Salta to Cafayate

Chicoana and the journey from Salta to Cachi

Cachi is 170 km west of Salta, along one of the most unforgettable routes in Argentina. Head south from Salta on Route Nacional 68, and turn right at El Carril, to the quaint little colonial town of Chicoana. There's not much to do in Chicoana, but it's an interesting example of a colonial-style town, sitting amidst some of the finest tobacco-producing land in the world, and with lots of buildings dating from the 1900s and a peaceful way of life. Religious festivals are celebrated with much enthusiasm, and the Carnaval (February) and the Fiesta Patronal (16 July) are particularly recommended for a fun day out. Easter celebrations are impressive too, with the Passion re-enacted throughout the town. The weekend afterwards (around 23 July) is the town's famous Fiesta de Tamaleswhen regional delicacies such as meat and corn tied up in corn-husk bundles, are traditionally made on a massive scale, famous folcloremusicians come to sing, and gauchos compete in Doma contests - roughly equivalent to rodeo and very impressive.

From Chicoana, the road enters the fertile Quebrada de Escoipe, and a good wide road hugs the mountains as it snakes up the breathtaking Cuesta del Obispo. The road here is mostly still ripio; paving is in progress but taking many years. Throughout the journey, you'll pass tiny hamlets of adobe houses shrouded in low cloud. As the cloud clears, you'll glimpse dramatic views of the vast bronze green velvety mountains, and there's a fantastic panorama as you round the head of the valley. From here you might like to take the turning off down to the Valle Encantado, an eerie fascinating place for a picnic amongst bizarre wind-sculpted terracotta rocks. Take great care if you drive the Cuesta del Obispo in fog, which often hangs in the valley in the early mornings, or in rain. It is not advisable at night.

Beyond the arid Piedra del Molino Pass(3347 m), where you'll want to stop for photos, the road runs west along a dead-straight stretch known asLa Recta del Tin-Tin, passing through the Parque Nacional Los Cardones, at altitudes between 2700 m and 5000 m, an astonishing landscape of huge candelabra cacti. Walking amongst these giant sentinels, their arms thrust up to the cloudless sky, and a backdrop of stratified bright pink rock, is an extraordinary experience.

Cachi

Cachi is a beautiful, tranquil town (180 km from Salta) in a wide green valley at the foot of the majestic Nevado del Cachi, whose nine peaks are snow-covered for much of the year, and whose highest summit is San Martín(6380 m). Founded in 1694, it had been a Diaguita settlement long before the Incas arrived in 1450, and the extensive irrigation channels they built to channel the Nevado's snowmelt are still used today to make the valley so green and to grow huge fields of peppers. These are an amazing sight when harvested in April and laid out to dry in huge scarlet squares, which stand out against the arid mountains beyond.

Cachi has a pleasingly simple church, the Iglesia de San José, whose roof and lecterns are made of cactus wood. Next door, there's a fascinating survey of pre-colonial Calchaquí culture in the Museo Arqueológico, with impressive painted funerary urns and an intriguing cat/man petroglyph. With its sunny climate, Cachi is the perfect place for a few days' rest, but there are satisfying walks into the mountains to see extraordinary pre-Inca ruins, and there are panoramic views from its spectacularly sited hill-top cemetery.

The town feels more like a small village and has a lively community life, with fiestas throughout the year, where you can hear traditional folclore music as well as the bagualas, and coplascoming from the indigenous traditions. The Fiesta de la Tradición Calchaquí, held in the third week in January, and the Carnavalin February, are particularly worth experiencing. Pachamamais celebrated in August. Cachi has the special advantage of being one of the few original towns in the region with trained local guides: Susana, Santiago and Hilda lead fascinating tours around Cachi and the surrounding areas. Don't miss Las Pailasarchaeological site, and Cerro de la Virgenmakes a satisfying day's hike. Serious climbers should plan to spend a week or so to climb the spectacular Nevado de Cachi.

Cachi has a great tradition in weaving, and you can buy beautiful handmade ponchos, shawls, rugs and wall hangings.

Around Cachi 

Don't miss the ancient ruins at Las Pailas, 16 km northwest of Cachi (via Cachi Adentro), with intriguingly complex circular dwellings, long irrigation channels and worked stone cultivation terraces. The views are breathtaking, with huge cacti set against the snow-topped Nevado de Cachi behind. To get there, take a bus to Las Arcas, from where it's a two-hour walk. The bus leaves Cachi early in the morning (check the current timetable with the tourist office) and returns in the afternoon. However, it's better to go with one of the local guides such as Santiago Casimiro .

Cerro de la Virgenis another rewarding day hike near Cachi, up through a pretty hanging valley and slopes strewn with giant boulders to a peak which gives wonderful views over the Calchaquí valley beyond. The hamlet Cachi Adentro, on the opposite side of the valley from La Aguada, has more fine views, a school, church and dairy farm, El Tambo. To climb any of the peaks in the Nevado de Cachi, you must take a mountain guide who is trained and familiar with the route. Do not attempt these peaks alone.

Seclantás and Molinos

Seclantás is a quaint tranquil village with simple colonial-style houses, and an interesting church dating from 1835. Seclantás' weavers are among the finest in the land, and sell ponchos directly from their workshops on the side of the road; look for the looms strung up between the pillars on a porch. The quality is higher and prices are much lower than in the Cachi tourist office shop, and you have the satisfaction of knowing that the profits go directly to the weavers.

The village of Molinos (2000 m), is set in a bowl of craggy mountains, with a wide plaza and neat adobe houses -  it's a peaceful place and an idyllic retreat for relaxing and doing very little. Founded in 1659, it has a fine church dating from 1692, with a simple gold retablo, containing the mummified body of the last Royalist governor of Salta, Don Nicolás Severo Isasmendi. The house he built, opposite the church, is now the Hostal Provincial de Molinos. Molinos celebrates La Virgen de la Candelariain February, with processions, music and handicrafts.

Just 20 km from Molinos along a road running west into the mountains, is the extra- ordinary and fabulous winery, Colomé, www.estanciacolome.com/Estancia/. Owned by charming art collector Donald Hess and his wife Ursula, this remote retreat is more than just a swish place to stay. As well as having a stunningly lovely setting, the bodega produces the highest altitude wines in the world, at 2300 m. In an arid valley of red and grey rock, surrounded by mountains, there are hundreds of hectares of rare pre-Phylloxera vines, producing Malbec-heavy wines of exquisite intensity - and all grown on organic and biodynamic principles. A Spanish-style house with nine rooms provides ultra luxurious accommodation, delicious meals, and there is great walking and riding in the extensive finca. It's impressive in terms of social responsibility too, since the Hesses have built a church, clinic and community centre for the 400 families living on their land, and take great care of their well-being.

Angastaco 

Angastaco (1900 m) is a modern village, less picturesque than Cachi, but it does have an archaeological museumin the Centro Cívico. Stop in Angastaco to try the vino patero, for which the town is famous. This sweet red or white wine is traditionally made by treading the grapes in the traditional manner - hence the name (patais the informal word for leg). The Fiesta Patronal Virgen del Valleis held on the second weekend of December, with processions, music, dancing, gauchos and rodeos.

San Carlos and the Quebrada de las Flechas 

The road through the Quebrada de las Flechas (the gorge of arrows) to San Carlos will find you surrounded by massive rocks, eroded into complex forms and massive sharp peaks towering above you, and jutting like giant vertical valleys into the blue sky. All very photogenic. San Carlos(1710 m) is a pleasant place and was the most important village in the valley until the growth of Cafayate. The main buildings are on the pretty plaza, including the church, the largest in the valley, which was built between 1801 and 1860. Nearby, there's a small archaeological museum, which contains superb archaeological finds from the region, including fine funerary urns.