Salta The Beautiful
It is situated in the Lerma Valley, 1,152 metres (3780 feet) above sea level, at the foothills of the Andes mountains.
The weather is warm and dry, with annual averages of 756 mm of rainfall and an average temperature of 16.4 °C(20.4 °C in summer, 10.8 °C in winter). January, February and March are the months with the greatest rainfall. During the spring, Salta is occasionally plagued by severe, week-long dust storms.
Nicknamed Salta la Linda ("Salta the beautiful"), it has become a major tourist destination due to its old, colonial architecture, tourism friendliness, excellent weather and natural scenery of the valleys westward. Attractions in the city proper include the 18th century Cabildo, the neo-classical style Cathedral, and the 9 de julio central square along with San Bernardo hill and its surroundings. The city's museums exhibit a wide range of artifacts and art work from the native civilizations that flourished in the area (Salta is located in the southernmost region of what was the Inca empire, belonging to the Collasuyu, one of the four areas of the empire until the Spanish conquest), as well as from the 16th century Spanish conquest and the colonial and post-colonial periods. Salta used to be the starting point of the "Train to the Clouds" (Tren a las nubes), and on the way to red-soiled Cafayate, as well as to other nearby tourist destinations.
The weather is warm and dry, with annual averages of 756 mm of rainfall and an average temperature of 16.4 °C(20.4 °C in summer, 10.8 °C in winter). January, February and March are the months with the greatest rainfall. During the spring, Salta is occasionally plagued by severe, week-long dust storms.
Nicknamed Salta la Linda ("Salta the beautiful"), it has become a major tourist destination due to its old, colonial architecture, tourism friendliness, excellent weather and natural scenery of the valleys westward. Attractions in the city proper include the 18th century Cabildo, the neo-classical style Cathedral, and the 9 de julio central square along with San Bernardo hill and its surroundings. The city's museums exhibit a wide range of artifacts and art work from the native civilizations that flourished in the area (Salta is located in the southernmost region of what was the Inca empire, belonging to the Collasuyu, one of the four areas of the empire until the Spanish conquest), as well as from the 16th century Spanish conquest and the colonial and post-colonial periods. Salta used to be the starting point of the "Train to the Clouds" (Tren a las nubes), and on the way to red-soiled Cafayate, as well as to other nearby tourist destinations.
The city centre features a number of buildings dating back to the 18th and 19th and early 20th centuries. Clockwise around the Ninth of July Square are the neoclassical Cathedral Shrine, the French style Museum of Contemporary Art, the Cabildo (in former times, the city's town hall, nowadays a historical museum) and the neoclassical Museum of High Mountain Archeology, which houses artifacts from the Inca civilization, including the mummies of three Inca children. The Plaza is almost completely surrounded by a gallery.
Within walking distance of the 9th July Square are the Saint Francis Church and the city's three pedestrian streets: Alberdi, Florida and "Caseros". The three blocks in Balcarce street closest to the train station are now the centre of night life in Salta, with restaurants, pubs and cafés on both sidewalks and concerts every night.
Rising in the east is San Bernardo Hill. Its summit, from which visitors can get a view of the city and the entire valley, can be reached by car, cable car or stairway.
Within walking distance of the 9th July Square are the Saint Francis Church and the city's three pedestrian streets: Alberdi, Florida and "Caseros". The three blocks in Balcarce street closest to the train station are now the centre of night life in Salta, with restaurants, pubs and cafés on both sidewalks and concerts every night.
Rising in the east is San Bernardo Hill. Its summit, from which visitors can get a view of the city and the entire valley, can be reached by car, cable car or stairway.
