4-Day Salta Tour: Cafayate, Cachi, Humahuaca & Salinas Grandes

You pick which four days you go, and they don't have to be consecutive.

A 4-day tour package from Salta covering four separate full-day excursions to Cafayate, Cachi, Humahuaca and Salinas Grandes, each departing and returning to Salta the same day. You choose which dates work for your schedule. The days can be spread across your stay with rest days in between. All transport, guide and entry fees are included. Air-conditioned vehicle throughout.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1: Cafayate excursion and wine tasting

• Depart Salta via National Road 68
• Cross Las Conchas gorge
• Visit natural formations in Quebrada de las Conchas
• Visit Cafayate town
• Tour a winery and taste wines
• Free time for lunch and exploration in Cafayate
• Return to Salta via Quebrada de las Conchas
• Technical stop in La Viña or Talapampa

Day 2: Cachi and mountain landscapes

• Depart Salta through Lerma Valley
• Technical stops for bathroom and snacks
• Ascend Quebrada del Escoipe
• Cross Cuesta del Obispo and Valle Encantado
• Pass Piedra del Molino and Los Cardones National Park
• Visit grocers and pepper drying town
• Arrive in Cachi for lunch and town tour
• Return to Salta with technical stop in Chicoana or El Carril

Day 3: Humahuaca and colorful mountains

• Depart Salta to San Salvador de Jujuy
• Technical stops for bathroom and snacks
• Visit Hill of Seven Colors
• Visit Tilcara and Pucará de Tilcara ruins
• Visit town church and ceramic factory
• Free time in La Quebrada for lunch and tour
• Photographic visit to Painter's Palettes
• Photographic visit to Tropic of Capricorn
• Return to Salta with technical stops

Day 4: Salinas Grandes and Purmamarca

• Depart Salta via RN 9 and RN 34
• Pass through Yala, Volcán, and Purmamarca
• Technical stop for bathroom and snacks
• Panoramic photo stop at Purmamarca
• Drive Cuesta de Lipán at 4,170 meters
• Visit Salinas Grandes salt flats
• Return to Purmamarca for lunch and town tour
• Return to Salta with technical stops

The experience

The tour spreads across four different days so you're not locked into back-to-back travel. Each excursion is a full day starting and ending in Salta, which means you can slot them around other plans or take a break between them. You need at least four full days in Salta to book the pack, but the dates are yours to arrange.

Day one goes to Cafayate through the Quebrada de las Conchas, a gorge carved by wind and water into formations with names like the Devil's Throat, the Amphitheater and the Castles. You stop at more than ten of these rock formations on the way down, then spend two free hours in Cafayate itself (a colonial town of one-story adobe houses) before visiting a winery to taste Torrontés, Malbec or Cabernet Sauvignon. Lunch and drinks are on you, but the winery visit is included.

Cachi takes you up the Quebrada de Escoipe and over the Cuesta del Obispo, a steep mountain pass that climbs past Piedra del Molino at 3,400 meters and crosses Los Cardones National Park, where tall cardón cacti dot the slopes. The town itself sits in a high valley and feels frozen in time: cobbled streets, adobe houses, and two free hours to walk the ten-by-ten-block center and eat regional food. Humahuaca covers the ravine towns: Purmamarca with its Hill of Seven Colors, Tilcara with its pre-Inca ruins, and Humahuaca itself, plus a stop at the Painter's Palettes and the Tropic of Capricorn line. Salinas Grandes, the final excursion, climbs the winding Cuesta de Lipán to 4,170 meters and opens onto the third-largest salt flat in Latin America, where you get 45 minutes to an hour walking the pools and salt sculptures before heading back through Purmamarca for two more free hours.

The guide speaks English or Spanish. Pickup from your Salta hotel is included, and the vehicle is air-conditioned throughout. Technical stops for bathrooms and snacks happen along each route. Lunch and drinks are not included except at the winery tasting.

What’s included

• Air-conditioned vehicle for all four days.
• live guide in English or Spanish.
• hotel pickup in Salta.
• entry to Los Cardones National Park, Salinas Grandes and all towns and sites listed.
• winery tasting in Cafayate.
• all fees and taxes.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDeparts at 07:00

AgesAdult (4 and older) · Infant (under 4): free

Live guideEnglish and Spanish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated 28 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effortPublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by La Quebrada Turismo

Is this one for you?The guide speaks English or Spanish, so you follow comfortably in whichever language you choose. The four days are yours to schedule, which works best if you want to rest between excursions or mix them with other plans rather than travel four days straight.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English and Spanish.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Infant (under 4): free.

What happens if it rains?

It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.

Can I choose any four days I want for these excursions, or do they have to be in order?

You pick the dates yourself. The four days don't have to be consecutive. You can space them out with rest days in between, as long as you have at least four full days in Salta to complete the pack.

What exactly happens in the Quebrada de las Conchas on the Cafayate day?

The Quebrada de las Conchas is a gorge with more than ten rock formations shaped by erosion, including the Devil's Throat (a deep closed canyon), the Amphitheater (with natural acoustics), the Toad, the Friar, the Obelisk and the Castles. You stop at each one on the drive down to Cafayate, then return through the same route on the way back, hitting any stops you missed on the outward journey.

Do I get to taste wine at the Cafayate winery, and what's included?

Yes, the winery visit and tasting are included in the Cafayate day. The region is known for Torrontés, but the wineries also grow Malbec, Tannat and Cabernet Sauvignon. You'll have two free hours in Cafayate town for lunch (not included) before or after the tasting.

How high does the Salinas Grandes excursion go, and how much time do I spend at the salt flat itself?

The Cuesta de Lipán climbs to 4,170 meters above sea level on a winding mountain road. At Salinas Grandes, the third-largest salt flat in Latin America, you get 45 minutes to an hour free to walk the salt pools, see sculptures and take photos before returning to Purmamarca.

What's the difference between Cachi and the other towns on the Humahuaca day?

Cachi is a separate full-day excursion on its own, reached by climbing the steep Cuesta del Obispo and crossing Los Cardones National Park. Humahuaca is a different day that covers the ravine towns (Purmamarca, Tilcara, Humahuaca and others) at lower elevation. Cachi feels more remote and sits in a high valley. Humahuaca is a longer drive through multiple towns and landscape changes.

Are there bathroom stops on these long drives?

Yes, technical stops for bathrooms and snacks are built into each route. On the Cafayate day there's a stop in La Viña or Talapampa before returning to Salta; on Cachi there's one in Chicoana or El Carril; and on both Humahuaca and Salinas Grandes there are stops along the way.