Landscapes, tradition, culture, production, gastronomy and warmth; rural tourism in Salta offers people from the city a reencounter with nature and the customs of the rural settlers. Some big old houses in Salta shelter echoes of the Spanish colony and the struggle for independence.

There are elegant estancias and ranches in the zone of the Calchaquíes Valleys and the Lerma Valley, where tourists have the chance of being in contact with nature, enjoying a quiet rest, and taking part on the activities that some of them organise, such as elaborating sweets, cheeses, wines and crops of different produces.

Life at the estancias allows taking part on endless chats around tables set with homemade breads, cheeses baked moments before and country roast beefs, accompanied by a cup of tea or a mate; and enjoying endless siestas in warm rooms as well.

They offer a lodging space with a familiar treat and a full and personalised service, in most cases in the hands of the owners themselves. You can go on horseback rides, hikes, strolls and tours nearby the ranches during the day.

Milking cows and goats, making homemade cheese and bread, watching the cultivation of medicinal plants and the handling of the horses are other attractions in rural tourism that allow travellers to experience country duties.

Food has an especial taste because it is prepared with fruits and vegetables recently harvested. They are produces cultivated in organic market gardens within the ranches. Rural tourism in this province goes deep into the historic legacy from the time when Salta was a colony of Spain. Some of these ranches are heirs of colonial suits, centenarian documents and culinary recipes inherited from the ancestors. These big old houses thus shelter echoes of history and of the struggle for independence during the Spanish colony. Rural tourism, or ranch tourism, in Salta has proper names: Santa Anita Ranch, El Bordo de las Lanzas, Los-Los Ranch, The Mill of Cachi Adentro, San Antonio, El Manantial, The Arnaga House, Puerta del Cielo, Eaton Place and El Mirador Salteño.