The Big Northwestern Trail Ride - Argentina
Be prepared for Big Landscapes, Amazing Horses, Culture Alive, Historic Accommodations and Wine Tasting!
Day by day:
* Description below is an example of the program. The itinerary can be different during your travel week.We will do everything possible to follow the indicated itinerary, although spot changes can occur due to unforeseen circumstances. Rides are subject to change depending on weather, location, accommodation and difficulty of terrain In the unlikely event that this happens on your trip, we ask you flexibility and understanding. This is a sporty and adventurous vacation!
Day 1 : Salta
We will welcome you at the Salta airport and take you directly to the Colonial downtown area. In 30 minutes approximately we will arrive at “solar de la Plaza” hotel. Already on our way, we will be able to see why Salta is called “the Pretty”. After check-in, we will rest for a while or go sightseeing as you wish.
Lunch will be at one of the most traditional and well-known restaurants in the city, the “el solar del Convento” restaurant. In the afternoon you are free to do as you please. Dinner will be served at a place called “los Cardones” with guitars playing our traditional folklore music; there we will have regional food and taste a great variety of wines. It has been a long day and we need a refreshing sleep as tomorrow we will meet the Peruvian Paso horses!
Day 2 : Salta ( 15 km )
We will share breakfast all together and after that the riders will go to la Casa de la Tradición where we will meet the Peruvian Paso horses. First, you will get to know all the team members who will accompany you along the equestrian journey. Then, you will choose your horse and we will go for an adaptation and recognition ride for about two hours in the area of la Casa de la tradición. After the riding, we will have a criollo lunch at the equestrian Centre, which covers part of the main estancia house in la Casa de la tradición. In the afternoon, we will go to the city by private bus and you will have free time till dinner. We meet again for dinner at “Solar de la Plaza” hotel.
Day 3 : Salta - Chicoana ( 37 km )
We will have breakfast at “Solar de la Plaza” hotel and get ready to go by private bus to Chicoana, a small and picturesque town located at 45 km from salta capital city. Here we will find our horses at the “tradition house”, headquarters of the gauchos squad lieutenant Luis Burela. We will start the ride climbing up to 2400 metres, the clouds nearby looking like white cotton. We will make a stop for a light “campero” lunch. With a happy stomach feeling we continue our route on horseback with our Peruvian Paso’s while enjoying the view of contrasting landscapes and experiencing different temperatures, until we reach the quebrada escoipe. We will spend the night at the camp which has been previously settled by our logistics team. Dinner will be served at camp tents and you will enjoy the sounds of nature under a sky full of bright stars.
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Day 4 : Chicoana - Ovejero - Isonza - Ovejero - Cachi ( 43 km )
After waking up in this incredible place, we will have a campero breakfast at the campsite. Then we will take our private vehicle till Ovejero, a place from where we have a big view of the Pampas below us. From here we continue our riding trip to the village of Isonza where we will stop for a break and visit this old fashion town where kids go to school on horseback. After we had a look at the 200 year old Estancia of Don Tolaba we continue the ride and enter the Encantado Valley where we are surrounded by rocks in all kinds of colors. After lunch we follow rivers and cross wild terrain till coming back to Ovejero. Here we will meet our vehicle again so we can be brought to the colonial hotel La Merced del Alto in Cachi. Here we will have dinner and spend a marvelous night.
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Day 5 : Cachi - Cardones National Park - Cachi ( 32 km )
After a good breakfast we leave for the famous road, once build by the Incas; la Recta del Tin Tina t the Cardones National Park. We will follow this road for about 4 km and we will enter a channel of one of the typical dry rivers that cross the Calchaquí Valley. At midday we will a Pic-nick under the shade of a tree. We continue the ride and let us guide by the Calchaquí river for a big part of the trajectory. When we arrive back in Cachi where will stay for another night in the comfortable La Merced del Alto Country Hotel, on the outskirts of Cachi. After a nice shower we will have an excellent regional meal at El Nevado de Cachi restaurant.
Day 6 : Cachi ( 31 km )
After a rest and a delicious breakfast at the majestic “la merced del alto” hotel, we will go sightseeing around Cachi. On our tour we will be able to see the colonial architecture of the place which is a main Plaza, the central church and the cabildo, surrounded by pebble streets and the incredible view of the sky which depicts itself entwined with the hills around it. You can find cultural representations at the “Pío Pablo Díaz” archaeological museum you can see important pieces of the aborigine culture, some archaeological ruins, and handicraft works made of local materials at the regional handicraft
market. Another trademark of the region is the wineries near Cachi. Here we will visit a artisan winery at “Finca la Paya” and then have lunch at the “Winery Colomé” and visit its premises. Dinner will be served at a typical restaurant called “el molino de Cachi”, we will taste local food and exquisite wines.
We will spend the night at “La Merced del Alto” hotel.
Day 7 : Cachi - Seclantás ( 37 km )
After breakfast at the hotel we will spend the rest of the day enjoying our equestrian route. We will go direct to Seclantás, a little town in the centre of the Valles Calchaquíes and close to other towns we will encounter along our way. Places filled with history, places part of the Independence of Argentina was conceived, and today you can visit Inca ruins which give testimony of the many inhabitants of these lands. For lunch we will stop at a perfect spot near the mythical national route 40 which runs all the way through Argentina from North to South along the Andes mountain range and across many national Parks. After lunch, we will continue our journey via the craftsmen route to reach our destiny by sunset, the town Seclantás . After visiting this traditional village we will leave till reaching Finca Monte Nievas, a farm outside the town. Here in this typical farm house we will have dinner with the owners at the family table and and stay to spend the night.
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Day 8 : Seclantás - Molinos ( 31 km )
After breakfast, we will continue our equestrian trip to the Calchaquíes Valley. Each landscape and each part of the journey is worth keeping in our memories. We will stop for a light lunch at the shore of the brealito river, a quiet place to relax while taking a deep breath full of pure air at a high
altitude. We continue the trial ride to the town of Molinos, along the quebradas we will find the brealito lagoon. About sunset time we will reach Molinos and stay at a place which used to be the house of the ast realist governor, Nicolás Severo Isasmendi. This is a marvellous colonial country house which still today kept its charm and history after being remodelled into a magniicent hotel. We will visit the church at Molinos where the remains of the governor are resting, and we will go sightseeing around this charming town. Finally, at the hotel, we will enjoy a delicious criolla dinner and enjoy a very comfortable night. History, mysterious places and new experiences! What else can we dream from?
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Day 9 : Molinos - Angastaco ( 42 km )
After breakfast, surrounded by the tranquility and the beautiful view at Molinos, we will start our way out of town to the town of Angastaco. our equestrian route will be along the course of the Calchaquí river. We will have a frugal lunch at a farm called “La Angostura” as we need to keep on horse riding until late evening when we will arrive at Angastaco, a tiny place which has the advertising slogan of “Green, Sand and Wine”. This comes from the sharp contrast among the colors of its vegetation, the sandy soil and its most important crop, the grapevine, used for the production ofwines. At the typical farm house Finca del Carmen we will have dinner and spend the night.
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Day 10 : Angastaco - Cafayate ( 22 km )
After a good night of rest and a healthy breakfast we will go for a visit to the beautiful town of Angastaco. We leave the colonial town behind us and continue our equestrian tip through the Calchaqui Valley in direction of Cafayate. On our way we see small farms and daily farm life with indigenous influence that seems of another century. In the old village of San Carlos we will have a rest at the agricultural cooperative where we can see what products the small farmers are selling. This town is famous for its Independent Army of the North. Around 12:30h we will arrive at Cafayate we we will be accommodated at Hotel Patios de Cafayate. After lunch at the Bodega Piatelli we will go for a troll in the village of Cafayate that has the smell of good wines. A breath-taking place where one would like to stay for ever. The colonial architecture leaves its distinctive mark in the streets, the church, the museums and its leafy Plaza. At night we will return to the hotel for dinner and a peaceful rest.
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Day 11 : Cafayate - Salta
This will be our last day at Cafayate. After having breakfast, we will get ready to get the private bus which will take us to Salta airport. Although we know that at this point we are saying goodbye, we are confident that we will see you again to enjoy more unforgettable Equestrian Entre Orejas moments in Latin America.
