Tren a las Nubes (Train to the Clouds)

Servicio Ferroviario Turístico Sociedad del Estado (Salta) (SFTSE)
Argentina
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The Journey

Navigate from Salta (bus + train combined tour, departure from central Salta) to La Polvorilla Viaduct (Viaducto La Polvorilla) across a span of 217km.

Scenery Highlights
  • La Polvorilla Viaduct (63 m × 224 m, 4,220 m summit)
  • Quebrada del Toro canyon — Río Toro gorge climbing through red and ochre basalt
  • Puna Highlands altiplano — vast treeless plateau with vicuña herds and wild pink flamingos at Laguna de Tolar Grande
  • Altiplano salt flats (Salinas Grandes / smaller salars visible on the climb)
  • Andean wildlife — vicuñas (wild relatives of the alpaca, abundant in Reserva de Fauna Andina), Andean condors above Quebrada del Toro, occasional culpeo fox
  • El Gólgota viaduct — the smaller, photogenic steel bridge over the head of the Quebrada del Toro
Quick Facts
  • Duration

    14 hours

  • Distance

    217 km

  • Est. Price

    Expensive for Argentina: USD 178 per person (foreign adult, Standard tour); USD 245 per person (Premium panoramic railcar, select dates); USD 142 per person (resident / MERCOSUR rate, ID required). Group / family discounts of 10–15% for bookings of 4+; children 5–10 years at 50% of the foreign adult fare; children under 5 not allowed at altitude.

Official Booking Provider
Classes & Accommodations

Meals: Andean 'mate' break and a light snack on the train; hot breakfast box on arrival in San Antonio de los Cobres; no lunch service

Ensuite: No

Meals: Same as Standard, plus a souvenir bottle of Torrontés wine from Cafayate at the Polvorilla photo stop

Ensuite: No

Meals: Same as Standard

Ensuite: No

Engine / Locomotive

Diesel-electric or diesel-hydraulic twin-unit built 1966 (Stadler / SLM-supplied heritage cars retrofitted 2014), and General Motors / EMD G22CU heritage shunters pulling classic coaches

Locomotive Weight

Approx. 60 tonnes for the heritage General Motors G22CU diesel shunters; passenger cars approximately 18 tonnes each

Track Gauge

1,000 mm (metre gauge)

Braking Technology

Compressed-air brakes on all heritage stock; vacuum brake components retained on the rarest pre-1970s coaches (back-up only)

Route Engineering Challenges

  • La Polvorilla Viaduct — 63 m high, 224 m long, no supporting middle pillars, built 1929–1932 by the American Bridge Company (on-site fabrication in the Puna), operational 1948

  • Crossing Abra del Acay (4,895 m) — operating at 4,220 m altitude on the Polvorilla stretch; reduced air density affects diesel combustion and requires pre-emptive engine warm-up and crew rotation

  • 21 tunnels and 13 viaducts (suma) on the C-14 branch between Tastil Junction and San Antonio de los Cobres including El Gólgota, Caipe and Mendióroz

  • Switchbacks and spirals through the Quebrada del Toro canyon — most Puna-side gradients reach 3.5–4.0%; max gradient approximately 4.2%

  • Bus-to-train combined operation: 2 hr 10 min coach from Salta capital (1,187 m) to San Antonio de los Cobres (3,775 m) — one of the steepest commercial coach ascents in the Andes

  • Extreme diurnal temperature variation on the Puna altiplano (−10 °C at dawn, +22 °C midday in winter) and stronger UV at altitude (factor 1.6)

  • Strong Santa Rosa / Zonda wind events in August–September can cancel outdoor photo-stop access on the viaduct

Maximum altitude

4,220 m above sea level at La Polvorilla Viaduct (operational train summit)

Highest point of the rail corridor

4,895 m at Abra del Acay (passing, not stopping)

Total combined-trip distance

217 km (159 km Salta ↔ San Antonio by road, 44 km San Antonio ↔ Polvorilla by train in each direction, return same)

Rail section route length (C-14 train portion)

44 km (San Antonio de los Cobres – La Polvorilla one-way, return on same track)

Number of stops on C-14 branch (per CNRT inventory)

20 scheduled passenger stops

Number of viaducts on C-14 branch

13 (largest: La Polvorilla)

Number of tunnels on C-14 branch

21

Maximum gradient

~4.2% on the Polvorilla climb

Curve radius at La Polvorilla

400 m

Construction (original)

C-14 built 1921–1948 by Argentine state under contract to American Bridge Company; rebuilt 1971–1976 after flood damage

Operator (current)

Servicio Ferroviario Turístico Sociedad del Estado (SFTSE) — state-owned, under Government of Salta, since 2014

Operator (historical)

Ferrocarriles Argentinos (1948–1991), then private concessionaires (1991–2014)

Booking horizon

Tickets usually released 90 days before departure; July–August 2026 dates already released for online booking

Quick Facts
  • Duration

    14 hours

  • Distance

    217 km

  • Est. Price

    Expensive for Argentina: USD 178 per person (foreign adult, Standard tour); USD 245 per person (Premium panoramic railcar, select dates); USD 142 per person (resident / MERCOSUR rate, ID required). Group / family discounts of 10–15% for bookings of 4+; children 5–10 years at 50% of the foreign adult fare; children under 5 not allowed at altitude.

Official Booking Provider