Salta is an Argentine city, capital of the province of Salta and one of the most important cities in the northwest of the country. Salta is located east of the Andes mountain range, in the fertile Lerma Valley, at an altitude of around 1,187 m. In recent decades, the urban area has expanded to reach neighboring towns, composing the region called Great Salta. Famous for its colonial architecture, in recent years Salta has become an important center for tourism. Due to its attractions, it received the nickname of Salta, la Linda ("Salta, the beautiful one"). According to scholars, the word leaps was the product of a deformation of the wordAymara(the original natives)sage, which meansthe beautiful("the beautiful"), and finally, "Salta, the beautiful" or "beautiful", as it is said today, remained.