Inside Argentina’s Rainbow Mountains| Purmamarca & Tilcara

After finishing my time in the Atacama Desert, it was finally time to leave Chile and cross the Andes into Argentina. Together with two friends from the road trip, I decided to hitchhike from San Pedro de Atacama toward the Paso de Jama border crossing instead of taking the expensive international bus. What sounded simple quickly turned into two long days of waiting beside almost empty roads. After getting a lift toward the border, we crossed out of Chile and officially entered Argentina — only to get stuck at more than 4,000 metres as darkness approached. With no ride coming, we had no choice but to spend an unexpected night near the border. The next morning we tried again. After several more hours without any luck, we eventually found transport to Susques and later caught a local bus toward Purmamarca. And after two frustrating travel days, northern Argentina delivered. We explored the colourful mountains around Purmamarca, travelled to Tilcara to hike through Garganta del Diablo and climb above the valley, and finished the trip with an early morning visit to the enormous Salinas Grandes salt flats. Five days of hitchhiking, buses, colourful mountains, desert landscapes and another unexpected chapter of travelling through South America. Next stop: Salta and a two-week road trip through northern Argentina. #Argentina #Purmamarca #Hitchhiking #Tilcara #SalinasGrandes #Jujuy #QuebradaDeHumahuaca #SouthAmerica #Backpacking #SoloTravel #TravelVlog #ArgentinaTravel #Hiking #RoadTrip