Argentina – Molinos, Live a Towns Heritage

ITINERARY

• DAY 1

  Welcome to Salta, Argentina

  Arrive at the airport, where you will be met by your driver and transferred to your Hotel. Rest of the day at leisure to explore the charming streets of Salta.
  
  Suggestion: Visit a Peña Folklorica at night. Folklore is a general term that refers to all traditional song and dance that isn't Tango. At the Peñas you will listen to music and be offered traditional food and lots of wine!

  What's included?

  • Accommodation
  • Transfer
• DAY 2

  Salta: Visit High Altitude Archeological Museum

  In the morning, your guide will meet you at the hotel lobby for a guided tour of the city. You will visit the MAAM (High Altitude Archeological Museum), although it hosts several informative exhibits relating to the Inca empire, it’s the world-famous Llullaillaco Children who take center stage. Back in 1999, three immaculately preserved mummies were discovered at the peak of a nearby 6,000 m (19,700 feet) volcano. The scientific examination determined they were left there intentionally as sacrifices to the gods. Only one mummy is exhibited at any given time, stored in a specially designed high-tech display which
  circulates cool air to preserve the remains.
  
  You will continue to the Cabildo, or City Hall, one of the oldest colonial buildings in the region, The Cathedral and the Church of Saint Francis, its maroon walls with ochre details make it an impressive sight.
  
  Afternoon at leisure to experience the city on your own.

  What's included?

  • Breakfast
  • Accommodation
  • Tour
  • Transfer
• DAY 3

  Salta to Molinos through Cafayate

  Meet your driver at the hotel lobby, you will drive to Cafayate via the Quebrada de las Conchas, With its jagged cliffs and red-rock formations, Shells' Ravine (Quebrada de las Conchas) is one of Northern Argentina’s most impressive natural wonders. Stops will be made at formations Devil's Throat, El Anfiteatro, a rocky geological formation whose walls exceed 20 meters in height where you will surely find a musician interpreting typical northern melodies and some artisan stalls offering their creations, Tres Cruces, and others for you to
  appreciate. Arriving in Cafayate, at 1,660 meters of altitude, you will have time to visit a local winery, view handicrafts, and explore the town and its surroundings. Free time for lunch.
  After lunch, you will continue your drive to Molinos passing through the Quebrada de las Flechas.
  
  An unusual and attractive landscape that is crossed by the route. Arrive at the town of Molinos and meet with your local hosts.

  What's included?

  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Accommodation
  • Tour
  • Transfer
• DAY 4

  Brealito Lagoon Trek and visit The Artisan Way

  Meet your guide at the hotel lobby for a drive to the town of Brealito, the starting point of our trek to the lagoon which will last for approximately 4 hours. It is a fascinating experience and the best way to enjoy the landscape from the beginning to the end. We cross 20-meter “Cardone's”, small isolated peaceful villages and remains of stone walls that belonged to the Cacán, the first settlers of these lands. Finally, the road ends and we reach the top of the mountain and the Laguna de Brealito where you will have free time to explore the surroundings and go bird watching. An ancient legend affirms that a strange monster inhabits this spectacular water hole. Natural charm in the middle of the mountain. You will continue to the town of Seclantas where you will have free time for lunch. “Magical” is the first word that comes to mind once you enter the town. Its impeccable houses, the cobbled streets, the kindness of its people, and one of the most beautiful landscapes in Salta. The Main Square, also called La Junta will surprise you with its tall palm trees and the great variety of plants that give a very special green color throughout the year. Around it is the Church and some of the most typical houses of the town.
  
  We will end the day visiting “The Artisans Way” or Camino de Los Artesanos, a parallel road to Route 40, where you will find the best weaving artisans in our province. Known as the cradle of the Salteño "poncho”, its productions are used by the most important personalities in the world. The raw material they use is llama or sheep wool and for some special jobs, the highly appreciated vicuña wool.

  What's included?

  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Accommodation
  • Tour
  • Transfer
• DAY 5

  Calchaquí Valleys: Visit to a High Altitude Vineyard

  Today, you will visit a vineyard located in the upper part of the Calchaquí Valleys, which is considered to be the world’s wine-growing region of the highest altitude, ranging from 2,300 to 3,111 meters above sea level. The altitude is one of the most important factors for the development of the vine. The higher the altitudes, the greater the exposure to the sun and the wider the thermal amplitude, which ranges between 20° during day and night. Those factors facilitate the uniform and balanced development of the grapes, which results in good wines of great concentration and balance.
  
  You will be shown the making of the wine and delight on a paired lunch. From the vineyards located at the world’s highest altitude in the Calchaqui Valley stems the only museum exclusively dedicated to the work of the renowned American artist, James Turrell. The museum is owned by The Hess Art Collection and shares the premises with the Winery and the Founder’s House. James Turrell (California, 1943) is an internationally acclaimed light and space artist whose work can be found in collections worldwide. For more than four decades, he has created striking works that play with perception and the effect of light within a given space.

  What's included?

  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Accommodation
  • Tour
• DAY 6

  Acsibi Caves Trekking Experience

  Meet your local guide at the hotel lobby to continue to the starting point of our trek. You will hike for 4 to 4.30 hours through incredible landscapes that nature formed during thousands of years, leaving a trace of ancient lakes in different ice ages, which by pressure gave shape to the current Quebrada del Rincón that crosses the Campo Monte de Nieva and
  flows into the current Calchaquí River.
  
  Arriving at the Acsibi Caves is a truly exciting experience, these caves were made by nature to “seduce us”. These incredible formations will make you feel like you have landed on another planet. Upon arrival, you will see some large stone walls that become a kind of a natural labyrinth, and as you advance, the river canyon narrows, and through narrow tunnels, you arrive at these reddish caves, from where you can appreciate this great gift that nature gives us.
  
  Enjoy a leisure picnic before heading back to your hotel.

  What's included?

  • Breakfast
  • Accommodation
  • Tour
  • Transfer
• DAY 7

  Molinos: Learn how to cook traditional north Argentine dishes

  Today you will have one of the most rewarding and memorable experiences within your journey.
  
  You will go to the Interpretation Center of Molinos, where you will be met by your native hosts that will guide you through local experiences.
  
  Alberto, your personal chef, with whom you will learn how to cook traditional north Argentine dishes, Margarita, a master weaver that will impress you with the art of weaving and her creations, and Fico, your guide for a sunset horseback ride in the afternoon.
  
  Discover the lives of this ancestral community.

  What's included?

  • Breakfast
  • Accommodation
  • Tour
  • Transfer
• DAY 8

  Depart from Molinos

  After breakfast, meet your driver at the hotel lobby, you will drive to the Salta airport to take your next flight.

  What's included?

  • Breakfast
  • Transfer