NW Nomad

Tour Salta to Cafayate and Cachi

People often ask which is the best way to make this circuit of the Valles Calchaquies from Salta to Cafayate and Cachi - clockwise or anti-clockwise?

After pondering this every time I go out there, clockwise seems best for a number of reasons. Although the Quebrada de las Conchas from Salta to Cafayate looks different from every angle at every hour of the day, I think heading south may have the slight advantage.

Arriving in Cafayate in the afternoon means there's time to try out some tastings at the bodegas before supper.

Driving to Cachi is long and juddering and sometimes dangerous/boring. The best part is the Quebrada de las Flechas between San Carlos and Angastaco, closer to Cafayate. Then you can stop in Molinos for a lovely lunch and snooze to Cachi. Coming South from Cachi, there is nowhere decent for lunch if the Finca is closed as it was yesterday. It's a plate of chips in Angastaco and arrive at Arrow Gorge hot, tired and hungry.

Quebrada de las Flechas

I took a photographer client out through the Quebrada de las Flechas and he couldn't stop shooting the sky. The clouds hang like luminescent balloons, sun and rain dancing around making light play like a John Ford movie.

Taking their turn, the rock formations change constantly with every appearance of the sun peeking between clouds.

Ruta 40 - The Road from Cafayate to Cachi

'How is the road between Salta and Cachi and Cachi and Cafayate?' People frequently want to know whether they need a guide or whether they can rent a car and drive independently. For some the question is completely moot. There are people who would never want to be driven anywhere and some who enjoy the service - It's a matter of personality but it causes some scuffles on forums like Tripadvisor.

The truth is the road between Salta and Cafayate is totally paved but has some steep curves and rocks in the road from landslides. Remember that there is no insurance coverage on rental cars from Salta, if you get a flat tire orworse, you pay for it! The road between Cafayate and Cachi is only paved as far as San Carlos and then turns to rough gravel - a devil on tires. There are bends and holes and rocks in the road. It is tiring to drive as you must stay focussed and not take your eyes from the road for a moment. For this reason some people prefer to enjoy the scenery as it passes rather than 6-8 hours with eyes glued to ripio.

The Quebrada de lad Flechas (Arrow Gorge) is not to be missed but the road is narrow at places and if the rains come through and flood the road it is imperative to turn back and not try to drive through water - the dips in the sand can cause irreperable damage to the engine.

Past Cachi the road is again paved but the weather can be perilous. The beautiful Cuesta del Obispo can turn from this

 

to this in a very short period of time and it is 20km of steep curves on sand/mud descending from almost 3400 metres of altitude. I have just returned from a trip with a client who did not much enjoy the white knuckle ride along a cliff edge as trucks approached head on from two metre of visibility.

Either way the route is an amazing piece of scenery - one of the great drives of the world and not to be missed.

Cachi and Back

As usual, an early morning start to go to Cachi. From Salta it's a 4-5 hour drive with a couple of brief photo stops.

 

We pass through the Valle de Lerma first where the minerals in the soil create a rainbow of colours through the hills.

 

And pitstop at the only cafe on route for the last bathroom break before lunch.

The road that snakes up through the Quebrada to ---- metres above sea level is ripio, or gravel and the curves must be taken with care.

After the highpoint,we pass into the parque de cardones, a National Park to protect the cacti, some of which are 500 years old.

To show how this paisaje is so like the American Wild West, imagine it in sepia tone.

There is a brief stop in the National Park to purchase spices and locally produced jams from the people

Then we hit the mythical Ruta 40, the road that travels 5000km along the spine of the Andes from the Bolivian Border to the tip of South America in Tierra del Fuego before finally arriving in the remote village of Cachi

Cachi is a tiny place surrounded by mountains at ---above sea level. The people are lovely with simple lives that can induce a strong wake-up call in some Westerners who visit - It can be like travelling back in time a couple of centuries.

 

We leave Cachi and return to Payogasta for lunch at our favourite hotel,the Sala de Payogasta. The view from the rooms is heavenly and there is the option to stay overnight, maybe hike the next day and continue on to Cafayate a day or two  later.

The outdoor parilla serves delicious grilled local kid- the four-legged kind and homemade goat cheese.

The change in the landscape is very noticeable when we come back down into the valley from the puna.