If you are backpacking between Bolivia and Argentina, or even if you are just visiting Buenos Aires for an extended time, you should try to spend one to two weeks traveling around the cities, small towns, and open spaces of Salta and Jujuy, the two northwest provinces of Argentina that border Bolivia and Paraguay.

An ideal itinerary would be to start in Salta, do some day trips from there, then go to San Salvador de Jujuy, and then travel to the small towns in the Quebrada del Toto. From Buenos Aires, you can either take an overnight bus (18 hours) or fly to Salta, the capital city of Salta Province. You could spend one or two days seeing the unique colonial and modern architecture and enjoying cultural activities and delicious food in this small city. Using Salta as a travel hub, you can spend two or three days visiting nearby towns, which are hidden among beautiful hills and valleys. The best of the bunch are Cachi, a quiet and picturesque town, and Cafayate, the north's wine-producing center. After Salta, you move to San Salvador de Jujuy, which is known as the most Andean city in Argentina, due to its large indigenous Aymara and immigrant Bolivian populations. S. Salvador is your jumping-off point to visit the tiny indigenous towns of Purmamarca, Tilcara, and Humahuaca, which take you close to the border with Bolivia. If you have time, from Humamarca there is a bus that takes you to Iruya, an amazing place in the middle of the mountains. If you are continuing to Bolivia, you can go from Humamarca, or you can return directly to Buenos Aires on a bus or to Salta for your flight back to BA.

Mountains, wineries, folkloric music and dance, and delicious local foods are all reasons why traveling in northern Argentina is pleasurable, relaxing, and interesting. Even if you just have four days to travel, it is worth taking a trip here from Buenos Aires if you want to experience Argentina outside of the capital city.

How to get there
You can take a bus or a plane to get to Salta Capital. The first option is obviously the cheaper one, and many of the buses are very comfortable and safe as well. If you choose a well-known bus company like FlechaBus, you will pay $160 ARG one-way (about $55 US) for a semi-cama, or $230 ARG one-way (about $76 US) for a plush full cama which is somewhat easier for falling asleep in, and also gives you more personal space between the seats. The buses serve food, and you are guaranteed a proper meal with a beverage, an appetizer, and a hot dish. It's about on par with airline food in terms of quality. There's a bathroom on the bus, too. The ride takes about 18 hours from Buenos Aires to Salta Capital.

If you want to fly, there are a number of daily charter flights from the Buenos Aires local airport going to Salta. It will cost you about $285 US, and you should reserve it a f ew days in advance with a travel agent in Buenos Aires.

Planning your trip through Salta and Jujuy: relaxation, exploration, and great local food.

Salta has a wonderful tourism office in the city center (located at Buenos Aires 93, open Monday through Friday 8 am to 9 am, Saturday and Sunday 9 am to 8 pm, or call (0387) 431-0950) that will be happy to explain to you about the area's offerings. The best thing to do is plan to spend between three and four days in the area, and when you arrive you can determine your activities and travel plans to the surrounding attractions. The city has all of the basic merchandise you would find in Buenos Aires, such as film, sunblock, hats, and personal hygiene items, but at slightly higher prices.

In San Salvador de Jujuy, the tourist office is located at the bus terminal, so you can drop by and get maps of the region when you arrive. Again, the tourist office is very helpful and provides you with suggestions as to how much time you need to visit each of the towns in the famous Quebrada.
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Beautiful colonial architecture, museums, and tours of nature or small towns.
In Salta you can walk almost anywhere, and if you bring a map you won't get lost. The city is a nice place to view architecture, museums and presentations of folkloric music and dance. It's also good for eating famous northern Argentine cuisine. The main plaza, Plaza 9 de Julio, is Salta's prime attraction, with its well-preserved Italian Neoclassical church dating from 1882, plenty of benches and trees to relax, and touristy cafes serving somewhat overpriced food and drinks. A fifteen-minute walk away from the plaza is the Cerro San Bernardo, a hill that you can rise up by taking a teleferico (cable car, $12 ARG) or by a thirty-minute hike up stairs . At the top there are spots to look out over the city and the surrounding hills, and there is also a café where you can have a coffee. Near the plaza is the Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes which is placed in an immaculately restored nineteenth-century house. The museum is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 12:30 pm and 4:30 pm to 8:30 pm, and Saturdays from 8:30 am to 7 pm. Its collection ranges from paintings from colonial times in Cusco, Peru to modern sculptures. Salta also has an acclaimed Museo Antropologico, located at Ejercito del Norte and Polo Sur, open Monday through Friday from 8 am to 1 pm and 2 pm to 6 pm, and Sundays from 10 am to 1 pm. If you are interested in doing excursions in the countryside on horseback, on foot with a guide, or in a 4WD, you can ask in the tourist office or at your hostel about organized tours. They will run you at least $80 ARG per day, depending on what the activity is. A good hostel that runs such excursions is    Las Rejas - Hostel - B & B

Unique local cuisine
For really good northern Argentine cuisine in Salta, venture off the beaten tourist track just a little bit and you will not be disappointed. There are plenty of small, humble-looking restaurants that serve fresh, filling meals. Eating is truly a pleasure in Salta. For as low as $5 ARG, you can get a full meal with bread (typically served with celery mayonnaise and spicy tomato salsa for dipping), soap, and a hot entrée with meat and some vegetable. Just walk away from the plaza on Calle Espana and you'll find some places that serve such bargain meals to locals and Argentine tourists alike. A famous saltena dish is locro, a hearty stew made from fresh corn; try its variation guachalocro with goat cheese sprinkled on top for a delicious belly-warmer. Also try the local versions of emapanadas, called saltenas, and the Andean traditional favorite, tamales, which are potato balls steamed inside corn husks.

To dine in a proper parrilla in Salta, head to La Monumental at the intersection Entre Rios and Vicente Lopez. There are actually two restaurants: the normal one, and on the other side of the street is a fancier, more expensive one that serves basically the same food. Head to the classic, low-key La Monumental, which is most likely going to be packed with locals enjoying the sizzling asado and parilla items. For a reasonable $22 ARG you can get a parilla for two people, or $38 ARG for four people. Be aware that in a classic parilla like this one, you will be served intestines and other delicious animal parts that may be offensive to one who is not used to Argentine cuisine.

In San Salvador de Jujuy, you'll find decent pizzerias and empanadas, but it's not the place to splurge on a great steak dinner. Better to save your pesos for guided excursions to the surrounding salt flats and national parks. The secret to eating cheap and well in San Salvador is to go to the Bolivian market, just around the corner from the bus station, where street vendors sell corn cakes, fresh empanadas, fruit, jello desserts, and sandwiches. Most things cost under 2 pesos. Don't go after dark.

The countryside of Salta: wineries, hiking, and handicrafts
When you have seen all there is to see in Salta, you can spend one or two days in the countryside visiting small towns, estancias, hot springs, or wineries . You can easily grab a bus from the local bus terminal to one of the tranquil small towns in the province, such as Cachi or Cafayate. These two towns have large indigenous populations, so you'll find a completely different culture than the European crowd in Buenos Aires. Cachi is a picturesque village with cobblestone streets, adobe houses, and stunning surroundings. It's a great place to shop for handcrafts and see small-town life in Argentina. There are plenty of hostels run by families. A good one is El Cortijo de Maria Luisa, where for $50-60 ARG you can have a room to yourself and use of the kitchen in this recycled colonial-style building. Cafayate is northwest Argentina's wine center, and is located in the valley of the Quebrada del Rio. You can spend a couple of days here, hiking around the trails in the canyon and visiting wineries. You can hire a guide from your hostel or any tourist office to take you to all of the places, or you can rent bicycles and have your own adventure riding around drunk. Many of the wineries are walking distance from the hostels.

One of Salta's most famous tourist attractions is the Tren de Los Nubes, a train that was built by the British to run high above the gorgeous, multi-colored Lerma Valley , also known as the Quebrada del Toro. At an altitude of 4575 meters, you should make sure you have some coca leaves to chew on to battle the queasiness that strikes some people. In the winter the train doesn't run, but if you are in Salta in warmer weather, don't miss a ride on this famous and unique feat of engineering.

You could spend a week or a month exploring Salta and its neighboring province Jujuy, but even if you are only able to go for a few days you will appreciate its relaxing atmosphere and traditional foods and crafts. There are plenty of cultural festivals and fairs in Salta at all times, so make sure you ask about these in the tourist office. The best way to do Salta is to spend a day in the city itself and then go to one or two small villages for a taste of provincial Argentine culture. You will return to Buenos Aires well-fed and tan from spending time outdoors, and with a sense of how geographically and culturally diverse Argentina really is.

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 The Quebrada del Toro:  Purmamarca, Tilcara, and Humamarca
From San Salvador de Jujuy you get on a bus for Purmamarca, the first stop in the valley known as the Quebrada del Toro, a beautiful place filled with spectacular natural surroundings, ruins of Indian forts, lively Andean musical performances, and great artesania. You can spend about one day and night in each town. Try to arrive before nightfall, as they are poorly lit and it can be difficult to find hostels at night. You can usually just walk out of the bus terminal and within a few blocks you will find a hostel. In Purmamarca you can see the famous Cerro de los Siete Colores, which is on all the postcards of the region. It's just an hour's walk and make sure to bring your camera to catch the beautiful spectrum of colors.

The most expensive of these three towns is Tilcara, where hostels cost up to $25 ARG per person per night. The others are somewhat cheaper, like $15-20 ARG. Each town is worth spending the night because they are really nice, relaxing places and great places to meet other travelers. The best food is in Tilcara, where restaurants serve regional specialties like llama steaks for dinner. You can avoid spending a night in Tilcara (if you need to save money) if you get there in the morning, see the ruins in the afternoon, and leave that night for Humamarca. The cheapest hostel in Humamarca is $15 ARG per person, and it is called Rio Grande. Right in front of it in an internet cafe with a fast connection, and it's open pretty late.

From Humamarca, there is an early morning bus - 8:30 am - to Iruya. The ride takes about three hours and you are on the edge of your seat as the bus keeps plummeting into the mountains. When you get to this tiny village, small children will approach you and offer you rooms in their family hostels for about $10 ARG. There is one right by the main plaza that is the best one to go to; if not, you can go up the hill to the other hostels. Everyone in Iruya is incredibly friendly and hospitable. There are a few cafeterias to eat in that serve fresh meat and salads. There is a tourist office that will show you how to find the path to San Isidrio, an even smaller village located 12 km down a river. You absolutely have to visit this town if you can because it's totally isolated and it's an insight into indigenous South American culture. You can go there and back in one day. The bus back to Humamarca from Iruya leaves every day either at 14:00 or at 15:15. The trip is $11 ARG one-way. From Humamarca you can either go onto Bolivia through La Quiaca (2 hours, buses every 45 minutes) or return to Salta (be careful which bus you choose; as some of them are very uncomfortable) or all the way back to Buenos Aires. On the return trip from Humamarca you have to pass by the Argentine border guard, so have your passport handy and hide your cocaine well. (Relax, that was a joke!)