10 km from the city in the Lerma Valley, a renowned fishing area surrounded by mountains and lush vegetation. Here, sailing across the lake, you arrive to the caves with rupestrian paintings in the Ablome Gorge. This is an interesting place, where the echo sounds reverberate in the distance. 27 km from Salta city stands the Finca de la Cruz and the summer San Lorenzo village, with its elegant houses and streets bordered by bushy trees. Towards the south of Salta, the Cafayate or Las Conchas Gorge is one of the most picturesque parts of this area. It is a narrow valley, crossed by the Las Conchas River in the region of the Calchaqui River, a river that continues with the name of Guachipas. The Cafayate Gorge goes on along 25 km between Tres Cruces and La Punilla. Not only the river, abundant in summer, runs through the canyon but also the road that connects Salta with Cafayate. In this stretch, you find the most spectacular and colourful rock formations, their reddish sand eroded; the following stand out among them: Tres Cruces, Garganta del Diablo, El Anfiteatro, El Sapo, El Fraile, El Obelisco and Los Castillos.

From La Punilla and crossing the river across a bridge, there is a side road that leads to Corralito, small village with an old chapel. After the crossroads, you arrive in Cafayate. Its main activity, besides tourism, is the wine production. There are seven wineries that work in this area; the following stand out: Etchart, La Banda and La Rosa (Michel Torino). In the urban area, there are several buildings that are well worth a visit such as the Church, one of the few earthquake-proof buildings in the country; the artisans' fair in the central square; the Colonial and Archaeological Calchaqui Museum and the Wine Museum in the Encantada Winery where objects related to the history about the grape plantations and the wine production are exhibited. There are many interesting places in the surroundings, but some of them can only be reached with the help of local people: in the San Isidro area, for example, there are rupestrian paintings that can be reached after a 5-km walk; the Cerro La Cruz, with a path for a 3-hour walk; the Yacochuya area of an impressive beauty; the neighbouring village of Tolombon with archaelogical remains; and La Rosa, with its flour mill near the crossroads.

From Cafayate, a route to the north runs almost parallel to the Calchaqui River, in the initial stretch of the longest river of the country. It changes its name at the confluence with the Santa Maria River, near Cafayate. It originates in the thaw of the Acay Mountain in the north, 5000 m. above sea level, and it receives the waters of 34 streams with temporary or permanent course. On the river banks some of the most important indian cultures developed. Some of them are still there: Angastaco, Molinos, Seclantas, Cachi and Payogasta. Angastaco, one of the most picturesque villages in the Calchaqui Valley, 2000 m. above sea level and 258 km from the city of Salta, is located near the route. It is an old indian settlement, where the Spaniards built their houses later. Some of those houses are still standing thanks to an urban programme devoted to preserve the colonial buildings. Its most important resourse is the grape cultivation and the production of the patero wine in small family wineries is characteristic. 

Further to the north, along the same road, is Molinos, a traditional village in the Calchaqui Valley, 210 km from Salta, this is another village with indian roots and plenty archaeological testimonies. The main attraction of Molinos is its church, built in the 18th century. In the inside, lie the remains of the last Spanish governor of Salta province. His house is opposite the temple and has been transformed into a comfortable inn with all the characteristics of the original building. There is a very nice view of the village from the top of the hill. The Finca Colome and its vineyards can be visited from Molinos.

A few kilometres to the north is Seclantas village, 130 km from Cafayate. A bridge links the town to the route and its church, Nuestra Senora del Carmen de Seclantas, can be seen at a distance. The village has 138 inhabitants that live in the 53 houses lined on the main street, many of which have a gallery of columns. Onion, paprika and chili pepper are cultivated in this area. It is possible to visit the Brealito Lake from Seclantas or a small village called Colte, along a very precarious road. Some families in this area knit ponchos on very simple looms. Towards the south of Seclantas, it is interesting to go along the old Calchaqui road that borders the river, passing by El Churcal, with its old mill and its archaeological site. Along the road that goes to the north, at the foot of Cachi Hill and 2280 above sea level is Cachi, located 157 km from Salta. 

In this area, alfalfa, onions, vegetables and red peppers are grown with artificial irrigation. The red peppers are dried in the open air, either on the ground or on the roofs of the houses, thus giving a colourful atmosphere to the town. There is also a small vineyard and a winery in this area. The church of Cachi was declared National Historic Monument; its furniture was made in cardon (giant cactus) wood. Next to the church stands the Archaelogical Museum, where numerous pieces brougt from Las Pailas, a site by the Cachi Hill, is exhibited. From Cachi, horse riding tours at the foot of the Cachi Hill are offered as well as excursions to La Poma or to Payogasta with its numerous pre-columbian constructions. From here and along the Recta del Tin-Tin (Tin Tin Road) that ends in Piedra de Molino where the descent along the Cuesta del Obispo starts up to Escoipe Gorge, you finally arrive in Salta city.

In a part of the route that goes from Salta to Cachi, parallel to the Sierra de Tin-Tin and going past the Los Cardones National Park, the road changes into a recta (straight line), with a strong depression in the middle. Drivers may be taken by surprise and think they are going down while, in fact, there are still going up the slope. This is the Recta de Tin-Tin that ends in the centre of the Los Cardones National Park, where the Calchaqui Valley with the Cachi Hill and innumerable cardones (huge cactus) provide one of the most beautiful sceneries of the northwest. The National Park occupies a very extensive area whose average altitude is 3500 m above sea level. The altitude ranges from 2700 m in the Tin-Tin Valley to 5000 m. in the Malcante Hill. Most of its vegetation is semi-desertic but it went through some changes in the last 300 years due to the presence of the man in this area. 

The park was created to preserve large communities of big cactaceous plants, endangered species due to the increasing and indiscriminate use of its wood with industrial purposes. There are two kinds of huge cardones in Argentina. One of them is the Trichosereus Terscheckii, with stems forming candelabra and reaching a height of 8 m. It is used to make small objects and crafts. It grows at an altitude of up to 2000 metres above sea level in places such as the Cuesta de Miranda (La Rioja). The other kind of cardon is the T. pasacana, the plant that is protected in the National Park, that grows at an altitude that ranges from 2000 m to 4500/4700 m. above sea level. It is smaller than the previous kind but as impressive, specially when the sunbeams illuminate its thorns. The wood of this plant is harder and is used to make furniture or constructions. These plants may live up to 100 or 200 hundred years. 

In Piedra del Molino (Millstone), whose name is due to a big grinding stone that someone abandoned before going down the slope, there is a detour that leads to Valle Encantado (Enchanted Valley), a small amphitheatre with hills of strange shapes and colours and rain-water lagoons. From Piedra del Molino up to the foot of the hill, there are 21 km within a big amphitheatre with a beautiful landscape and the Cumbres del Obispo to the north. The road ends a little further the Escoipe Gorge, in Salta city.