Salta Travel Guide: Museums

M.A.A.M. - Museo de Arqueologia de Alta Montana de Salta, Mitre 77, Salta – Tel: +54 (387) 437 0499

This museum’s prized attraction is the mummified corpses of three children, estimated to have lived over 5oo years ago during the Incan occupation of Salta province. These corpses were discovered in March 1999 at the summit of the volcano Llullaillaco, and are permanently on display together with the 106 objects in their possession when they were sacrificed and sent into the afterlife so many centuries ago.  Particularly popular as a means of bringing history alive to the school age population of Salta, this museum is well worth the visit, especially for those hoping to create a firm understanding of Salta culture before venturing to the province’s smaller outlying towns to experience the living history firsthand.

Museo Historico del Norte, Caseros 549, Plaza 9 de Julio – Tel: +54 (387) 421-5340
The city’s present cabildo, or town hall, was built in 1783, making it the oldest and best preserved in the entire country. This building also houses the collection of the Museo Historico del Norte, whose extensive displays of pre-Colombian and colonial history, independence wars and religious artifacts provide a fascinating and thorough input into the evolution and competing cultural influences that have shaped the city’s character since the time of Incan rule.

Museo Historico Jose Evaristo Uriburu, Caseros 179, Salta – Tel: +54 (387)421-5340
Located in the former 17th century Uriburu family home, this museum houses important biographical artifacts and displays about both former Uriburu presidents and general Juan Alvarez de Arenales, as well as various furniture and costumes from daily life in the 19th and early 20th centuries.  Former presidents Jose Evaristo de Uriburo (1895-98) and his nephew Jose Felix de Uriburu (military dictator 1930-32) are both natives of Salta, and this museum offers a well-preserved window into the past for travelers interested in discovering more about the colonial Spanish way of life as well as Argentina’s chaotic political past.

Museo Provincial de Bella Artes, La Florida 20, Salta - Tel: 0387-4214714

Reopened on the 20th of December, 2008, this new museum houses a wide variety of contemporary, baroque, Latin American, Potosí and Cuzqueño 18th century art, as well as other pieces depicting 19th century themes of religion, historical significance and daily life. Collected works from numerous contemporary local and national artists are also proudly displayed in the museum’s more modern wing.