2023-05-28 14:19:18
Et is one of the most spectacular train routes in the world – and apparently also one of the most dangerous. Which has less to do with the route and more to do with the altitude at which it goes. The Tren a las Nubes, the “train in the clouds”, really lives up to its name. Up to 4220 meters it meanders in the extreme north-west of Argentina Other hoch.
Several paramedics with oxygen bottles are already traveling on the buses that take tourists from the provincial capital of Salta to the train station in San Antonio de los Cobres. A doctor also accompanies the journey. Older people in particular occasionally have problems with height, says nurse Nicolás Alemán. “Most of the time, they only suffer from headaches or nausea.”
First, the buses pass tobacco plantations, which gradually give way to foggy forests. The higher we get on the dusty slopes, the more barren the landscape becomes.
Source: Infographic WORLD
Again and again, the buses stop at viewpoints and in villages where you can buy handicrafts from the indigenous population and take pictures of llamas. Already touristy, but the stops also serve to acclimatize to the altitude.
The train drives leisurely into the plateau
San Antonio de los Cobres is the starting point of the tourist train, located almost 3800 meters high. The village and train station exude a little Wild West flair. From here the blue cloud train drives into the Puna, the plateau. At a leisurely 35 kilometers per hour.
The “Train to the Clouds” starts at the train station in San Antonio de los Cobres
Source: dpa-tmn
Most tourists expect the train to travel through cloud fields because of its name. But that is a fallacy. Clouds rarely form on the plateau. Jazmín Acuña, the responsible tour guide in our carriage, prefers to speak of the “train to heaven”. And we are really very close to that here.
The train route was inaugurated in 1948. It took 27 years to build it. Originally, their tracks were intended for the transport of goods. Trains would carry copper, salt, silver, gold and llama meat from the Puna to the Chilean port city of Antofagasta along the route, Acuña explains as the train rattled past an abandoned silver mine.
The spectacular highlight of the journey with the cloud train is the journey over the La Polvorilla steel viaduct
Source: dpa-tmn
Today, only the tourist train runs through this seemingly unreal plateau, which is characterized by strong winds and a harsh climate. From the train window you look down into steep gorges and see herds of grazing vicuñas. Desert foxes, guanacos and pumas also live in the puna.
The highlight and turning point of the excursion is the La Polvorilla viaduct, a 224 meter long and 63 meter high steel span bridge. The train ride takes only about two hours in total. Traveling to and from Salta by bus is a day trip.
With a cable car to the restaurant in Salta
Return in Salta it goes up again, but this time to culinary delights. The cable car drives to the local mountain San Bernardo. This is where chef Fernando Rivarola runs his nationally renowned restaurant „The Baqueano“. Top regional cuisine, the menu even lists the farmers and producers.
Chef Fernando Rivarola prepares gourmet regional dishes at his restaurant “El Baqueano” in Salta
Source: dpa-tmn
Again and again, the gaze wanders away from the food through the large windows. The high-altitude gourmet temple offers the best view of the colonial city, which is among the most beautiful Argentina counts and rightly bears her nickname: La Linda, “the beautiful”.
In the restaurant “El Baqueano” you not only eat well, you also enjoy a wonderful view of the city of Salta
Source: dpa-tmn
Cafes, museums and the pink cathedral are grouped around the Plaza 9 de Julio. The Basílica San Francisco seems even more magnificent with its tower in red and gold.
Film-ready mountains on the way to wine
Anyone in Salta should definitely take a trip to the Cafayate wine region in the Calchaquíes Valley. The drive from Salta on the Ruta 68 through the Quebrada de las Conchas is worth the trip. The red mountains of the canyon are cinematic. In fact, the raven black comedy “Wild Tales – Everybody goes crazy!” was filmed here. You come right past one of the filming locations.
The red mountains in the Quebrada de las Conchas along the Ruta 68 are worth seeing
Source: dpa-tmn
In Cafayate, wine takes center stage. The tranquil wine town has an interesting wine museum and is a must on the wine route in the Calchaquíes valley. The vineyards here are among the highest in the world. Some are up to 3000 meters. A tip for testing local wines: the Gastro-Winebar „Bad Brother“. Or you can visit one of the many wineries in the area. This is where the bodega counts “From Esteco” to the most beautiful.
The Hill of the Seven Colors at Purmamarca
If the landscape and villages in the province of Salta have not yet triggered any “Wild West” feelings, in the northern neighboring province of Jujuy at the very latest you feel like you are in the open-air studio of a western. Wind kicks up the dust on Purmamarca’s dirt roads. Two men ride through the village, which consists only of low mud houses. The Cerro de los Siete Colores shines in the background.
The “hill of the seven colors” rises on the outskirts, a brightly striped, colorful rock face. The color spectrum ranges from black to pink. A legend explains the geological spectacle with an Indian chief who died of lovesickness.
On the outskirts of Purmamarca, the Cerro de los Siete Colores, the “hill of the seven colors” shines
Quelle: Getty Images/Javier Ghersi
That sounds nicer and bigger than the rather despicable explanation that goes as follows: the white comes from limescale deposits, the green from copper oxides, the red tones from iron compounds and the yellow from sulfur deposits. Behind the hill runs a circular path, the one hike through a paint box.
Top cuisine with indigenous products in Jujuy
Purmamarca is the gateway to the Quebrada de Humahuaca. In the gorge lies Tilcara with the archaeological site of Pucará. In a forest of giant cacti are the ruins of an old village of the Omaguaca, who settled here 800 years ago. A temple sits enthroned at the highest point of the settlement, from which one can enjoy a magnificent all-round view of the valley with the big River enjoy.
Mainly indigenous people still live in the gorge and its surroundings. Flor Rodríguez interprets her old recipes and local products in her restaurant „The New Progress“ with top cuisine new. Their humitas, goat cheese in corn husks, beef tamales and llama carpaccio are amazing. One would hardly expect such a gourmet temple in a village like Tilcara.
If you follow the Humahuaca Canyon from Tilcara, you will reach the Serranía del Hornocal, which even puts Purmamarca in the shade in terms of color – that’s what the name promises: “Mountain of 14 colors”.
Salinas Grandes is the third largest salt lake in the world
Source: dpa-tmn
However, one of the most beautiful places in Jujuy has only one color: white. The Salinas Grandes is the third largest salt lake in the world. Walter Leal also gets his restaurant from here „Urban Kitchen Farm“ in Jujuy its salt. The well-known chef works closely with indigenous herdsmen and farmers from the Puna plateau.
“They would never share their recipes, cooking techniques and products with a stranger,” says Leal. He serves potatoes, roots, herbs, mushrooms and other Andean products that even many Argentines may have never heard of and that are at least as colorful as the surrounding mountains.
Tips and information for Argentina:
Getting there: Various airlines fly from Deutschland to Buenos Aires, often with a stopover. From here on to Salta or Jujuy. The best way to explore both regions is to rent a car.
Train to the Clouds: Tickets for the “Train to the Clouds” can be bought online and cost between 90 and 135 euros. This depends, among other things, on whether you only book the train journey from San Antonio de los Cobres or the package with bus journey from Salta: trenalasnubes.com.ar/inicio-en/ (engl.)
Information: The regional tourist offices of Salta and Jujuy offer good information (partly also in German) on their websites about accommodation, restaurants, excursions and rental car providers: turismosalta.gov.ar and turismo.jujuy.gob.ar.
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