Day 66: Train to the clouds

My last day in Argentina is a special one, on board one of the only surviving train rides in the country. It´s a six-hour ride from Salta, climbing to 4,000m above sea level and crossing the world´s highest viaduct before returning home.

With a sense of expectation as I boarded at 7am, the following announcement came as a surprise: "Can all passengers please pull down the shutters as we depart because some locals have been throwing rocks at the train."

Safely outside Salta, the shutters came up and the next 12 hours was a glorious ride through the northern Argentinian Andes.

THINGS I DIDN´T KNOW BEFORE TODAY:
1. Argentina shut down nearly all its railways about 12 years ago because they weren´t profitable
2. Chewing coca leaves helps combat altitude sickness

More pics of the train ride HERE