Battle of Salta Battle of Salta The Battle of Salta took place on February 20, 1813 on the plains of Castañares, north of the present-day Argentina city of Salta, during the Argentine War of Independence. The Army of the North, under the command of general Manuel Belgrano, defeated for the second time the royalist troops of general Pío de Tristán, after their victory in the previous September at the Battle of Tucumán. The unconditional surrender of the royalist troops ensured Argentine control over most of the northern territories of the former Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. Belgrano had taken advantage of
Salta–Antofagasta railway diverted to the current one. The line crosses the north-western side of Salta Province, serving the suburban towns around Salta of Cerrillos, Rosario de Lerma and Campo Quijano, following part of the course of the Lerma Valley. It counts two zig zags, at El Alisal and Chorrillos, and two spiral loops between Tacuara and Diego de Almagro. Entering the plateau of Meseta, the railway passes near Santa Rosa de Tastil and the Pre-Inca archaeological site of Tastil. It serves the town of San Antonio de los Cobres, in the middle of the Puna de Atacama, nearby copper mines. After the