WRITERS’ CHALLENGE

Salta — The Best Place I’ve Been

The forgotten corner of Argentina is a wonderland, just don’t tell anyone

Alejandra on Las Salinas salt flats, northwest Argentina — photo by the author

The land is superficially Spanish colonial. Scratch the surface and its indigenous past is still there in the people, the placenames and the air.

Argentina presents a European face to the world, especially Buenos Aires. It’s a mask and in northwest Argentina, the mask never fitted. Northwest Argentina was less affected by the mass European immigrations of the 19th and 20th centuries and is still not on the major tourist trails. Some 70% of the region’s population has Native Argentinian heritage.

Many of the towns and the natural features here have names that remind us of the tribes who once lived here — Iruya, Cachi. The Calchaquíes and Cafayate tribes are remembered in the name of the valley and river that bear their names.

The River Cafayate flowing through the Calchaquíes valley in Salta province — photo by the author.

These native peoples live on today within the mixed genes of modern-day Argentinians. Like Alejandra, my wife, who is 30% Native Argentinian.

Salta City