own benefit as well. Tren a Las Nubes means Train to the Clouds. It is a train that takes you to 4,220 meters above sea level to La Povorilla. The train tracks are impressively engineered especially considering they were constructed in the 1920’s to service the local Borax mines. It is now one of the highest train tracks in the world and considered one of the more dangerous. The views it offers are said to be stunning. At such a high altitude some experience altitude sickness, but fortunately the train staff have coca leaves and tea at hand to help combat its effects. Budget a full day because the train leaves early in the morning and returns to Salta around 11 pm.
The main plaza, Plaza 9 de Julio, is a good place to start. We visited the Cabildo or old town hall built in 1783. You will find these old administrative buildings built by the Spanish in many of Argentina’s cities and towns. They all seem to have the same basic adobe arched structure. The Cabildo now houses a museum, but for English speakers the building itself is the main attraction. Our favorite sight in town was the MAAM museum or El Museo de Arqueología de Alta Montaña. The museum nicely discusses the archeological finds of the region and even has preserved remains of three Inca children who were sacrificed at the peak of Mount Llullaillaco. The degree to which the remains are preserved is phenomenal. We spent a good 5 minutes with our noses up against the glass taking in the sight of the skin, hair, and clothes of a child over 400 years old. Even one of the earlobes was visible! The displays clearly explained in both English and Spanish the Incans’ sacrifice of chosen noble children in the celebration of the capacocha. They were selected from various towns throughout the empire and brought to Cusco for large ceremonial weddings. These weddings between high born children from different regions were performed to build strong diplomatic ties between even the farthest reaches of the empire. After the festivities, the children were given an alcoholic beverage and buried alive along with troves of silver and gold statuettes. The Incas believed that these children would be reunited with their ancestors in the afterlife and that it was a great honor to be selected. I for one wouldn’t have wanted the honor and am completely ok being a commoner. I will write a brief history of the Incas in a future post.
We took the cable car (100 pesos round trip) up Cerro San Bernardo. It was nice, but I enjoyed it more for the company I was with than the place itself. It is just a hill overlooking the city. If you want to take in the view, get some exercise and walk up the 1070 steps.
The two things I enjoyed the most were the hostel we stayed in and the peña, La Casona del Molino, where we dined. One of the things that Salta is famous for are its restaurants that feature live and very personalized folklore music called peñas. La Casona del Molino had been recommended to Nico by several friends and I am glad it was. It was a bit outside of the city center and thus was less touristy. The establishment had a large courtyard with candle laden tables surrounding a large tree and a strong scent of grilled meat coming from the back corner where food was being prepared on the parrilla. Inside there were at least three rooms of more tables. Luckily we got there early on Argentinian standards, 9 pm, because the whole place was booked. The menu included local traditional dishes such as empanadas (small dough pockets filled with meat, cheese, vegetables, or quinoa and then fried or baked), humita en chala, tamales, locro, picante de pollo, picante de lengua, cazuela de cabrito, carbonada, and several dishes with llama meat. We ordered cazuela de cabrito, a stew with meat from a small local animal, and dulce de cayote for dessert (a jam served with cheese, figs, and nuts). Half way through our meal, groups of musicians began to join tables and play up close and personal for small parties of diners. I love the atmosphere this form of performance creates. Instead of having one band playing at the front of a large hall, there was a unique conglomeration of musicians filling the property with a variety of sounds coming from every niche. We finished our bottle of Cafayate wine and called it an absurdly early night compared to our fellow guests. I was yawning and falling asleep at 11pm while all the guests in their 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s were just gearing up for a night of music. One man even asked Nico why we were leaving so soon. All Nico had to do was point at me and say, “Ella esta durmiendo.”
As for our hostel, Hostal Jorge I, it was memorable mainly because we were the only guests there and so the hostel owner invited us to join his friends for an asado in honor of one of their birthdays. It was a large gregarious group. The birthday boy joked around with me in English and when he gave each guest a nickname, he gave Nico the name Nicholas Cage and I was Kristin Obama. The evening was filled with laughter and the food was excellent. The next day we had an early morning pick up to head south for the towns of Cachi and Cafayate.