Horse riding & trekking in Argentina
| country: | Argentina |
| trip type: | Moderate trekking holidays |
| departures: | These itineraries can be tailormade to suit your individual requirements, interests & budget. Please see departure months below. NB: Group departures also available for Andes Crossing, see details below |
| price: | From €525 (3 days) - €1125 (10 days) excluding flights. Price is per person for NW Argentina treks and based on 2 persons travelling |
read 3 travellers reviews
the amazing things you'll be doing
North Western Argentina is the most fascinating area of Argentina offering variety of ecosystems, landscapes & culture. Here you find still the soul of indigenous cultures mixed with Spanish influences which led to the rise to the gaucho culture.
Many travellers dream of the beauty of Patagonia, but the Northwest of Argentina has to offer much more for those who like to be surrounded by immense nature in silence and meet the deep soul of the Northwest. In these desolated mountains you are absorbed by the elements, a natural way of life and the rhythm of trekking.
There are only a few local families left in these remote mountains who try to keep making a living.
You will meet the people of the fincas where you usually camp & experience the kindness and hospitality of your gaucho guides. In these mountains the post & priest still go by horse. Some local schools have a radio on solar energy, but that is all. You can only come here by horse or on foot.
The itineraries we offer are unique, pass along several (pre) Inca archaeological sites, follow valleys with huge cacti, beautiful coloured canyons, and cross over passes between 3450 and 4600 metres high with views on snow topped volcanoes. You camp with your own tent during the trekking and a gaucho cook prepares your meals. Your luggage is transported by mules and there is time to make a walk after each day-ride or hike, go birdwatching & enjoy the flora and variety of landscapes. As the sun sets, the spectacular stars of the southern hemisphere lighten up the sky. You can relax at the camp & around a campfire with its peaceful atmosphere. The ideal ambiance to feel the timeless spirit of nature.
The itineraries can be modified to your personal wishes including departure date, duration and amount of free days. As the gaucho families are living in the mountains and do not have a direct access to the telephone net, reservations & payments need to be fulfilled at least 7-8 weeks before departure time. We can arrange all transfers needed, make reservations for accommodations and offer several kinds of individual travel programs before or afterwards in the Northwest of Argentina, travelling with rental car or by bus.
Example trekking/horse riding tours
From Gauchos to Volcanoes (Apr to Dec tailormade departures)
From €1125 (10 days) per person, based on 2 persons travelling. See itinerary below.
Price includes guidance of gauchos on horseback, transport of all luggage & food with mules, gaucho cook & meals, tent, camping equipment, hay for horses, camp fees & 2 personal horses (inc. for 3 free days). Not included: transfers, travel extensions, extra personal food & reservations of accommodations before departure and at the end.
A 10 day trek starting from near Salta; this journey takes you through a great variety of landscapes from canyons, cactus valleys to a high pass with puna vegetation and the Toro canyon at the end. You arrive at the starting point by remise or taxi from Salta in the morning, where you will meet the gauchos that will guide you. At the end of the trek you camp or sleep in Santa Rosa de Tastil. The next morning you can visit the ruins of Tastil with sunset and either travel by bus in the midday to San Antonio de las Cobres or in the early morning to Salta.
You start at an altitude of around 2500m, go over a pass of 4600m the last day and end around 3100m. The rides are suitable for riders with little experience or even people who have never ridden before. The horses are used to difficult terrain, are born in the mountains and are very relaxed. You can decide to do a main itinerary on foot, and when you get tired to jump on a horse for a moment to relax & enjoy the scenery with complete free attention.
Note: The itineraries on foot are a little shorter and different then the horse riding itinerary we have mentioned here. Horseback rides for single persons are also possible.
High Andes Mendoza trek (Sep to Apr tailormade departures)
From €775 (6 days) per person, based on 2 persons travelling.
Riding in the High Andes up to 5000 metres altitude. Price includes all meals and excludes transfers.
7 day Andes crossing from Argentina to Chile
From €995 (7 days) per person, all inclusive.
2008 group departures: 4 Jan & 6 Feb. Tailor made departures: Nov to Mar, min 4-6 persons.
You have magnificent views on the highest mountain of the Andes, the Aconcagua, of nearly 7000m. This unique crossing involves an exchange of horses and custom formalities on horse, as you ride from Argentina to Chile in the footsteps of the legendary San Martin, one of the liberators of South America.
Other tailormade options
Tailormade self drive tours in NW Argentina
From €395 (9 days) per person for Valles Calchaquies tour (min. 2 persons).
We offer up to 21 day programmes which take you through valleys, altiplano & canyons in Salta & Jujuy, NW Argentina. Price includes 3-4 star accommodation and excludes flights and car rental.
Extension to San Pedro de Atacama & Southern Bolivia. We offer our guiding services as well for those who wish to explore the area between Salta, San Pedro de Atacama, La Paz & Cusco.
Many travellers dream of the beauty of Patagonia, but the Northwest of Argentina has to offer much more for those who like to be surrounded by immense nature in silence and meet the deep soul of the Northwest. In these desolated mountains you are absorbed by the elements, a natural way of life and the rhythm of trekking.
There are only a few local families left in these remote mountains who try to keep making a living.
You will meet the people of the fincas where you usually camp & experience the kindness and hospitality of your gaucho guides. In these mountains the post & priest still go by horse. Some local schools have a radio on solar energy, but that is all. You can only come here by horse or on foot.
The itineraries we offer are unique, pass along several (pre) Inca archaeological sites, follow valleys with huge cacti, beautiful coloured canyons, and cross over passes between 3450 and 4600 metres high with views on snow topped volcanoes. You camp with your own tent during the trekking and a gaucho cook prepares your meals. Your luggage is transported by mules and there is time to make a walk after each day-ride or hike, go birdwatching & enjoy the flora and variety of landscapes. As the sun sets, the spectacular stars of the southern hemisphere lighten up the sky. You can relax at the camp & around a campfire with its peaceful atmosphere. The ideal ambiance to feel the timeless spirit of nature.
The itineraries can be modified to your personal wishes including departure date, duration and amount of free days. As the gaucho families are living in the mountains and do not have a direct access to the telephone net, reservations & payments need to be fulfilled at least 7-8 weeks before departure time. We can arrange all transfers needed, make reservations for accommodations and offer several kinds of individual travel programs before or afterwards in the Northwest of Argentina, travelling with rental car or by bus.
Example trekking/horse riding tours
From Gauchos to Volcanoes (Apr to Dec tailormade departures)
From €1125 (10 days) per person, based on 2 persons travelling. See itinerary below.
Price includes guidance of gauchos on horseback, transport of all luggage & food with mules, gaucho cook & meals, tent, camping equipment, hay for horses, camp fees & 2 personal horses (inc. for 3 free days). Not included: transfers, travel extensions, extra personal food & reservations of accommodations before departure and at the end.
A 10 day trek starting from near Salta; this journey takes you through a great variety of landscapes from canyons, cactus valleys to a high pass with puna vegetation and the Toro canyon at the end. You arrive at the starting point by remise or taxi from Salta in the morning, where you will meet the gauchos that will guide you. At the end of the trek you camp or sleep in Santa Rosa de Tastil. The next morning you can visit the ruins of Tastil with sunset and either travel by bus in the midday to San Antonio de las Cobres or in the early morning to Salta.
You start at an altitude of around 2500m, go over a pass of 4600m the last day and end around 3100m. The rides are suitable for riders with little experience or even people who have never ridden before. The horses are used to difficult terrain, are born in the mountains and are very relaxed. You can decide to do a main itinerary on foot, and when you get tired to jump on a horse for a moment to relax & enjoy the scenery with complete free attention.
Note: The itineraries on foot are a little shorter and different then the horse riding itinerary we have mentioned here. Horseback rides for single persons are also possible.
High Andes Mendoza trek (Sep to Apr tailormade departures)
From €775 (6 days) per person, based on 2 persons travelling.
Riding in the High Andes up to 5000 metres altitude. Price includes all meals and excludes transfers.
7 day Andes crossing from Argentina to Chile
From €995 (7 days) per person, all inclusive.
2008 group departures: 4 Jan & 6 Feb. Tailor made departures: Nov to Mar, min 4-6 persons.
You have magnificent views on the highest mountain of the Andes, the Aconcagua, of nearly 7000m. This unique crossing involves an exchange of horses and custom formalities on horse, as you ride from Argentina to Chile in the footsteps of the legendary San Martin, one of the liberators of South America.
Other tailormade options
Tailormade self drive tours in NW Argentina
From €395 (9 days) per person for Valles Calchaquies tour (min. 2 persons).
We offer up to 21 day programmes which take you through valleys, altiplano & canyons in Salta & Jujuy, NW Argentina. Price includes 3-4 star accommodation and excludes flights and car rental.
Extension to San Pedro de Atacama & Southern Bolivia. We offer our guiding services as well for those who wish to explore the area between Salta, San Pedro de Atacama, La Paz & Cusco.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1-2: | You are brought by a remise or taxi from Salta to the start at a very small village at around 2500m. You travel along broad river beds through colourful canyons & rock formations. |
| Day 3: | You have a free day near a hacienda, in the middle of nowhere. Here you can see condors nestling in a huge cliff and puma trails in the riverbed. The day can be used to make a guided walk through the area, visit some gaucho families, several impressive pre-Inca petroglyphs, an indigenous pre-Inca village & an indigenous cemetery. You can just relax and take a bath in a river nearby and use this day to explore the decor of rocks & cacti a little further on foot on your own. |
| Day 4-5: | You travel through a long canyon to an impressive viewpoint near a pass of 3500m and a hacienda where the sunset can marvel you with a huge variety of colours. The next day you cross the pass and descend in a canyon until you reach several fincas in the middle of fields of giant cacti. |
| Day 6-8: | The next day you continue through a wide valley and visit the remnants of a large administrative Inca centre, which is rarely visited. You climb again to a pass of 3500m and camp just below the pass in wide open space. From here you first descend through a deep canyon and then start slowly climbing into a valley to 3600m high. You pass several haciendas & a local school. The children might be very interested to talk to you. |
| Day 9: | You have a free day to rest at the beginning of a long and steep climb for crossing a high pass the next day. You can make a small excursion on foot or by horse to have a view on a nearby snow topped volcano of around 6000m. Interesting to know is that the zone where we camp has been a workshop where indigenous people & Incas used to make their stone tools. They travelled over the same pass in past times. |
| Day 10: | In the early morning you ascend over a steep trail steadily to a pass of around 4600m high, with spectacular views in all directions on volcanoes & the altiplano. You lunch after the pass after which you descend in canyons of volcanic rock formations. On this altitude you still find big Azorella mosses, which become more & more rare in the Andes. You end in the Toro canyon on the foot of a mountain with the most impressive pre-Inca village of the south of Latin America. |
travellers' tales
It was a great adventure trek over the mountains (5000 m at one point!) - absolutely fantastic. (more)
how this holiday makes a difference
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The individual & travels are designed and offered by ecological guides who live in Latin America, and have been guiding in the Andes for many years. They offer this possibility to travel by horse or on foot through this part of NW Argentina, as they know just how unique & authentic this area and the lifestyle of the gauchos still is. By booking one of these travels you support a small company of experts in nature.
By booking for this special trek on horseback or on foot, you support several local gaucho families to continue with making a living in the remote mountains and to keep their traditions alive. This one of the most purest forms of tourism in the mountains, and the treks are organized on a very small scale and bring you to very interesting places which are rarely visited. The group size is as small as you want, and so it is even possible to trek with one or two persons only and your private gaucho guide. It is still rare to see foreign travellers in these areas, so you are invariably welcomed with warmth, shyness and curiosity by the local people. On our horse treks, the gauchos ensure that the horses you trek with are well treated, well fed and well looked after. We communicate a strict environmental policy to make sure that the eco-system of the mountains is not damaged or spoilt in any way. Both the gaucho guides & clients are briefed on appropriate/responsible behaviour whilst in wilderness areas. Our “Leave No Trace” ethic is applied to all trips in all regions, and as tour operators is something we are careful to promote. These treks give a deeper insight in the gaucho culture and also give the gaucho families the opportunity to learn from their guests their values & customs, and to accommodate their guiding skills & services. You can compensate the CO2 emmisions of your flights with ClimateCare, GreenSeat, or more cost and travel effective solutions. (Interested? Contact us for more information). |
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