 visiting the north |
 CUYO |
The region of Cuyo
The Cuyo region consists of the Andean provinces of Mendoza and San Juan, and adjacent San Luis. The area retains a strong regional identity, with a unique mestizo population reflecting the influence of neighboring Chile. An important agricultural region, particularly famous for its grapes and wine, it lies in the shadow of the massive Andes and is visited for its many sporting and recreational activities, such as climbing and trekking. Wineries, hidden mountain villages and the centers of Mendoza and San Juan are other attractions.
MENDOZA
The province
The permanent presence of the sun, its dry and mild weather con, the numerous trees along its streets (one per person), the constant murmur of the water running through its 500 km of ditch, its spotless cleanliness, and its friendly people make Mendoza a privileged city for the joy and rest of the tourist. Great Mendoza is the most important urban area in Cuyo (comprising half of the population of the province and a quarter of Argentina). This area is made of the districts of Las Heras, Capital, Godoy Cruz and Guaymallén. The districts of Luján de Cuyo and Maipú, are still regarded as belonging to the outer area of the Great City, but they are rapidly blending into the urban conglomerate. The Eastern districts are an example of the tenacity and hard work of men. Thus, the largest grapevine growing area of the country came into being. This area comprises the districts of Santa Rosa, La Paz, San Martín, Junín, Rivadavia, Maipú and Luján de Cuyo.
The province provides different choices for the tourists, and also the opportunity of taking part of activities in which they can interact with the environment, such as ‘adventure tourism’. Such sports are always carried out showing deep respect for the rich nature of the oasis areas of Potrerillos and Uspallata. Among these, the most popular ones are winter activities of all kinds.
Viticulture in Mendoza - Mendoza, the land of Sun and good wine, as it is usually called, is the most important viticulture region of the country. Besides, viticulture represents one of the most significant economic activities of the province. During the last decades, this sector has reached a high degree of development, which evidences in the improvement of vines and technology.
The glaciers at the top of the mountains supply the necessary water to water the fruit-trees plantations and vineyards, from which the famous Argentine wines are produced. Wine and its production are the grounds for a traditional festivity in the Province and the whole country: the National Vintage Festivity. It consists of excellent shows and a great number of other traditional activities of exceptional quality.
SAN JUAN
The city (1991 pop. 353,476), capital of San Juan province, is a commercial and industrial center in an agricultural region. Wine is the chief product, and vineyards dot the picturesque landscape. Fruits and grains are grown, cattle are raised, and the province is rich in minerals. Founded in 1562, San Juan figured prominently in the civil wars of the 19th cent. Many Argentine statesmen, including Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, were born in San Juan.
SAN LUIS
The province of San Luis, as neighbor Córdoba, is known for its variety of landscapes. The capital is San Luis city with 110.000 inhabitants. It is 780 Km. away from Buenos Aires and was founded in 1594 by Luis Jufré. The first constructions were built near the Sierra de los Venados concretely in the Punta de los Venados, that’s why the villagers are called Puntanos”. The most touristic sites of the area are Merlo, Potrero de los Funes, the Sierra Central, Inti huasi, San Jerónimo, El Morro, the Parque Nacional de la Sierra de las Quijadas amongst others.
| THE ANDEAN NORTHWEST |
Home to abundant natural attractions and atmospheric relics from the pre-Columbian and colonial past, this is the more 'traditional' part of Argentina. It includes the provinces of Jujuy (numerous wildlife reserves), Salta (with the best preserved colonial city in the country, hundreds of archaeological sites, and colonial buildings) and Tucumán, La Rioja, Catamarca and Santiago del Estero.
This is the area of the highest mountain of America, the Aconcagua (6959 m.) and the best wine producers, too. There are also several places that the tourist must visit, as el Valle de la Luna (The Valley of the Moon-San Juan province), El Cañón de Talampaya (The Talampaya Canyon-La Rioja) y el Valle de las Leñas (The Leñas Valley-Mendoza). Being the last one an international skiing resort.
JUJUY
Jujuy is an insolit province, full of contrasts. Nearby the capital, enchanting spots, with luxurious scenery, and mild climate can be visited on short trips, such as Espejos del Agua or the Lagunas de Yala (Yala Lagoons) especially attractive for those who enjoy fishing trout and pejerrey and sport activities. Another unique place is the Termas de Reyes, with healing water springs, exceptional scenery, and ideal for trekking. Other musts are Palpalá with its touristic village, and exotic and unexploited corners as Tiraxi, Ocloyas, Tolquiza o Almona.
SALTA
Salta is an invitation to adventure. Valleys and gorges, jungle and high mountains, lay out a challenging world which claims to be discovered through the practice of unconventional sports, in contact with nature.
Nature, customs and history are intertwined throughout Salta. When daytime adventure makes way for evening entertainment, there is an intense and varied nightlife offer in Salta: from pubs, through folklore peñas and casinos, a variety of options make Salta's nightlife outstanding.
A trip to the clouds
Train A trip to the skyThe world's most amazing train takes you to the clouds, climbing to an altitude of 4,200 m. during a 217 km. trip. Salta is known around the planet for this magnificent engineering work directed by Richard Fontaine Maury. Nineteen tunnels, twenty-nine bridges, nine sheds and several drains are the main colossal works of art conceived by Richard Maury's imagination in order to cross the Andes with the possibilities offered by engineering.
The Train to the Clouds is a unique tourist train excursion departing from the city of Salta at 1,187 m. above sea level and climbing to 4,200 m. at La Polvorilla viaduct. After Salta's train station come Alvarado station, Rosario de Lerma, Campo Quijano, Quebrada del Toro, Alisal, Puerta de Tastil, Meseta, Diego de Almagro, Cachinal and San Antonio de los Cobres. Railway C-14 General Belgrano, which allows for the tour on the Train to the Clouds, is also a gateway to the Pacific for the cargo coming from Salta and the whole region. It is the third highest one in the world; the highest one is in Peru, 4,816 meters above sea level. The Train to the Clouds started running on July 16, 1972.
It is not a rack railway, so it is just the traction from the engine that pulls the ten carriages that make up the convoy, which includes a diesel engine, an infirmary carriage and central information cabin, a restaurant, a bar and seven first class carriages, with capacity for 520 passengers.
In order to gain altitude it makes two zigzags, advancing and going backwards at El Alisal and Chorrillos stopovers. It makes two "loops", one of them in the open sky, with the tracks in a 130 metre radius and an upward ramp on two per cent, and advances a few hundred metres to place the train on a second parallel track that goes backwards for 750 metres and then proceeds forward again.
Since the hillside ended there, Maury dug an 88 metre long curved blind tunnel, where one end of the train goes into; it switches to a parallel third track and moves forward again, climbing on two to three per cent. It goes by El Alisal again, but this time, 54 metres above the place. The train also 'flies' over 13 viaducts, iron bridges without rails. The trip lasts fifteen hours and reaches its highest point at La Polvorilla viaduct located at 4,200 m. above sea level.
Ricardo Fontaine Maury
A legendary figure is associated to the building of the C-14 railway. Engineer Ricardo Fontaine Maury was the main advocate of the design and building of the trans-Andean railway between Salta and Antofagasta (Chile).
The Train to the Clouds railway was built "with shovels, picks, tipcarts, jumper bars, pickaxes and dynamite; in those times there were no bulldozers, drills or excavators, it was the 40's", says Don Antonio Calpanchay, a 73 year-old retired railway worker who worked in the last stretches of the C-14 railway and still lives in Campo Quijano.
The train through time
1907 - the bill for the construction of the C-14 railway is passed
1921 - work begins
1925 - the first stretch is opened
1930 - Argentinean president Hipólito Yrigoyen decrees the continuation of the work
1931 - the pace of the works slows down
1935 - fresh funds are invested
1946 - the Senate requests speeding up the pace of the works
1947 - the intensification of works is ordered
On February 20, 1948, the C-14 railway is officially opened.
The first Train to the Clouds runs on July 16, 1972.
Quebrada Del Toro
Quebrada del Toro (Del Toro Gorge) is the gateway to the pre-mountain range of the Andes (the mountain range that stretches all along South America). It starts on road 51 after Campo Quijano town, called the "Portal of the Andes", and the first thing we find are the railway bridges along which the Train to the Clouds rides. Quebrada del Toro is a gorge whose walls are almost perpendicular and very eroded. The typical vegetation includes trees in the lower parts and bushes and large cacti in the upper parts. The town of El Alfarcito is a must see on the way there, with its picturesque church.
Along the Gorge, the cacti embellish the mountain sides, rivalling the multi-coloured hills, the green vegetation, the blue skies and the crystal-clear atmosphere in beauty.
Santa Rosa De Tastil: Best kept pre-Inca town
Almost invisible and protected by its strategic location, the Inca town emerges at the top of the hills of Santa Rosa de Tastil, 3,200 meters above sea level. Tastil is one of the pre-Inca towns whose urban structure, distribution and dwellings are best kept in the Argentinean north-west. The quadrangular and rectangular structures do not repeat themselves in their strict geometrical sense, maybe due to the site's topography. On these 12 hectares, simple houses with one room (in the Northwest side of the site) and complex houses with several rooms were built.
The winding streets form a maze and converge downtown in a kind of plaza. The ruins that we can see now are stone buildings. The roofs were made of leather and sheep and llama wool weavings. It hardly rains here. The archaeological site is between the gorges of the Tastil and Las Cuevas rivers, it is an area of 12 hectares and has 440 houses, where between 2,000 and 3,000 people lived during its best times.
The sacred stones of Tastil
Artistic works of the Inca culture are kept in 4,800 stone blocks in Santa Rosa de Tastil, one hundred kilometres from the city of Salta. These works, that bear a magical religious meaning, were made between the years 900 and 1,500 on the hills near the pre-Inca town where over 400 stone dwellings with winding narrow streets converging at the centre of one of the hill sides are kept.
The drawings on the carved stones represent the different religious cults the Andean people offered their gods. That was how they intended to communicate their messages to their gods, as a form of prayer and asking for fertile and plentiful lands.
The llamas (camelidae) are the most usual images found on the carved stones in Santa Rosa de Tastil. Other images are feline and ophidian animals, suris (ñandúes), and geometrical figures in zigzag. They also made human figures and masks drawings.
The most important petroglyph is the "Tastil dancer", which is kept by the Anthropology Museum of Salta behind the Güemes monument in the city of Salta. However, on the hills of Tastil there is the "Calendar", an important circular drawing with symbols that haven't been deciphered yet.
The Santa Rosa de Tastil museum The archaeological site at Santa Rosa de Tastil has a museum. On national road 51 on the way to Chile, one hundred metres away from the site is the museum of the "Santa Rosa de Tastil" site, where the story of the people who lived there is told.
In the single room of the museum, research, excavation, classification and restoration works are displayed. The ceramic objects, weavings and metal objects found were used for funerary and religious purposes, except for the lithic material (such as arrow heads and grinding instruments). There is also a local weaving display. The textile industry is highlighted as one of the most important activities of these agrarian people who were the axis of trading exchange between the Puna regions and the nearby valleys. | San Antonio de los Cobres
In a desert spot rises San Antonio de los Cobres, with its church, its brand new school and small hotel, and the workshops of the mines, gas pipes and some other local industries.
The Train to the Clouds stops at San Antonio. The local craftspeople sell their products when the famous train from La Polvorilla viaduct returns. The tour stops for one hour in the town.
Weaving is the main occupation of local women. It is an ancestral custom kept through generations. Here is where the legendary "barracán" is made, a thick fabric made of sheep or llama wool with its typical natural white, black and brown weavings.
The barracán is used to make suits, coats, ruanas (a kind of shawl) and overcoats. Over the last few years, some local, regional, national and international designers have used it for their creations and have shown them in fashion shows.
From San Antonio, visitors can go to Salinas Grandes. It's only 80 kilometres away, but it takes at least an hour and a half to get there. Santa Rosa de los Pastos Grandes is another worthy stopover: it looks like an adobe vision. There is a school with about 70 students and a health care centre, but its ghost town aura is undeniable.
The magic of the Calchaquí Valley
Nature, customs and history come together in the 530- km. tour of the Calchaquíes Valleys in the province of Salta. Following route Nº68 the villages of Cerrillos, La Merced and El Carril make way for the winding road of the impressive Cuesta del Obispo (Bishop's Slope), the Valle Encantado (Enchanted Valley) to the side, and further on the Parque Nacional erizado de Cardones (Thistles' National Park).
The visitor will be moved by a stroll through the magical cobbled streets of Cachi, among its low adobe houses (a mixture of mud and straw), where even silence may be heard.
To travel along these roads is to go back in time to the colonial days, whether it is on a visit to Molinos and its church, to the old Spanish houses or to the vicuña farm, where the animals are sheared using ancient techniques inherited from the quichuas, an Inca civilisation previous to colonial times; it is to marvel with the Quebrada de la Flecha (Arrow Gorge) between San Carlos and Angastaco; it is to walk across the vineyards or the Cafayate Dunes and enlivening the spirit with the matchless torrontés wine, while enjoying a serenade; it is to go back to being a child and playing with the fanciful shapes and colours of the Quebrada de las Conchas (Shells' Gorge), and to stroll along the ghost town of Alemanía before or after watching the sunset from the Cabra Corral dam, after having stopped in the quiet village of Coronel Moldes.
Cuesta del Obispo
Valle encantado
To one side of the snake-like road of Cuesta del Obispo, the traveler is surprised by the Valle Encantado. There is a lagoon set among high prairies and red rocks, where the clouds shroud the ground very near Piedra del Molino (3,348 metres), the highest point in the road to Cachi. The valley's charm may be discerned already from the bottom of Cuesta del Obispo while observing the Torreón de la Cuesta (3,280 metres), a sort of guardian of the place. On reaching the mountain top, an amazing view of the valley is displayed before the traveler's eyes.
To the interior of the Valle Encantado it is possible to see condors drinking water from natural watering places (enormous rocks with clefts where rainwater is stored). Leaning against one side of the rocks one can marvel at the majestic flight of the Andes's king, a few metres away.
Parque nacional los Cardones
Cachi
Surrounded by multicolour hills and blessed by the river Calchaquí, Cachi has a soothing effect on the soul. It is located 157 kilometres away from Salta's capital and 165 from Cafayate, the two most visited places in the Calchaquíes valleys. It has remained a peaceful town where everyone knows each other and whose population protects more than one hundred archaeological sites. At night, magic arises from silence.
At 2,280 metres above sea level, the visitor is welcomed by the distinct feeling of being in a Calchaquí village frozen up in the past. One of village's treasures is the ever-white mountain top of the Nevado de Cachi or "Blanco Peñón de la Soledad" (Solitude's White Peak, with nine summits, the highest reaching 6,720 metres) that grants the six-thousand inhabitant town a special framework.
The origins of this village date back to 1673. The square, surrounded by a low stone wall, emulates the meeting places of the area's ancestral inhabitants (the chicoana indians). To one side is Cachi's church, declared national historical monument in 1945. Despite its neo-gothic style, the church still preserves one of the distinguishing features of the valleys: its roof, altar, confessional and picture frames are made of cardón, a local type of wood.
In the next corner is the Archaeological Museum "Pío Pablo Díaz" where some 5,000 pieces are kept, accounting for more than ten thousand years of history from 800 BC to 1600 AD. Cachi, in kakana (the area's oldest language), means 'salt'. The indigenous populations had mistaken the snow on the mountain top for salt.
Molinos
Molinos is a mountain village in the Calchaquíes Valleys founded in the mid-seventeenth century. It has an irregular layout, adobe houses, mud roofs, galleries and arcades. It is 210 kilometres away from the city of Salta and 116 from Cafayate.
One must visit the parochial church, built in 1639, where lie the mummified remains of the last Spanish governor Nicolás Severo de Isasmendi. Opposite the church is Isasmendi's country home, today turned into a hotel, "Hostal de Molinos".
The Luracatao and Amaicha rivers hold the 18 hectares of the "Coquena" vicuña farm, less than five kilometres away from the town of Molinos. About 100 vicuñas live here in semi-captivity to obtain a finer fibre than the one produced in Bolivia and Peru, using an ancient technique to shear the animals inherited from the quichuas. Vicuñas are an endangered species because they are killed for their wool, one of the lightest yet finer fibres and therefore one of the most expensive. A vicuña-wool poncho may cost up to 3,000 dollars and twelve vicuñas are needed to make it.
Quebrada de la Flecha
Cafayate
The Quebrada de Cayafate or de las Conchas affords one of the most stunning landscapes in Argentina, displaying a series of natural rocky formations that stand out from the road, such as the famous Garganta del Diablo (Devil's throat), a deep and close canyon whose end looks like a trachea inviting to climb it.
That is followed by el Anfiteatro (the Amphitheatre, a mountainous formation with acoustics that favour even those singing out of tune), el Sapo (the Frog), el Fraile (the Friar), el Obelisco (the Obelisk), los Castillos (the Castles) whose names actually represent what the stones look like.
Los Médanos or Dunes, small white sands made of calcareous mica (mineral) seduce the traveler with the fancy shapes formed by the wind, especially if walking on them in the moonlight. They are 178 kilometres from Salta.
The gorge is a recent morphological feature and goes back to the tectonic movements that occurred towards the end of the tertiary period, specifically during the Quaternary or in the last two million years, according to local geologists.
The magnificent Quebrada de las Conchas, the sand dunes, the church and the wineries are Cafayate's typical features. The city is surrounded by a wineries' belt. The latter offer visits to their establishments where the unmistakable torroñés is not lacking; it is also possible to taste some 'trodden' wines from dozens of producers who, to this day, tread grapes for their wine.
Cafayate's style is a mixture of colonial and late nineteen-century baroque. Opposite its ample square are the parochial church and the Town Hall. Travelling five kilometres from this city it is possible to access the San Isidro farm, where cave paintings are found.
The Rodolfo Bravo Regional and Archaeological Museum is open to visitors and offers more than two thousand archaeological exhibits recounting the area's origins. It is situated in Colón 191 and opens every day from 11am to 8pm. Visitors are guided through the museum by Rodolfo Bravo's widow, Helga Mazzoni. Another relic of Cafayate's surroundings is a 350-year old Jesuit mill that still works. It is 6 kilometres away from the most famous town in the Calchaquíes Valleys. It can grind up to 200 kilograms of semolina, polenta and cornflour at once (three different types of grinding).
LA RIOJA
The province of La Rioja is situated in the North-West of Argentina. It has 280.000 inhabitants. The homonymous city, is its capital which was founded in 1591. The most important cities are: Chilecito, Chamical y Villa Unión. The territory is divided into three main regions: Los Andes at the West with high mountains like El Potro (5.879 m) and The Bonete Grande (5.943 m). There is another mountain range next to this one where the Toro Negro and Umango hills are located. The internal valleys are the places where the economic activities take place. This province is based on the agricultural products such as vegetables, a great variety of fruits and also wine production. On the other hand, the arid clime makes it necessary to irrigate the area.
Tourist Attractions
- La Rioja has a huge diversity of landscapes, ranging from the wild mountains to the valleys. The geography offers the opportunity to play all types of sports in its natural surroundings such as mountaineering, trekking and rafting. - Cañón de Talampaya: The Talampaya Park has magnificent red rock hills that were formed in the Paganzo period. - Chilecito: The city was founded in 1715 and owes its name to the great number of Chilean miners that visit the area to work at the gold mines. - The dinosaurs Route: This land also contains important archaeological remains like footprints and fossil trails of these enormous creatures that lived in this area. The tour begins in the heart of Camero Viejo, where you can find more than 50 footprints, and finishes at Inestrillas.
La Rioja has also impressive historical ruins and rests of Indian art.
The Monastery Route: This tourist ride follows the cities of Nájera where the Monastery Santa María La Real is placed. It was founded in 1422 and not only its front but also its interior is constructed in an elegant gothic style. The next step of the journey is Cañas with the Santa María del Salvador monastery. It was founded in 1169 and this is the most ancient monastery of the whole Christian area. Then, the monastery route goes directly to San Millán de la Cogolla where the Suso and Yuso monastery is placed. This one was declared Heritage of Humanity for the UNESCO. Finally, the last monastery of the trip is placed in Valvanera where the local virgen has its own image.
Vineyards have influenced the character of the inhabitants. The wine is the principal guest and the inspiration for all their festivities. The Harvest Festivities at Logroño (21st September) and the Wine Battle in Haro are some of them.
| IGUAZU FALLS |
Situated in the Parque Nacional Iguazú near Puerto Iguazú, these spectacular falls lie just east of the confluence of the Iguazú and Paraná rivers. From its source in the Serra do Mar, not far from the Atlantic coast, the Río Iguazú (or Iguassu) flows westward for about 820 miles across southern Brazil. Gathering tributaries, the river grows steadily in volume as it meanders across the uplands of the Paraná Plateau. Step by step it makes its way toward sea level, tumbling over some 70 water Falls that interrupt its course (At least 5000 cubic m (176,570 cu ft) of water per second). But the river takes its grandest leap just a short distance above its confluence with the Paraná, where the Iguazú forms a boundary between Argentina and Brazil. Plunging at last off the edge of the plateau, the river thunders down in what one observer likened to the "awesome spectacle of an ocean pouring into an abyss." The thunderous roaring of the water can be heard from miles away. Strung out along the rim of a crescent-shaped cliff about 2.5 miles long is a series of some 275 individual cascades and waterfalls separated by rocky, densely wooded islets. Some of the cascades plummet straight down for 269 feet into the gorge below. Others are interrupted by ledges and send up clouds of mist and spray, creating a dazzling display of rainbows.
The Falls, which would be memorable in any setting, are made all the more beautiful by their lush surroundings. The luxuriant forests are filled with bamboo, palms, and delicate tree ferns. Brilliantly feathered parrots and macaws flit through the foliage, competing for attention with the exotic blooms of wild orchids, begonias, and bromeliads.
Above the falls, the waters are suitable for canoeing, kayaking and other water sports. The surrounding park is home to 55,000 hectares (135,850 acres) of pristine subtropical rainforest, with abundant wildlife and plant species. The falls are considered a protected by the UNESCO, as a part of the Heritage of Humanity .
If they look familiar, it's because they were the supporting actors in the film The Mission; appropriately, the area has historic ruins of Jesuit missions which also draw many visitors. San Ignacio Miní, built in a style of architecture known as 'Guaraní baroque', is especially popular.
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