In Cerrillos Department, travel interests range from the religious tradition of Sumalao to summer festival culture in Cerrillos and the cultural and architectural history of San José de los Cerrillos. To plan your stay, you can first decide whether to focus on a particular festival, historical memorial sites, or railway history. This decision also gives your hotel search a specific starting point.
Sumalao: Image, Festival Schedule, and Market
The Cristo de Sumalao, an oil painting from the 16th century, is kept at the Santuario del Cristo de Sumalao. According to the historical sequence, the celebrations in honor of the image lasted for seven Fridays, beginning at Easter. The novena began on the last of these Fridays; the following Sunday, the main celebration took place, including a procession of the image. The celebrations also featured a traditional market with numerous stalls run by local vendors, offering typical and regional products. The historical festival sequence thus combines religious image traditions, a procession, and market activity. For travelers interested in sacred art, the image itself is a specific point of reference; the history of the celebrations adds communal and regional aspects.
Festivals in Cerrillos Department
Every summer, the municipality of Cerrillos holds Carnival with the Corso de Flores. It features comparsas, music, and dance, and attracts thousands of visitors. In La Merced, the festival in honor of the Virgen de la Merced is celebrated on September 24 with a large procession and a gaucho parade. The two occasions offer different dates to plan around: Cerrillos is tied to the summer season, while La Merced has a fixed date in September. If you want to plan your trip specifically around one of these festivals, its place on the calendar is the first point to consider.
Musical History and Memorial Sites
In San José de los Cerrillos, musical and local history sit side by side. A municipal visitor calendar described the Museo de la Guitarra in December 2025 as a folklore museum covering the artistic career of Luis Gualter Menú, as well as housing a guitar collection. Menú was a member of the vocal group “Los de Salta.” The Plazoleta “Pacto De Los Cerrillos” commemorates an event between Generals Güemes and Rondeau in 1816 that prevented a war between the National Army and the Province of Salta. The Parroquia San José is a postmodern building constructed in the 1980s and preserves images from the older church that collapsed. The plaza and the parish church offer two different forms of remembrance: political commemoration of a historical event and the preservation of images from the former building.
Railways and Religious Sites
The “Manuel J. Castilla” railway station also helps put local history in context: it was an important railway junction on the Ramal C13, which is now out of service. The Ramal C14 begins at the same station; the Tren a las Nubes runs on its tracks. The railway histories differ significantly: for the C13, its current closure is key, while for the C14, it is the use of its tracks by the train. On Cerro San José, there is also a grotto containing an image of the saint.
Discover more destinations: Cerrillos, Cachi Department, Rosario De Lerma Department, Gral. MartĂn Miguel De GĂĽemes, Capital Department, TafĂ Del Valle Department, General JosĂ© De San MartĂn Department, Molinos Department.
For the main travel overview: Salta.
