North Authentic

Reconnecting with the transcendental

North Authentic

The natural environment of the Argentine Northwest is among the most wonderful in the world: gorges that represent the portal to the sacred mountains of the Andes, surrounded by an exuberant Yungas jungle and crossed, in the west, by the imposing high-altitude desert that, in Argentina, is called Puna.

This is an adventure journey in which we will explore different corners of the North of Argentina and connect with the land, its landscapes, its history and its culture.
These incredible places are still inhabited by native peoples who preserve their traditions and culture.

It starts towards the South of Salta, with three days of travel visiting the Calchaquí Valleys, its gorges and the region of the “Highest Wineries in the World”. It continues to the North of Salta, crossing the Quebrada del Toro and reaching the desert plateau of the Puna and Salinas Grandes. Then it continue to the Quebrada de Humahuaca in Jujuy Province and to the Eastern Andean Range where it is located the small village of Iruya (Salta). After that it return to Salta vía an incredible path in the Yungas.
A unique experience that includes history, culture, aromas, flavors and human contact.
This experience will reconnect you with the transcendental.

There are too many adventures out there waiting to be lived.

What we will experience

on this journey,

day by day

¿What does the journey include?

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Accommodation at

Estancia Colome
Molinos, Salta
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Finca Valentina
Salta, Capital
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La Merced del Alto
Salta, Capital
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Viñas de Cafayate Wine Resort
Cafayate, Salta
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Testimonios
Ritornati da un viaggio nella puna argentina ....tutto meraviglioso anche grazie allo staff Socompa!!! Agenzia consigliatissima!!! Alla prox.... Rene Jordan
Testimonios
WOW! We had an really great trip with Socompa in the Argentine PUNA region. Johan
Testimonios
Fantástico y emocionante viaje! ¡Ocho días inmersos en la naturaleza con paisajes maravillosos! Mónica
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Please send us an e-mail to info@socompa.com or fill the form

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North Autentic / Day 1

Icono camino de montaña
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Salta | Cuesta del Obispo | Cachi | Molinos | Colomé

Estimated driving time: 5 hs | Distance: 130 km paved road. 70 km gravel road. | Altitude: Highest point 3.500 m. / 11.400 feet.  Molinos 2.020 m. / 6.627 feet | Meals Included​: Dinner

The road between Salta and Molinos is one of the most spectacular routes in the Argentine Northwest. It crosses four different ecosystems, going from a green jungle zone (the Yungas) to a semi-desert zone that characterizes the Calchaquíes Valleys.

33 km. of mountain road will bring us closer to the sky and to Paso de Piedra del Molino at 3,457 meters above sea level.

During the trip, you can see condors flying over the blue sky of the mountain, guanacos and wild donkeys among thousands of cardones, the local species of giant cactus.

We will have time for a walk in the Los Colorados, a small red desert rarely visited, and in the Los Cardones National Park.

Then we will visit the colonial town of Cachi, where the sun shines almost all year round and where El Nevado de Cachi stands out, which is more than 6000 meters high. We will have time to relax under the shade of a cozy Molle in the middle of the town.

Then we will continue to Molinos.

We will spend the night in Estancia Colomé.

NATURALEZA | CULTURA | RELAX

CARGAR FOTOS CORRECTAS
CARGAR FOTOS CORRECTAS
a beautiful estancia and wine cellar, also includes a light museum.
a beautiful estancia and wine cellar, also includes a light museum.
Old church, traditional construction of the period
Cachi Salta
beautiful landscape full of colors and textures
Cuesta del Obispo, Salta
Grate landscape, full of cardons
Cuesta del Obispo, Salta
mountain road, breathtaking landscape
Cuesta del Obispo, Salta
Green landscape, full of cardons
National Park, Los Cardones, Salta
Ancient millstone
Mill Stone, Salta
mountain road, breathtaking landscape
Cuesta del Obispo, Salta
Day 2 >

North Autentic / Day 2

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Molinos | Angastaco | Quebrada de las Flechas | Cafayate | Sunset in Quebrada de las Conchas | Cafayate

Estimated driving time: 5 hs | Distance: 100 km paved road. 90 km gravel road. | Altitude: Highest point 2.300 m./ 7.546 f. Cafayate 1.683 m. / 5.522 f. | Meals Included: breakfast

From Colomé to Cafayate the road is all gravel and crosses small towns populated by local winemakers and farmers.

We will drive across the Quebrada de las Flechas, a desert of quartz dust mixed with the silt of an ancient lake, eroded by the Andes wind that gave rise to geometric shapes similar to arrowheads.

After this we will arrive at Cafayate, the Capital of the Wine Region. It is the second wine-producing town in Argentina, but the first in the world due to the height of its vineyards that flourish at 3,000 m.

At sunset we will explore the first part of the Quebrada de las Conchas.

Night in Cafayate.

HISTORIA | NATURALEZA | CULTURA | SABORES

Colome Salta
Colome Salta
Estancia Colome
Estancia Colome
old church, traditional construction of the period
Molinos
Quebrada de las conchas, beautiful and colorful mountains
Quebrada de las Conchas
Quebrada de las conchas
Quebrada de las conchas
road between mountains arid terrain
Quebrada de las Flechas
people admiring the open-air terrain between mountains
Quebrada de las Flechas
Quebrada de las Flechas
Quebrada de las Flechas
< Day 1
Day 3 >

North Autentic / Day 3

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Cafayate | Ruinas de Quilmes | Quebrada de las Conchas | Salta

Driving time: 5 hs | Distance: 270 km paved road. | Altitude: Highest point 1.850 m./ 6.070 feet. Salta 1.200 m. / 3.937 feet | Meals Included: Breakfast

With an early start, we will drive in direction to Antofagasta de la Sierra as we enter the región of Real Grande (4050 meters), where traces of the first settlements of the Puna can be found in ancient petroglyphs dated to the year 10000 B.P. This point is also the entrance to the Cerro Galán Caldera from the Northwest.

Cerro Galán is the largest volcanic caldera in the Andes Mountains and one of the largest in the world. Its dimensions are 34 km from north to south and 24 km from east to west, and it is the result of an extreme plinian eruption that occurred 2.2 million years ago. 

Its identification as a volcanic caldera was made using satellite photographs, since its elliptical shape is too large to be appreciated from the ground. Its walls reach 5,000 meters of altitude and the central peak 5,912 meters, while its floor is at 4,500 meters of altitude. At its southwestern ende, the Caldera contains a lake known as Laguna Diamante, which is home to flamingos and ducks, which are protected from the wind and this extremely harsh environment, by the walls of the caldera.

Our path will lead us to another high altitude Andean lake known as Laguna Grande Reserve, a saline lake located at an altitude of 4150 meters. During winter, the water freezes completely, but when spring arrives, it becomes the largest gathering center of the Puna flamingo birds, also called Small Parina (Phoenicopterus jamesi), with more than 19,000 birds (25% of the known total population). In summer, it is also a meeting place for the Andean flamingo (Phoenicopterus andinus) and it is a common nesting site of Southern flamenco (Phoenicopterus chilensis). 

We will drive back to El Peñón with the perfect warm light of sunset.

Night at the Hostería de Altura El Peñón.

HISTORY | NATURE | CULTURE | RELAX

Quebrada de las conchas
Quebrada de las conchas
Road between beautiful and colorful mountains
Road between beautiful and colorful mountains
Quebrada de las conchas, beautiful and colorful mountains
Quebrada de las conchas, beautiful and colorful mountains
Quebrada de las conchas, beautiful and colorful mountains
Quebrada de las conchas, beautiful and colorful mountains
Quebrada de las conchas, beautiful and colorful mountains
Quebrada de las conchas
beautiful and colorful mountains
Quebrada de las conchas, beautiful and colorful mountains
Finca Valentina - Socompa Adventure Travel
finca valentina habitacion cama
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Finca Valentina - Socompa Adventure Travel
< Day 2
Day 4 >

North Autentic / Day 4

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Salta | Quebrada del Toro | San Antonio de los Cobres | Salinas Grandes | Purmamarca

Driving time: 6 hs | Distance: 142 km asphalt and 179 km gravel | Altitude: maximum 4,170 m. Purmamarca 2,192 m. | Meals Included: Breakfast

We will start the tour through the Quebrada del Toro, the same one where the route of the Train of the
Clouds.

We will visit the mining town of San Antonio de los Cobres, which is the gateway to the Puna: the desert plateau that lies in the heart of the Andes.

Lunch is in San Antonio and we will visit Salinas Grandes, a white desert at 3650 meters, where the blue sky stands out against the immaculate white of the Salinas. 100 km long on a salt plain, with a depth of hundreds of meters.

At sunset we will descend to the eastern mountain range through the Lipán Pass, traveling a 33 km slope of curves towards Purmamarca where we will spend the night.

Lodging in Purmamarca.

HISTORY | NATURE | CULTURE

panoramic route through the mountains
Quebrada del toro
02 quebrada del toro1
Seven different colors in one mountain
Quebrada de Humahuaca, Jujuy
small village in the mountains, handcrafted regional products
Purmamarca, Jujuy
Small village in the mountains, handcrafted regional products
Purmamarca, Jujuy
small village in the mountains, handcrafted regional products
Purmamarca, Jujuy
an extensive view of a road between hills
Cuesta de Lipan
An extensive view of hills
Cuesta de Lipan
sunset on the salt flats
sunset on the salt flats
small lagoon in the salt flats
Salinas Grandes, Jujuy
< Day 3
Day 5 >

North Autentic / Day 5

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Purmamarca | Tilcara | Uquía | Hornocal | Iruya

Driving time: 5 hs | Distance: 93 km asphalt. 119 km gravel. | Altitude: maximum 4,300 m. Iruya 2,780 m. | Meals Included: Breakfast

The Quebrada de Humahuaca is an extensive valley of more than 160 km, declared a World Heritage Site for its nature, its history and its anthropological importance.

La Quebrada is known for its small and old colonial towns, a semi-desert nature rich in Cardones (indigenous cacti), several pre-Inca archaeological sites, and the Cerro de los 7 Colores, heart of a huge archaeological site.
sedimentary surface that emerged after the elevation of the Andes Mountains and is famous for its almost infinite series of red and brown strata, produced by the oxidation of the abundant mineral deposits in the area.

We will have time to visit the Serranía de Hornocal, a special place to take the best photographs of one of the most colorful mountains in the world (known as the hill of 14 colors).

After Humahuaca, almost on the border with Bolivia, we continue along a gravel road until we reach the Paso de Cóndor at 4,000 meters, which has spectacular views of the Cordillera Oriental.

Finally we arrive at the small and almost lost town of Iruya in the middle of the Andes.

​Overnight in Iruya.

​HISTORY | NATURE | CULTURE

Seven different colors in one mountain
Quebrada de Humahuaca
Cerro de los 7 colores, Jujuy
Cerro de los 7 colores, Jujuy
close colorful hills, beautiful landscape
Purmamarca, Jujuy
a colorful mountain range in the distance
Hornocal, Jujuy
a colorful mountain range in the distance
Hornocal, Jujuy
a colorful mountain range in the distance
Hornocal, Jujuy
Iruya, Salta
Iruya, Salta
< Day 4
Day 6 >

North Autentic / Day 6

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Iruya | Humahuaca | Volcan | Ruta 9 | Salta

Driving time: 6 hs | Distance: 260 km asphalt. 50 km gravel. | Altitude: Maximum 4,000 m. Jump 1,200m. | Meals Included: Breakfast

In the morning we will visit the town of Iruya and then the eastern part of the Iruya valley with its
small towns, under the beautiful Cerro Morado.

Back in the Quebrada de Humahuaca, we will have time to visit Uquía and its Quebrada de las Señoritas. La Quebrada is almost 3,000 meters high, just off the Tropic of Capricorn.

It is a valley that, even today, is used by the local population to carry out ritual ceremonies. It’s amazing because the wind and water sculpted a Clay Mountain creating thousands of little statues that look like young ladies.

Further on, we will come across Volcán, known for its unique craft market.

Lastly, Route 9, a mountain route, will take us back to Salta crossing the mountain jungle known locally as “Yungas”.

​HISTORY | NATURE | CULTURE

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Iruya, Salta
Iruya, Salta
Iruya, Salta
Iruya, Salta
Iruya, Salta
people walking on an arid stone landscape
Uquia, Quebrada de las Señoritas
one people walking on an arid stone landscape
Uquia, Quebrada de las Señoritas
Arid stone landscape
Uquia, Quebrada de las Señoritas
Uquia, Quebrada de las Señoritas
Uquia, Quebrada de las Señoritas
Arid stone landscape
Uquia, Quebrada de las Señoritas
Ruta 9, Salta - Jujuy
Ruta 9, Salta - Jujuy
< Day 5