San Antonio of the Cobres (Shared Service)

General information

Destination	Category
Salta, Argentina	Sightseeing Tours

Program details

Stand with your head in the clouds on this fantastic day trip to San Antonio de los Cobres, a typical dusty mining town in the beautiful Argentinian Andes. From Salta, follow the route of the ‘Train to the Clouds’ railway track into this vast and untamed landscape, where you'll experience the lonely grandeur of the mountains, where traditional people still eke out a living from the thin soil.

At the gorge of the bulls, Quebrada del Toro, the dense vegetation begins to give way until you spot your first cardones, the huge cartoonish cacti that dominate this rocky country. Cross several viaducts and bridges such as The Bull, Alisal and Chorrillo, passing through small mountain villages such as El Candado, El Gólgota and Alfarcito, where white Spanish churches and old adobe buildings house small farming communities.

Reach Santa Rosa de Tastil, and visit the village, the archaeological museum and the ancient pre-Incan ruins where housing and streets can still be clearly seen. Continue through Finca La Encrucijada, to ascend the face of Muñano Cliff and arrive at Abra Blanca, at more than 4,000 metres above sea level, where the area is so thin that the locals have the largest lung capacity in the world. Finally, stop at the small mining town of San Antonio de los Cobres, and visit the Polvorilla Viaduct, an incredible rickety steel structure rising 63 metres above the valley floor. Return to Salta with your head whirling with images of this desolate and beautiful land.

Meeting/pick-up point: Pick-up from the hotel.
Duration: Full day.
Start/opening time: 7am.
Languages: Shared tour in Spanish, private tour in Spanish or English.
Others:Altitudes may affect guests. Not recommended for people with heart conditions or pregnant women.