Our second side-trip from Salta (the first being the one up to Tilcara) was more southwards: we headed 200km along the amazing Route 68 to visit the town of Cafayate. Cafayate is well known for its winemaking, especially from the local Torrontés grape that only grows at altitude. It also has some of the most incredible scenery we’ve seen on this trip.
On the way down to Cafayate the weather was really windy, and the closer we got, the windier it became. This meant we didn’t get to see all the wonders of Route 68. We did stop at the Garganta del Diablo (another Devil’s Throat), which was already very impressive.
We had an evening in at the Airbnb we’d booked, and the next day headed across to the Rio Colorado, to hike up towards a waterfall. This is a moderately tough hike and it’s generally recommended to take a guide. The guides hanging around the trailhead (no doubt thinking fiscally) seemed more interested in groups of young adults, rather than families such as us, so we (mutually) decided to head up on our own and turn back when it became tricky.
This, for us, proved to be a really good decision: despite the lack of guidance we did a pretty good job of navigating our way up the canyon, and stopped for the kids to take a dip in icy water when they felt like it. Here are a few photos:
On the way back – in the car – we stopped at Piatelli, one of the newer wineries in the area, and one that had been recommended by a friend. It was a great stop, and an interesting opportunity to compare the wines of Cafayate with those of Mendoza.
The following day we headed back towards Salta. It was still a touch windy, but it was beautifully clear. And the colours, the colours… incredible!
Here’s a lone hoodoo…
The Windows…
The Ampitheatre…
The Frog…
The Obelisk…
The Quebrada de las Conches…
Just the road itself was a real pleasure to drive on…
We had lunch at the Posta de las Cabras – really the best place to stop between Salta and Cafayate, and we did it both ways – before heading on up to Salta.
We were delayed a few times by pilgrims – something I’ll talk about in the next post – but we managed to get there in plenty of time to drop the rental car, meet some friends for dinner, and catch our overnight bus to Bolivia.
Our stay in Argentina ended really well. We enjoyed it hugely whenever we were able to get out of the cities, in particular. We didn’t always find it easy – tourism here isn’t yet a well-oiled machine – but some of the sights we saw were absolutely stunning. And the relative lack of tourists of course made the experience more enjoyable, too.
I’ll post one more time about our experience in the Salta area, and then it’s adios to Argentina and hola to Bolivia.
By the way… if you’ve enjoyed these photos, you can see more (and more regularly) via our Instagram page.