Salta, at the foot of the Andes with its patchwork of streets, is the northernmost major town in Argentina. It is famous for its colonial heritage and is the departure point for the ‘Train to the Clouds’, a legendary journey up into the cordillera.

Although Salta is located at the northernmost point of the country at an altitude of over 1000 metres, it is nonetheless one of the foremost tourist destinations in Argentina. The town’s colonial past goes a large way to explaining its popularity and Salta proudly displays its architectural heritage. The Cabildo, the oldest colonial building in the city, is home to two important museums, the Museum of the History of the North and the Colonial and Fine Arts Museum. There are two other religious buildings highly prized by visiting tourists: the cathedral and the church of San Francisco. The former stands out with its rose façade and rich baroque decoration, typical of Spanish architecture. The second is the tourist showcase of Salta with its red façade and walls set against a neoclassical design. While the town is noted for its religious fervour, it also boasts a lively pagan element. It has an active cultural centre and its theatres and ‘peñas’ give it a festive atmosphere both day and night. If you want a full view of this tiny metropolis, there’s nothing like an excursion by cable car to San Bernardo hill. It towers over the city and its valley from a height of 200 metres... and makes you want to go higher still! And you can do just that with the Tren de las Nubes (Train to the Clouds), a small, local tourist train which climbs up into the Andes from Salta to almost 4000 metres and then continues on into Chile.