Stunning Valleys Near Salta - Valles Calchaquies And Quebrada De Cafayate
Posted On Thursday, February 28, 2013 at at 12:36 AM by Alvin
Argentina kept surprising us with more stunning scenery - having arrived in the vibrant city of Salta, we ventured into the wild valleys of Valles Calchaquies and Quebrada De Cafayate, which offered us a taste of snow-capped mountains, spectacular rock formations, quaint adobe villages, prestigious vineyards and space and more space ! Hiking in these valleys made us feel as if we were alone in the world and the first to have trotted on these paths as there were cacti aplenty to get in our way ! But first, a few words about Salta - the city had a distinct colonial feel with its palm trees fringed central plaza and there were paseos criss-crossing the city which made exploring that much easier. We came across pink churches, blue cathedrals, chalk-yellow monasteries and friendly, energetic citizens.
Along the Quebrada De Cafayate, we came across red sandstones which had been squeezed and twisted into unbelievable shapes and sizes by Earth's movements over many millennia. Cafayate itself was a town to relish as it was surrounded by vineyards and red rock mountains. We stayed in a boutique B&B which was full to the brim with quaint old furnitures - yeh, I had to be very careful not to knock anything precious over ... We then chartered a local taxi (luckily with a spare tyre) to travel over an un-paved road to the lovely village of Cachi where the words "space" and "freedom" came to mind - the tiny village was set amongst towering snow-capped mountains and we could just hike miles and miles amongst the cacti without seeing anyone. We were now stationed at an altitude of over 2,400m and the air was thin but refreshing and we really enjoyed our times here.
