Marambio

You can also sleep in Purmamarca both days, it's up to you. Purmamarca is cuter but both Purma and Tilcara have good hotels. Purmamarca is closer to the Salinas Grandes, which I would do in day 15 for the (very spectacular) drive through Cuesta de Lipán is better done in the morning. Also bear in mind that whilst Purmamarca is at 2400 meters above sea level, the Salinas are at 4200 meters a.s.l and the climb is quite steep, so better do it the following day. Some tours take you to the Salinas and then to some very tiny towns in the Puna like Abdón Castro Tolay ("Estación Barrancas" in some maps). The roads up there, save for RN52 which goes from Purmamarca to the Salinas and then all the way to Jama and Chile, are all gravel.

Salta to Purmamarca or Tilcara is roughly a 3/4 hour drive making stops and at a leisure pace. You'll pass through San Salvador de Jujuy on the way - no need to stop there other than for petrol (load your tank there, the next service station is in Tilcara; no petrol in Purmamarca as fas I can recall).

On the first leg from Salta to S.S. de Jujuy you can either drive though the normal route (RN34 through General Güemes) or through the older route, RN9 through La Caldera, La Ciénaga Dam and El Carmen. That older route is better known as "Camino de Cornisa" (Cornice Road) and while it is less straightforward (lots of zig-zag), it is also much more beautiful. I would give it a try.

My pleasure. I have lots of friends and relatives in the Northwest and even lived for a while in Tucumán, so I got to really know the place and I like it a lot. As such, all I want is other people to discover it as well