THE TRAIN TO THE CLOUDS

In northeast Argentina, the tourist will have the chance of experiencing one of the highest railway services of the world, and, consequently, one of the most amazing, one capable of transporting you directly to the clouds at altitudes that reach 4200 m.a.s.l. during its 217 kms itinerary.

The journey on the "Tren a las Nubes", Train To the Clouds, starts at Salta. It runs through 19 tunnels, over 29 bridges, 13 viaducts, 9 sheds, two loops formed by the railway and several big sewer systems: a true and colossal work of art delivered by its creator's imagination, Engineer Richard Fontaine Maury, whose great exploit was to cross the Andes Mountain range using the potentials of engineering.

The Train To The Clouds began its travels on 1,972. It uses no racks, so the single power of the diesel engine locomotive pulls the ten wagons up. Comprising a Diesel locomotive, a wagon equipped with a medical post and an informative central booth, a restaurant wagon, a bar wagon, and seven other wagons with first class seats, which give it the capacity to take 520 passengers.

It is the only railway tour that starts from the city of Salta, at 1187 m.a.s.l. It goes through the Estación Alvarado, on Ruta Nacional No 51, Rosario de Lerma, , Campo Quijano, Quebrada del Toro, Alisal, Puerta de Tastil, Meseta, Diego de Almagro, Cachinal and San Antonio de los Cobres stations, to finally reach 4230 m.a.s.l. on the La Polvorilla viaduct.

This service invites the traveller to a 15 hour ride along the Salta pre-ridge. During the journey, and on the railway train, travellers will roll over and by the geographical accidents of the area, zigzagging up to pass the narrow Quebrada Del Toro. On his left, at El Condado, the traveller will be able to observe the cemetery were the remains of many construction workers who died on a tragic day are buried, and will be able to admire the exuberant vegetation, and the mountain tops will literally grow before his eyes, slowly but with breathtaking majesty.

Afterwards, the traveller will stare at the Piedra Azul viaduct, 82.60 ms long and 14 ms high; and The El Candado viaduct, 110 ms long and 24 ms high: They are both built upon steel structures, with no upper railings, and stand supported by metal columns.

Then the train arrives to Chorrillos Station, were a new zigzag will take the railway up to 52 ms. This clever system, along with the above mentioned, allows the train to make up for the ground's unevenness.

On the Ingeniero Maury station, at 2358 m.a.s.l., the landscape will start to prove more impressive by the minute.

The itinerary aboard this wonderful train will take the visitor to the Gobernador Solá station, where an outstanding mineral wealth shows up on the mountainsides from a region full of mines with manganese, iron, lead and silver.

Later on, on the legendary Puerta Tastil or the Door of Tasti,l the train will start to slowly penetrate into secretive world. As the legend states, the "Diaguita" Indians used to knock on the hillcrests, asking for permission to go into the valley. This was the rigin of the locality's name.

The extraordinary journey then takes you to Meseta, a place were solitude seems to cover the whole horizon. The altimeter now reads 2844 m.a.s.l.

Little by little the sense of space gets lost as the train goes into a labyrinth that permits to exit the valley and the deserted plateau across the most intricated terrain. The trip gets then to the first loop, where the railway overpasses itself, on a 582.25 square metre area at a minimum radius of 131 ms, an ingenious loop that will let the convoy abandon the deep hollow.

From the highest point of this spiral, you can stare as if from a marvellous natural balcony, an crushingly beautiful panorama.

The second loop presents identical features on kms 1,262, and, along with the former, allows the train to achieve heights over of 525 ms, a 181 m long tunnel traversed.

The journey then takes travelleres by the Incahuasi, Cachinal y Muñano stations, to finally arrive at San Antonio de los Cobres, so called due to its proximity to the famous Copper Sierra, abundant in ores of that element. This locality, crossed through by National Routes 40 and 51, rests 3774 m.a.s.l. and is the Capital City of the Los Andes Department.

Just before reaching Mina Concordia, you will behold on your left the snow-capped mountain Nevado de Acay, reaching 5950 m.a.s.l. After leaving the station you will see a curious black mountain wearing what looks like a fanciful red bonnet.

The final stage of the trip is at kms 1,350, where the La Polvorilla Viaduct is found, with its length of 224 ms and height of 63 ms, is the highest point of all the route with its 4200 m.a.s.l., and stands out as one of the world's most important in its kind.

It is at this spot where the "Train To the Clouds" really seems to deserve its name. No one can stop beeing impressed by the cliffhanging traverse of the viaduct, constructed without railings and resting on huge pillars.

Dawn will meet you on the way back to the Salta Capital, as the train takes all this time to complete its 15 hour journey.

• Capacity: 640 passengers.
• Distance: 219 kms from the city of Salta to La Polvorilla.
• 21 Stations: Salta, Alvarado, Cerrillos, Rosario de Lerma, Campo Quijano, Viaducto Toledo, El Alisal, Chorrillos, Ingeniero Maury, Gobernador Solá, Puerta de Tastil, Tacuara, Meseta, Diego de Almagro, Incahuasi, Cachinal, Muñano, Los Patos, San Antonio de los Cobres, Mina Concordia and La Polvorilla.
• Departures: Every Saturday from April to November. In summer the service remains suspended due to the rainy season. (Although it is possible to make eventual trips in summer under favourable climate conditions). Contact the station's office for information.
• Principal Office: Caseros 431 (4400) Ciudad de Salta. Provincia de Salta.
• Information: Telephone: (54-387) 4314984. Fax: (54-11) 4311-2019/4282.
• Services: Dining room aboard, interpreters and medical care for passengers eventually suffering the usual problems derived from the lack of oxygen that often occurs a the so called soroche or altitude sickness.

ALTERNATIVES

The Train to the clouds presents two other alternatives:

• Travelling by road on a four-wheel drive truck. There are several agencies giving this tour. (A cheaper cost will result from negotiating prices with the driver of a shared tour, departing from the central part of the city, on the corner of Florida and Mendoza).
• The other alternative for adventurers will be to take the trip on a cargo train, which goes through the same places but obviously without the conforts found on the Train to the Clouds.

THE CARGO TRAIN

The Cargo Train is a cheaper alternative to the "Train To the Clouds", especially for adventure lovers. The traveller can follow the tracks of the "Train To the Clouds" and add on two more days, which is the time that will take this train to go to Socompa, on the Chilean border, and back to Salta.

This makes it a much larger tour, a cheaper ticket, but lacking the "Train To the Clouds" conforts. Departs every Wednesday from the Salta station, except when weather conditions impede.

There is no need to buy tickets with anticipation, but getting early to the station is recommended.