It is a unique, if somewhat expensive and VERY slow way to see real high desert and marvel at the 'built on a shoestring' engineering. The views on the ascent are fantastic, but when darkness falls the descent is, as most reviews say, tedious. The seats are not really conducive to sleeping and, if you are able to ignore the... More

Book in advance. Go to station the day before & complete the check-in formalities. It saves you getting up so early & you can get straight onto the train without queuing. More super girls to look after you in each coach & give you lots of information on the journey. It's a long day and truly memorable. The food &... More

It's a whole day event... going up is during the day and you see everything first... coming down is at night and but you have seen it already... they have some entertainment at night... you get in late and you are tired, so consider the time it's going to take. More

Yes, it takes too long, but, following a tip-off from the Salta Forum, we had our hotel book a taxi to pick us up when the train halts in San Antonio de Los Cobres on the return journey, a around 4pm. Result: you have a different take on the spectacular descent and arrive in Salta with time for paracetamol, a... More

The train ride as such is beautiful and breath taking. You can relax and enjoy the scenery, get up and walk around and still move forward. I definitively prefer this train over a bus tour or a trip by rental car or taxi. The overall travel time from 7am until 11pm is pretty long but the train is very comfortable.... More

A bit long, 16 hours, but interesting to see the Viaducto La Polvorilla. The guides were dilligent, the food for the price they asked $75 pesos terrible. I almost choked on the type of cake served as breakfast. Take your own, or buy something at the bar, which is not so pricy and better More

A very long day and night, but worth every minute. So much different scenery from both sides of the train. More

You know something is crap when it's Wikitravel entry is locked! Located in Salta, the entry probably had riders bashing it and the train people rewriting it as great. Currently the entry is more informative with just a few complaints/warnings. And I doubly knew the train might suck when the hotel manager said, "Well, if you're in Salta, I guess... More

The scenery is spectacular, but it is a very long day - 7am start and get back to Salta at 11pm. The road runs along much the same route and avoids the touristy descent (group singing withe gaucho-style entertainers and certificate ceremony). Plus it's faster. More