Salta

Introduction

Salta

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Salta is the capital of the Salta Province, in the northwest of Argentina. It is Argentina's 8th largest city, with a population of around 475,000. The city was first founded on April 16, 1582 by the Spanish conquistador Hernando de Lerma. His original intension was the city to be an outpost between Buenos Aires and Lima in Peru.

The city was heavily damaged during the war of independence, which left the city bankrupt. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries a large arrival of Spanish, Syrian and Lebanese immigrants helped to revive trade and agriculture in the region giving the city a second birth. To this day the city has a very multicultural flavor because of this immigration.

Neighbourhoods

Sights and Activities

Salta is one of the more popular tourist destinations in Argentina, based largely on its colonial architecture and natural scenery. It is also the main base for a lot of the trips throughout the province, including the "Train to the Clouds" (Tren a las nubes).

Plaza 9 de Julio

The main attractions are located in the city centre, clockwise around the 9th July Square (Plaza 9 de Julio) are the following:

• Neo-classical Cathedral
• Museum of Contemporary Art (M.A.C.)
• Cabildo - The 18th century town hall. Houses the Historical Museum (Museo Histórico del Norte)
• Museum of High Mountain Archeology (M.A.M) - With artifacts from the Inca civilization including the preserved bodies of three Inca children.

Other Sights and Activities

• Saint Francisco Church (Iglesia San Francisco) - Built in 1796 this is a beautiful church with remarkable tower.
• San Bernardo Convent
• Güemes Monument
• Balcarce Street - Is where most of the nightlife is centered around
• San Miguel Market
• Crafts Market
• San Bernardo Hill (Cerro San Bernardo) - Is 1,458 metres high, which is east of the city and offers spectacular views from the summit. You can get to the summit by car, stairway or cable car from Parque San Martin.

Events and Festivals

Weather

The weather is warm and dry, with an average temperature of 16.4 °C (around 20 °C in the summer, 11 °C in winter). The summer months of January and February also are the wettest whilst during spring, Salta can be plagued by severe, week long dust storms. Temperatures frequently hit 35 °C or even more during these months.

Getting There

By Plane

Martín Miguel de Güemes International Airport (SLA), in Spanish Aeropuerto Internacional de Salta Martín Miguel de Güemes, is an airport about 6 km southwest of the city centre. In 2007 this airport almost had 400,000 passengers making it the busiest airport in the northern part of the country. This airport is the main hub for the Andes and served by Aerolíneas Argentinas, LAN Argentina, Andes Líneas Aéreas and Aerosur. The main destinations are Santa Cruz, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Puerto Iguazu and San Salvador de Jujuy.

By Train

By Car

By Bus

By Boat

Getting Around

By Car

Taxi fare is around 5 pesos for standard rides.

By Public Transport

Buses cost 1 Peso on all routes.

By Foot

By Bike

Eat & Drink

The three blocks on the north end of Balcarce street, closest to the train station, are the centre of nightlife in Salta. There's plenty of restaurants, pubs and cafés here, as well as nightly concerts.

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

Work

Learn

• National University of Salta
• Catholic University of Salta

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also: International Telephone Calls

Post

Correos de Argentina is the national postal service of Argentina. There are also two private carriers operating nationwide (OCA and Andreani) and a number of regional ones though Correos de Argentina will be the one most likely to be used by travellers. Post offices are mostly open between 8:00am and 8:00pm Monday to Friday and 9:00am to 1:00pm on Saturday, though there are regional variantions with longer hours in central post offices in big cities and shorter ones in small towns. Services are pretty reliable but slow, mostly taking about two weeks to deliver a postcard or letter to the USA or Europe, but usually within a few days sending it domestically. There is also a more expensive express options. You can track a package online at the Correos de Argentino website. Parcels take at least 3-5 days domestically and weeks internationally. Otherwise try international ones like FedEx or UPS to send parcels both more reliable as well as faster.