Argentina, for me, is far more than Buenos Aires and tango. It is open space, herds, and gauchos, and I found all of it at Sayta, the finca of a man called Enrique, a few dozen kilometres from Salta.
My first love, long before travel or opera, was horses. So a working ranch in the Argentine north was always going to undo me a little, and Sayta did. Its name is said to come from an old word meaning “where time stands still”, and that is exactly the feeling. My days there were like a warm embrace, a “welcome home”, a suspension of ordinary life that took me back to some root we all carry inside.
Arriving at Sayta
Sayta is Enrique’s home and refuge, but he shares it so openly that you feel at home from the first minute. I arrived on a late-summer January morning to find a long table laid under a shady porch: tea, coffee, fresh bread, jams, dulce de leche, and, to my joy, a mate freshly brewed to share with new friends. From the first moment it was all chatter, laughter and that dry Argentine irony I never tire of. By the end of breakfast I already felt part of something.
Then we rode, a long ride across tobacco fields, through small villages, along tracks that run to the horizon. It settled me and recharged me at once, and it was hard not to think, “I could just stay here.”
Back at Sayta the table was laid again, this time for the asado, the great ritual of Argentine cooking. Being vegetarian here is close to sacrilege, rather like turning down the wine. (The asado deserves its own post; another time.)
Days among the gauchos
You can do Sayta as a half-day, a morning ride and lunch, and many do. But the feeling of those first hours made leaving unthinkable, so I stayed, and then stayed longer. My days there ran on happily: my love of the animals and the land, herds of horses and newborn foals, long rides, enormous meals, evenings of guitar and traditional songs, and the kind of laughter you cannot hold back.
I learned an enormous amount from the gauchos, Sergio, Eduardo, Mario, José and Enrique, about their lives, their traditions, and what it means to love horses here. They taught me, patiently, to shoe a horse for the first time, to work a young horse to the saddle, and to build an asado (on which, naturally, each of them has his own unshakeable method). And I saw at close hand how they care for their animals, which matters to me more than anything: the calm handling, the attention to the foals, the genuine bond between the gauchos and their horses. That, as much as the scenery, is why I trust this place. Between the gruff-seeming gauchos and María Teresa’s warm smile, I was made to feel like family.
I can say it plainly: the gaucho life suits me. And with Enrique, as they say there, everything is possible.
How to visit
Sayta sits outside Chicoana, a town of pre-Columbian origin in the province of Salta, at the gateway to the Valle de Lerma. If you are staying in Salta, it is well worth adding, if only for a few hours in the company of real gauchos.
As I said, with Enrique everything is possible: a morning ride and lunch, a night or several to slow right down, or multi-day treks through wild valleys. Book directly through the ranch, and confirm current options and prices when you do.
A word on Enrique himself: he is a person you are better off meeting than reading about, but be warned that there are things he cannot abide, such as people calling the United States “America”, when the Americas are also the south, Argentina included. And he has a saying that captures him rather well: “never try to change a woman, love her or leave her”.
Frequently asked questions
Sayta is a working ranch (finca) outside Chicoana, in the Valle de Lerma near Salta in northern Argentina, run by a gaucho called Enrique. It welcomes visitors for horseback riding among real gauchos, from half-day rides with a traditional asado lunch to overnight stays and multi-day treks through the surrounding valleys.
No. Rides are matched to your level, and the gauchos are patient and attentive, so beginners are welcome as well as experienced riders. If you have never ridden, say so when you book, and choose a gentler half-day option; more confident riders can join longer rides and treks.
Sayta is a few dozen kilometres from the city of Salta, near Chicoana in the Valle de Lerma, reached by road in under an hour. The ranch can advise on transfers when you book; many visitors combine it with a stay in Salta and a wider trip through the Argentine northwest.
It depends entirely on the operator, so it is worth choosing one where the animals are visibly well cared for: calm handling, healthy horses, sensible ride lengths and a genuine bond between the gauchos and their animals. At Sayta the care for the horses, including the foals, was one of the things that most reassured me.
The Salta region is pleasant much of the year, but the dry season from roughly April to October offers the most reliable weather for riding and touring the northwest, with clear skies and mild days. Summer (December to February) is warmer and greener but brings afternoon rains.
Further reading
- Why I travel this way: horse-riding holidays, a lifelong passion
- The other side of Argentina: tango in Buenos Aires
- More of the north: the Iguazú Falls
