Today was my third day in Salta – and I had signed up for a mega-tour – going about 550km.

We started in the early morning (with the offroad version of a Renault Kangoo) – roughly following the route of the Tren a las Nubes (Train to the Clouds) to San Antonio de los Cobres – going from 1200 to 3800 meters above sea level (including a pass at 4080 meters) – and covering all sorts of vegetational zones.

Lunch was served in San Antonio – llama milanesa in my case – after lunch and a short break, we continued to the Salinas Grandes, a salt lake of around 500 km² a 2 hours drive away.

After a look around, we started our way back – though following a different road this time. To get back we had to get over another pass at 4170 meters to then go down to Jujuy and Salta – in other words an elevation drop of 3000 meters was ahead of us. The road did follow the Quebrada de Humahuaca, until we finally made it to Purmamarca; here we had the opportunity for a visit to the local tourist market and see the Cerro de los Siete Colores (Hill of seven colors) next to town. Another hour later (and well after dark) I made it back to Salta.