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Vcooney
Just returned from a 10 day tour of the puna region of Argentina and the atacama desert in chile with socompa tours. This was an exceptional trip which I can't recommend highly enough. You visit one of the world's truly magnificent areas of indescribable beauty. The landscape and wildlife are mesmerising and an experience that will stay with me forever. Our guide Joachin Bergese was exceptional- knowledgeable, friendly , a true professional and lots of fun. The Accomodation and food was great considering the remoteness of the area. If you have a chance to do this tour with socompa tours then don't pass it up- it truly will be a trip of a life time. We stayed at the finca valentina either side of our trip which is run by the wonderful valentina who is the wife of fabrizio who is the owner of socompa tours. The finca is absolutely beautiful in a gorgeous location outside of salta. Just go and enjoy!
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EvaO111
We arrived to Tolar Grande after crossing the Salar de Arizaro (the greatest salt lake in Argenitina and the third greatest in the world) with its beautiful vulcano Cono de Arita. Our excellent guide was Adolfo del Castillo (Tropico & Puna, Tropico y Puna). We spent with him 7 fantastic days travelling through the nicest places in the Salta and Jujuy provinces which are mostly reachable only with a 4x4 vehicle. It was an unforetable experience. Highly recommended.
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Sebastian648
We did enjoy this trip because very few tourists venture in that remote area. You can appreciate the breathtaking landscapes without having hordes of tourists surrounding you. We were a group of 8 people split into 2 pick-ups and spent 2 nights in Tolar Grande. It took us nearly 7 hours from Salta to get to Tolar Grande. We stopped many times along the way to take pictures. We booked a tour with a travel agency called "ONEROM WORLD TRAVEL" in Salta. A great experience in a lonely and authentic place. In summer, you can get 30-35 degrees during the day and 3 to 4 degrees at night. One of the guides/drivers we had only spoke spanish. The other one had a good command of English.
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questkolkataIndia
I and my husband are independent travellers who do not in the normal course like to depend on a guide, but there are some places on earth which exist at so many levels of discovery, that when time is limited a good guide becomes imperative. In such a case, the choice of tour operator is critical if one wishes to appreciate the full potential of the place. In Socompa and Fabrizio I believe that we had the advantage of having with us the best tour operator and guide possible, for our journey into the high puna and Tolar Grande. Tolar Grande was undoubtedly a high point of our visit to Salta, one of the grandest and most intriguing places we have seen anywhere in the world - and we have travelled widely. I was horrified to find it placed 16th among Salta's 19 'places to visit'. I can understand that the previous reviewer was traumatized with the guide she selected, but that should not reflect on the region itselfAdmittedly it is not the easiest place to to get to or from or around properly, and the accommodation facilities are limited to a hostel (well equipped) and private family homes. Also you need a 4WD vehicle in good condition and someone who is not only knowledgeable about the many aspects of the place, but is interested to show you as it should be seen. We had all these in Fabrizio, owner of Socompa Tour Company, who is completely passionate about the entire Puna of Salta and Catamarca, and particularly Tolar Grande.The village itself is on the face of it nondescript, a tiny one street pueblo of drab houses. It is the setting in which it stands that is so incredible.The Puna is magnificent -starkly so, with colors, formations and natural phenomena that simply cannot be described in a paragraph - a testament to the geological and geographical wealth of the country even though it goes largely unrecognized. The visuals are sometimes electrifying - the fascinating shapes of the salt 'hills' turning russet at sunset, a horizon ringed with volcanoes, the unending expanse of the salt lake Arizaro, the second largest in the world, over which we drove many spectacular kilometers, blue pools of water embedded in the pink and white starkness of the salares (salt lakes), home to 'stromatolites' the first and most basic living organisms on earth, small 'ghost' railway towns (Tolar Grande itself was a railway village and an important terminus in the trade between Argentina and Chile, founded in 1940 now left to its few inhabitants) abandoned to the desert after the Argentine government discontinued railway services. The drive to and from Tolar Grande is mesmerizing, with its changes of scenery along the way, the "Labrynth Desert" as Fabrizio named it, the sequences of salar, large stretches of arid desert, sudden eruptions of hardy vegetation, where springs percolate to the surface and the shy vicuna congregate, the mining villages and one memorable lunch at the poorest of such villages, where 'the lady who feeds the miners makes very good meat' we were told by Fabrizio.But again I would say, choose your guide well. A poor guide can leave one with at best a 'nothing seen' feel and money wasted. Socompa is fairly expensive, but when one considers the infrastructure it carries, portable oxygen, health insurance, satellite phone (many places in the puna don't have phone connectivity) it is understandable. Above all I would say the quality of the 'sight seeing' is raised to a totally different level, moving the heart as well as the mind and senses. And Fabrizio goes to great physical and mental effort to ensure that your needs are met and everything is perfect. But it never shows in the ease with which he conducts himself - with humor and intelligence. Hats off to him!
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Kliphuis
I was going on a 3-days tour with travel agent Mares del Sur, Buenos Aires 88, Loc. 4, in Salta in Argentina (driver Cristian Cocilobo). This is a very bad and irresponsible travel agent. The driver was asking me if I was in for sex (that was his thought of woman from Europe) and he was chewing coca leaves from morning untill evening and stinks.After 3 flat ties on the 2nd day we stucked a whole night on the Puna on 4.000 meter, because he took the wrong (second) road (without water and food and light) In the morning of the 3rd day he finally was prepared to get some help after I told him I need pills to take. I was 4,5 hrs alone on the Puna on 4.000 m without knowing if he was coming back. There was no excuse en and no money back. So please do not go with this travel agent. Maybe the driver wants to begin his own company under another name.
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cesarn653
Uno de los lugares más autenticos que he podido visitar. Su gente es increiblemente amable y dispuesta. Sus paisajes son realmente unicos.La infraestructura es basica por lo que hay que planificar bien antes de ir (alojamiento, combustible, estados de caminos, etc). Vale las ganas aventurarse a descubrir Tolar!
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tom_sa114
Llegar no es nada fácil. Caminos de montaña largos y con puna, pero muy muy lindos, con unos paisajes que no se puede creer por lo que se ve y vive.El pueblito de Tolar Grande muy bien acomodado y con una ubicación singular.Fuimos en motos con amigos y la pasamos de 10! Cuidado que no hay estación de servicio allá!
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456gabrielaf
Hermosa localidad rodeada de cerros al pie de la puna. Sumamente tranquilo y con varios atractivos naturales que visitar. Para encontrar paz y tranquilidad.
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trotamundosd2014
Estando de viaje como mochilero - y estimulado por la Casa de la Provincia de Salta en Buenos Aires - decidí hacer el viaje hacia Tolar Grande, puna salteña. Al lugar puede acceder con su 4x4 o camioneta bien aprovisionada o a través de una agencia, que ofrece paquetes de tres a más días para conocer este maravilloso lugar en la Puna salteña, con todos sus atractivos y bellezas naturales. Un tour cuesta $ 3.000 (por 3 días) si lo contrata saliendo desde la ciudad de Salta o $ 2.500 si lo toma desde San Antonio de los Cobres. Yo opté por esta última, ya que un ómnibus regular de la empresa Ale parte desde Salta hacia San Antonio de los Cobres por $ 90.Una vez partiendo desde San Antonio de los Cobres ud. vivirá una experiencia única recorriendo el pueblo homónimo, el salar de Arizaro, el Cono de Arita, los Ojos de Mar, el Arenal entre otros atractivos, etc. Usted estará en plena puna todo el tiempo. Para llegar a este lugar se necesita movilidad propia o contratada, no hay ómnibus regulares que lo alcancen. Si lo va hacer con su vehículo tiene que saber que todo el camino desde S.A.C es de ripio y en meseta. Tiene que llevar sus bidones de combustible y mapa. La perla del NOA está aquí ! Super recomendado !
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ernestodavidg
TOlar Grande es un pueblo enclavado en el corazón de la Puna salteña. Para llegar a este poblado desde la ciudad de Salta, hay que recorrer 357 Km. atravesando la Quebrada del Toro, pasando por el pueblo de San Antonio de los Cobres y por pequeños caseríos mimetizados por el árido paisaje puneño. Una experiencia unica, a las de 3800 mts snm
