In November of this year I made a reconnaissance trip or perhaps a recognition trip in the still authentic northwest of Argentina past Indian villages, barren plateaus and the particularly spectacular and colourful Andes.
From vibrant BA to the impressive emptiness of the interior
It’s nice to be back in my beloved Buenos Aires and what a refreshing experience to discover part of the city by bike, an absolute must! The city continues to fascinate by its diversity and authenticity: the modern Puerto Madero in the old port with many old sheds converted into restaurants and clubs, the tango in the old districts of San Telmo and photogenic La Boca or hip and green Palermo with beautiful design boutique hotels and cosy terraces. It remains the most beautiful city in South America!
However, Buenos Aires is not my destination this time; the plan is to make a self-drive from Salta in the northwest to the wine region around Mendoza along the flanks of the imposing Andes. We fly to Salta and pick up our Toyota truck, get used to the size. In the immediate vicinity of Salta there are a few beautiful estancias and fincas where you can relax if you don’t want to stay in the city, for example in the beautiful House of Jasmines. Salta “la Linda” is a cozy, relaxed city with some beautiful colonial buildings and a great start to the adventure.
We first drive north to Purmamarca with a “small” detour along Lagunas de Yala to test out the 4×4, it works and what a beautiful mountain road! And what a rest, we only come across a single car. The small Purmamarca exudes the atmosphere of a high mountain village with dusty streets, adobe cottages, and old algarrobo trees (carob tree) around the church square. Absolute must is the walk around the Cerro de Siete Colores which is right behind the village, wonderfully beautiful in the evening sun. Topper here is the Estancia Manantial de Silencio, with pride the owner shows the (royal) suite where Maxima would have slept, not bad.
Purmamarca is a great base for both the colourful Quebrada de Humahuaca, the gorge along the ruta 9 towards Bolivia with a number of Indian towns of which Tilcara is very charming as well as for the Salinas Grandes (salt flats) via ruta 52 towards Chile.
We are going to go out into the gorge on All Souls’ Day; as in many Latin American countries, the bereaved are festively commemorated in the cemeteries, a beautiful tradition. At Tilcara we make a trip to the Garganta del Diablo, the devil’s castle, a small oasis in the rugged nature.
The large salt flats
The next day we head to Chile and the big salt flats; we are early and the salt is not so white, it turns out; The sun still needs to do its job. We do not drive to Chile (you can cross here to the desert of Atacama) but turn off the abandoned puna, plateau up to the mining village of San Antonio de los Cobres and for a moment we feel completely alone in the world, what a void and what a space wherever you look.
Train to the clouds
San Antonio de los Cobres is the end point of the spectacular Tren a las Nubes, the train to the clouds, which in the season from Salta to the viaduct La Polvorilla at more than 4,200 meters loose at San Antonio de los Cobres. We drive the same cloud route back to Salta; for adventurers and in the good season it is also possible to drive from San Antonio via ruta 40 to Cachi through very remote area.
We choose the road from Salta to Cachi over a high pass and beautiful Los Cardones National Park (named after the frequently occurring Candelabra cactus). What a party! Rugged scenery, spectacular vistas and charming adobe villages, the self-drive from Salta via Cachi and Molinos to Cafayate is number one!
RUTA 40
Cafayate is known for the white wine, the Torrontés grape does well here; it is a lovely place and there are lovely estancias in the vineyards to stay, for example Grace Cafayate or Patios de Cafayate; Cafayate Wine Resot is a remarkably good choice with excellent value for money.
From Cafayate you can drive back to Salta via the beautiful gorge of Cafayate, an asphalted (!) road through very rugged landscape with again beautiful rock formations with many colors. However, we continue south over the legendary ruta 40 via the little-known Inca ruins El Shincal to the land of the dinosaurs.
Talampaya National Park and Provincial Park Ischigualasto are relatively close together and can be visited with a little planning in one day. The canyon of Talampaya is not only beautiful because of the landscape but there are also beautiful petroglyphs to be found here. Wildlife also lives in this dry area; here and there there are guanacos, nandoes (kind of ostrich) and maras (pampashazen) to spot. The highlight of the visit, however, is the impressive echo that can be produced near one of the rock formations, la Chimenea (chimney). The less visited Provincial Park Ischigualasto, also known as the Mattack slate, exceeds my expectations; partly because you can drive your own car here, the feeling of being on another planet is indeed aroused.
Mendoza
Now is just a day(!) drive to Argentina’s most famous wine region, Mendoza; not before we have visited a true pilgrimage resort of Difunta Correa near Vallecito, especially popular with truckers. Difunta Correa is a 19th-century mystical figure who, according to legend, died of dehydration near San Juan; When her dead body was found, her baby was still sucking on her chest. This miracle is exuberantly revered throughout Argentina by roadside altars with water bottles to offer water to Difunta Correa in the hope that she will also give a miracle to the giver such as a new house or a beautiful car, well.
The vineyards of Mendoza are beautiful with the snowy peaks of the Andes in the background. Nice and tasty it is to visit a few wineries by bike, but a day trip into the mountains is also a great idea from Mendoza. On the way to the highest peak the Aconcagua (almost 7,000 meters) in the valley of Uspallata the film ‘7 Years in Tibet’ was shot. The landscape resembles the Central Asian highlands of deserts with remarkable rock formations and special colours.
And really something special? Book a stay at Cavas Wine Lodge,paradise on earth…
