Salta's Wonders: Salt Flats & Purmamarca Full-Day Escape

This was an amazing , incredible experience! Our guide was beyond knowledgable and amazing! I am still in awe!

A varied, interesting and long day. Plenty of stops to take photos. Excellent lunch (not included in the price). Our tour was booked as english-speaking and, although our guide was excellent, most of the commentary was in Spanish.

A long drive, but comfortable bus and helpful guide. We had to ask him for translation however, as the default was in Spanish. If it were advertised as such at least we would have known but it was supposed to be an ‘in English’ tour. Stunning locations, worth the long drive.

Nordic organized a wonderful excursion for us, we really enjoyed it! We left from Salta in the morning, a bus came to pick us up at the hotel at 7am and dropped us off at 6,30pm. Our tour guide Pablo was extremely nice, very knowledgable, very professional but also extremely caring (people sometimes get sick due to the altitude when going to the Salinas Grandes, so he was really looking after all of us). We stoped at a restaurant in Purmamarca for lunch which had a set pre-arranged price for a buffet, the food was good and the price was very fair (which is very appreciated because some tour companies sometimes take you to the more expensive restaurants). Driving around Jujuy, especially when going to the Salinas Grandes can be dangerous (quality of road and altitude sickness), so it is a good idea to do this with a tour operator. Before this excursion, my partner and I rented a car and spent 3 days driving South of Salta to Cafayate (Valles Calchaquies, Quebrada de las Conchas), we usually prefer driving ourselves to have a more intimate experience than joining a group. However, I think this excursion is best done through a tour operator.

Overall, a great experience! The pre-tour communication with Nordic via WhatsApp was good and smooth. I was staying far from city center, so I had been asked to be at the Nordic headquarters to be the first to board the minibus at 6.30 AM. However, on tour day, I had a problem with my remis, which was very late (I requested it before 6 AM, it picked me up at 6.25 AM). Martín, the guide, called me and asked me to go instead to the last hotel where the bus would pick people up, so I wouldn't miss the tour. This alone speaks volumes regarding service quality. Martín is a very knowledgeable guide and the driver was quite skilled. The views are breathtaking and the Salinas are a natural wonder, and because of that I wish we could have stayed there for longer. There's much to enjoy there and, since most tours arrive there at the same time, if you need help of the local folks to take the funny forced perspective pics, you may have to lose some time waiting in line. 40-45 minutes is too little for the Salinas. I could have easily stayed an extra half hour at the Salinas, and wouldn't mind arriving back in Salta a bit later, or have a shorter stop in Purmamarca (although I'd have to eat in a hurry if I wanted to see the Seven Colours Hill and shop at the handicraft market - btw the restaurant Martín advised us to go in Purmamarca, Ruta 52, has good food at a decent price). Keep watch: entrance fee at the Salinas (500 pesos in Sep'23, will probably increase soon) is not included in the tour price.

Good full day trip out of Salta. The drive up through the mountain valley is nice and scenic but beware, you'll be driving up and up to fairly high elevation on windy roads (4,200m or 13,600+ ft). Pumamarca is a lovely small town nestled in beautiful colored mountains. Its town square plaza is full of tourist vendors selling stuff and there are some good small restaurants around. A nice nearby hike with viewpoints is available. The Salinas (salt flats) is picturesque but there can be many people out there alongside you (everyone trying to get that perfect Instagram selfie). Also, be prepared for very bright almost blinding white from the white salt (sun screen is a must). If you haven't been to salt flats before I would recommend this day trip.

The places and the landscape was truly amazing and magical. Indeed unforgettable experience of a lifetime. The villages and their inhabitants are so helpful and appear very happy with whatever they possess, everything feels so spiritual and untainted….

Unique place with amazing views! Long trip to get there, worth it though! On the way you can also take advantage to visit Purmamarca -my favorite place- and enjoy the way to Salinas... "Cuesta del Lipán" is a breath-taking view from the 4.150 msn. There you should walk slowly and chew some coca leaves or sweets.

Everything was organized well. Unbelievable landscape and good guide, who give us special english interpretation, cause we have been the only not spanish speaking person in the bus. We didn't return to Salta and stayed in Purmamarca. They stopped at our hotel to deposit our luggage - thank you very much!

The landscape is spectacular, no doubt about it. The tour in itself could have been better. The guide we had was excessively annoying. He seemed annoyed by his job and kept clowning around and making bad jokes instead of trying to captivate us with interesting or useful information. The group exceeded the 15 announced in the tour description but it felt manageable. But most importantly, the tour is not what's described: basically it's 1. going straight to the Salinas (5h ride with a 30min break in a crafts' market), 2. 30min on site (you need to pay 200 pesos entrance unlike what's announced), then 3. back to Pumamarca for lunch break and 4. one hour to stroll the town or climb the mountain (that's the "trekking" part: you can climb on your own if you want but there's not enough time to do it anyway). There's no complete tour of anything. You're entirely left on your own both in the Salinas and in Pumamarca, and these are the only two stops. You basically see the Hills of 7 Colors passing by, but that's it.