Salta Road Trip: Route 51 from Salta to San Antonio de Los Cobres

The Route 51 will be driven on any Salta road trip and Salta day trips, as it leads through the Quebrada El Toro (The Toro Gorge) through the highlands from Salta to San Antonio de Los Cobres. You could technically do the whole trip in 2-3 hours, but you’re going to want to take at least 4 or 5 so you can spend time checking out the sights (and adjusting to the altitude!).

On the way, you’ll pass a beautiful viaduct, some impossibly beautiful and colorful geological formations, some charming little towns, sweeping landscapes, and watercolor-like highlands.

How to Plan Your Route 51 Salta Road Trip

The first way to drive the route 51/Quebrada del Toro is by renting a car in Salta and doing it yourself. If you are renting a car for your Salta road trip , you may end up staying the night in San Antonio de Los Cobres, possibly taking the Tren a Las Nubes ride while there, and maybe looping over to the Salinas Grandes afterwards.

You can also drive the Route 51 as part of other Salta day tours. If you are doing this, most of the places below should be on your Salta day tour itinerary. The Train to the Clouds excursion from Salta will take you via these stops to San Antonio de Los Cobres, and back again. The Salta Heights Tour will also take you along this road on the way to the Salinas Grandes.

Whichever way you choose to see the sights on this road, I have no doubt you’ll be blown away by the colors and the history. This guide should help you learn about some info and stops to make before you go!

But First, Need Any More Argentina Info?

• Guide to Northern Argentina: What to See in Salta and Jujuy
• Cafayate 3-Day Itinerary
• Places to Visit in Argentina (You Didn’t Know Existed)
• Complete Argentina Bucket List: Things to Do in Argentina
• What to Do in Buenos Aires: A Complete City Guide
• Northern Patagonia Itinerary
• Classic Patagonia Itinerary
• Visiting Iguazu Falls 3-Day Itinerary

Route 52 Salta Road Trip Stops from Salta to San Antonio de Los Cobres

Quebrada del Toro – The Toro Canyon

As you leave the city of Salta and get onto the Route 51, you’ll emerge into a deep gorge surrounded by beautiful mountains and formations. Most of route 51 goes through The Toro Gorge, or the Quebrada del Toro. You will emerge from the Quebrada del Toro into the highlands (Puna Plateau) at the highest point of the road trip.

Here in the Toro Gorge, you will find millions of cacti and equally as many photo ops. There will be plenty of places to pull off the road and photograph beautiful mountains as the sun rises over them, colorful hillsides, and other-worldly landscapes.

Viaducto Del Toro – The Toro Viaduct

This large viaduct is at the opening of the Quebrada del Toro, and is definitely worth a photo stop.

It may not be as famous as it’s larger and higher counterpart, la Polvorilla, which is the farthest point of the Tren a Las Nubes journey, but it’s beautiful just the same.

Colorful Hill + Cemetery

For lack of a better term or being able to find the actual name of this brightly colored hill with a western-facing cemetery right in front of it, I’ll call it how I see it!

You can’t miss this pop of color with a tiny picturesque cemetery in front. It’s a must-do photo opportunity in the Quebrada del Toro.

El Alfarcito

This is a charming little town with a tiny white church, a small indigenous museum, and various shops selling artisanal crafts. You can visit the church and enjoy a large park; it’s also home to one of the only schools in the whole area.

El Alfarcito is where you will stop for a meal if you do the Tren a Las Nubes journey. It’s a great place for local crafts and cactus wood.

Santa Rosa de Tastil

Santa Rosa de Tastil is another small and historical town a bit farther north than El Alfarcito, still within the Quebrada del Toro. There’s a great and free indigenous museum here where you can learn all about the pre-hispanic people that settled in the area 10,000+ years ago, and the Inca people as well.

There are small and clean toilets to stop at and also a cafe or two in the small dusty town.

Abra Blanca – Emerge into the Puna de Atacama from the Quebrada del Toro

As you gain more and more altitude, you will eventually reach the highest point of the Route 51 and the place where the whole Toro Gorge begins, Abra Blanca. And yes, you can actually see the crack in the landscape that starts the entire gorge!

Abra Blanca is the highest point of the area at 4080m, and you can take a photo with a sign that says this. From this point, you can say goodbye to the gorge and hello to the beautiful Argentinian highlands.

Puna de Atacama (Puna Plateau) Highlands

Frome here on out you will be driving through the beautiful highland desert, the Puna de Atacama (Atacama Platau). With an average elevation of 3500+m and a span of just under a few hundred thousand square kilometers, it is considered a massive highland desert between Argentina’s northeast and a bit of Chile and Bolivia too.

You’ll be able to see the scenery change as you enter the Puna de Atacama, with the cacti and interesting rock formations of the gorge traded for a vast expanse of yellow and orange flatlands bordered by red, blue, and purple mountains.

On this big flat plain, you’ll see vicuñas grazing among sparse vegetation and watercolor-like landscapes going on for miles.

San Antonio de Los Cobres

Not too long after crossing over the Abra Blanca and driving through the Puna de Atacama, you’ll reach the town of San Antonio de Los Cobres. This is a sleepy and dusty little town with a few hotels and hostels, restaurants, and people selling crafts on the street, but not much other than that.

Again, this is where the famous Tren a Las Nubes takes place, so on days of the train (about three times a week), the city comes alive with indigenous artists with llamas in tow selling crafts and photos.

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If you keep going, the route 51 will take you into Chile. But to continue exploring Argentina’s Puna de Atacama, I suggest you head to the Salinas Grandes via the Route 40 before wrapping back down to Purmamarca and the Humahuaca Gorge (Quebrada de Humahuaca). More articles coming soon 🙂