It is one of the most spectacular rail routes in the world – and apparently, also one of the most dangerous. This has less to do with the route itself than with the altitude where it’s located. The Tren a las Nubes – Train To The Clouds – very much lives up to its name, trundling along tracks as high as 4,220m above sea level in the Andes Mountains of north-western Argentina.

Several paramedics travel on the buses which take the tourists from the provincial capital of Salta to the train station at San Antonio de los Cobres, ready with oxygen bottles. A doctor is also on hand. One medic, Nicolas Aleman, notes that, above all, older people have occasional problems with the altitude.

“Mostly, however, they are only suffering a headache or nausea.”

The bus passes tobacco plantations, which little by little make room for fog-shrouded forests. The higher the vehicle climbs along the winding dusty roads, all the more barren becomes the landscape. Here and there the bus will stop at lookout points and in villages where passengers disembark to purchase handicrafts made by the indigenous inhabitants, or take a snapshot of some llamas grazing nearby.

The stops are touristy – but serve the purpose of gradually helping the travellers to get acclimated to the altitude.

Casual speed

San Antonio de los Cobres, giving off Wild West vibes at almost 3,800m, is the starting point for the train into the clouds. From here the blue-coloured train heads towards the puna grassland, on the high plateau, at a leisurely 35kph. Due to the name of the train, most travellers will be expecting to ride through banks of clouds. But this is a fallacy, for in fact clouds rarely form in the high plateau.

Travel guide Jazmin Acuna prefers to speak about the “train to heaven”. And indeed, it really does seem that heaven is very close by.

The rail route was inaugurated in 1948 after a construction period of 27 years. Originally the tracks were meant for freight trains carrying copper, salt, silver, gold and llama meat from the puna to the Chilean port city of Antofagasta, Acuna says, just as the train jogs past an abandoned silver mine. Today, the only traffic in this alien landscape battered by strong winds and a rough climate is the tourist train.

The windows offer views of steep gorges and of grazing herds of vicunas and guanacos, the two wild South American camelids which live in the high planes of the Andes. Desert foxes and pumas also inhabit the puna.

The popular market in Purmamarca, the entrance gate to the Quebrada de Humahuaca.

The highlight – and turning point of the ride – is the viaduct La Polvorilla, a tension bridge 224m long and 63m high. The train trip itself lasts only about two hours. Including the bus ride from Salta and back, the trip adds up to a full-day excursion.

The beautiful one

Back in Salta, further heights await – this time, however, of the culinary kind. After a cable car ride up to the town’s San Bernardo mountain, visitors can enjoy a meal at chef Fernando Rivarola’s renowned restaurant El Baqueano. The menu features top-class regional dishes, and even the farmers and producers who supply the kitchen are listed. But over and again, one is distracted by the panorama outside.

The gourmet temple offers the best views of the erstwhile colonial city, which is one of the prettiest in all of Argentina and lives up to its nickname “La Linda” – the beautiful one. The city’s central square Plaza 9 is flanked by cafes, museums and the pink-coloured cathedral. Even more splendid appears to be the San Francisco basilica with its tower in red and gold.

Wine-tasting, anyone?

Visitors to Salta should by all means take an excursion to the wine-growing region of Cafayate in the Calchaquíes Valley some 150km to the south. Just the drive alone on the Ruta 68 road leading through the Quebrada de las Conches with its reddish mountains lining the canyon is worth the trip.

Bodega El Esteco is one of the most beautiful wineries in Cafayate.

In Cafayate, wine is the chief topic of interest. The cosy town features an interesting wine museum and is a must-see on the wine route through the Calchaquies Valley. The vineyards here are some of the highest in the world, with some located as high as 3,000m.

If you want to taste the local varieties try the gastro wine bar Bad Brother. Alternatively, you can explore some of the many vineyards in the surrounding countryside. One of the prettiest is the bodega El Esteco.

Hill of seven colours

If the landscape and towns in Salta Province have not yet triggered a Wild West feeling in you, then at the very latest you’ll feel like you’ve entered the set of a Western film in the neighbouring northern province of Jujuy.

Wind stirs up the dust on the unpaved roads of the village of Purmamarca, while two men ride through the town consisting only of low adobe clay houses. In the background shimmers the Cerro de los Siete Colores – the hill of seven colours. The massive stone hill on the edge of town offers a spectacular colourful array of layered shades ranging from black to pink. Local legend has it that it was created after an indigenous chief died of a broken heart.

This is a more poetic take than the rather cold geological facts explaining the colours: The white results from lime deposits, the green from copper oxide, the reddish tones from iron compounds and the yellow from sulphur deposits. Hiking the circular trail behind the hill will make you feel like walking through a paint box. – dpa