Imagine the canyon country of southern Utah dotted with world-class wineries and Spanish Colonial architecture.That would be the province of Salta in the far NW corner of Argentina, at the foot of the Andes Mountains near the border with Bolivia and Chile. High desert plateaus, canyons, gorges, cactus and, oh yes, vineyards stretching to the horizon. Plus charming towns with Spanish style plazas and churches mixed with spectacular views of multi-colored rock in various shades of red, orange, black, white, and green. And a surreal salt flat straight out of a sci-fi movie directed by Frederico Fellini.

I’ve just returned from 4 days in Salta Province plus a day in the neighboring and even more remote Jujuy Province, courtesy of the Argentinian-based tour operators Socampa Adventure Travel and Say Hueque. I’m not sure what I enjoyed more – the scenery or the wine tastings. Fortunately I didn’t have to choose. There was plenty of both. Plus the best empanadas I’ve ever had. I’ll tell you more in my upcoming article, due out in February. In the meantime enjoy the photos.