Destination content © Wayne Bernhardson, used from Moon Handbooks Argentina, 1st Edition.
Maps © Avalon Publishing Group, Inc.
QUEBRADA DE HUMAHUACA AND VICINITY
Recently declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its cultural and historical riches—not to mention its stunning scenery—the Quebrada de Humahuaca may finally become the attraction for foreign visitors that it long has been for Argentines. Linked to the Andean highland civilizations of pre-Columbian times, the route includes some 200 archaeological sites, plus major colonial monuments and ecological treasures. There is also the intangible legacy of its indigenous musical, linguistic, and religious heritage.
West of San Salvador, RN 9 climbs slowly northwest past the turnoff to the Termas de Reyes hot springs, and then steadily north toward and up the Quebrada to the Bolivian border at La Quiaca. Past Humahuaca, the highway rises higher yet to the barren altiplano at Abra Pampa, on a greatly improved surface that has cut travel times significantly. If driving, watch for livestock on the road, including cattle, sheep, goats and, at higher elevations, llamas.
Termas de Reyes
Spanish conquistadors named the Termas de Reyes, 1,800 meters above sea level in the mountains west of Jujuy, for the Inka royalty that enjoyed the thermal baths above the precipitous canyon of the Río Reyes. In the past century, the baths and their historic hotel have been kicked around like a soccer ball, changing hands from private ownership to the Fundación Eva Perón in the 1940s to the military in the 1950s and again in the 1970s, and to the provincial government. Privatization in 1999 has granted it some of the grandeur to which it has always aspired but never quite reached.
In the vicinity of the hotel, there is free but very rustic camping, along with baths, and excellent hiking. Guests at the Hotel Termas de Reyes (RP 4 Km 19, tel. 0388/492-2522, info@termasdereyes.com, www.termasdereyes.com) pay US$54 s or d with breakfast for interior rooms, US$63 s or d for rooms with exterior views; there are also a few suites with private hot tubs (Evita, by the way, slept in room No. 100). Nonguests can use the hotel’s public baths, and its outdoor swimming pool, for a fee; there is also a restaurant.
From Calle Dorrego, near the bus terminal in San Salvador, colectivo No. 14 goes to the Termas hourly between about 6:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m.
Purmamarca
At the base of the vivid Cerro de los Siete Colores, peaceful Purmamarca’s adobe ambience is, ironically, making it one of the Quebrada de Humahuaca’s fastest-growing settlements. While the arrival of town-dwellers to these Andean foothills could undermine the colonial character of a village with only a few hundred inhabitants, to this point the newcomers have respected Purmamarca’s captivating style, despite a growing abundance of tourist-oriented services.
In the long run, a likelier villain is heavy truck traffic along the international highway that stretches from Pacific Chile to Atlantic Brazil and, when paving is finally complete, may see ever more movement along the so-called Corredor Bi-Oceánico (Bi-Coastal Corridor). For the present, though, Purmamarca remains one of the most pleasing points in the entire Quebrada.
Purmamarca (altitude 2,190 meters) is 65 kilometers northwest of San Salvador de Jujuy via RN 9 and RN 52, which continues west through the altiplano to the Chilean border, for access to San Pedro de Atacama, Calama, and Antofagasta.
Purmamarca is a sight in itself, what with its pepper-shaded plaza and, at its south end, the colonial Iglesia Santa Rosa de Lima. The church itself dates from 1778 or 1779; a lintel dated 1648 probably came from an earlier construction.
Starting from and returning to the plaza, the Paseo de los Colores is a cactus-studded three-kilometer loop that winds around its namesake hill behind town. While it’s plenty wide for automobiles, it makes an equally good or even better hike, but take water and snacks.
Purmamarca’s Mercado Artesanal, on the east side of the plaza, has grown with increasing numbers of tourist buses from Salta and Jujuy.
Maimará
Maimará’s most memorable view, only a few kilometers north of Hornillos, may be the dazzling hillside cemetery seen from RN 9 as the highway passes through the Quebrada. Then again, it may simply be its scintillating setting beneath the polychrome La Paleta del Pintor (the Painter’s Palette), comparable to Purmamarca’s Cerro de los Siete Colores. In either event, this small, dusty farming village (elevation 2,320 meters) is something to look at.
The attractive Hostería Posta del Sol (Martín Rodríguez and San Martín, tel. 0388/499-7156, posta_del_sol@hotmail.com, from US$17/21 s/d) offers spacious view rooms with stylish algarrobo furniture. There is also a pool and a restaurant.
Buses up the Quebrada pass through town en route to Tilcara and Humahuaca.
Tilcara
Thanks to its Andean archaeological heritage, living indigenous presence, artist-colony atmosphere, and scenery equal to the rest of the Quebrada de Humahuaca, many visitors enjoy Tilcara more than any other settlement along the route. In the sheltered valley of the Río Grande, it’s warmer than Humahuaca, with far better services.
Tilcara (population 4,364) is 86 kilometers north of San Salvador de Jujuy and 2,461 meters above sea level via RN 9, which passes west of the Río Grande; a bridge connects the town to the highway. Plaza Prado is its civic center, but a few blocks from the plaza the streets are highly irregular. It is small enough, though, that orientation is no major problem despite the uneven terrain and frequent lack of street signs.
Sights
On the south side of Plaza Prado, specializing in regional archaeology in general and the Quebrada de Humahuaca in particular, the Museo Arqueológico Doctor Eduardo Casanova (Belgrano 445, tel. 0388/495-5006) showcases many of its 5,000 pieces in this colonial-style house; six of its eight rooms host permanent displays, while the other two usually have special exhibitions. Hours are 9 a.m.–6 p.m. daily except Tuesday, when it’s closed; in January, it may stay open until 7 p.m. Admission (US$1) is also valid for the Pucará de Tilcara.
Immediately west of the archaeological museum, the Museo Ernesto Soto Avendaño (Belgrano s/n, tel. 0388/495-5354, US$1, free Thurs.) displays some of the more modest efforts of the sculptor of Humahuaca’s hubris-laden indigenista monument to the heroes of Argentine independence, of which there is a scale model here; the colonial building itself belonged to gaucho colonel Manuel Alvarez Prado, to whom one room is dedicated. Hours are 9 a.m.–1 p.m. and 3–6 p.m. daily except Monday and Tuesday.
Half a block west of Plaza Prado, the five-room Museo Irureta de Bellas Artes (Belgrano and Bolívar, tel. 0388/495-5124, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. and 3–6 p.m. daily except Mon., free) presents some 150 paintings, illustrations, engravings and sculptures by modern Argentine artists including its founder, the sculptor Hugo Irureta.
On the east side of Plaza Prado, the Museo José Antonio Terry (Rivadavia 459, tel. 0388/495-5005, US$.35) honors a porteño painter who, living in Tilcara 1910–1953, chronicled local and regional traditions and landscapes through his oils. Hours are 9 a.m.–6 p.m. daily except Monday, when it’s closed, and Sundays and holidays, when hours are 9 a.m.–noon and 2–6 p.m.
Before the Spaniards arrived, the Quebrada de Humahuaca was an outlier of the Inka empire, but more than five centuries earlier the peoples of the region had built hilltop fortifications like the Pucará de Tilcara to detect invaders—such as the Inka latecomers—and defend their settlements. About one kilometer south of Tilcara’s Plaza Prado, this reconstructed archaeological site (tel. 0388/495-5073) appears to have some Incaic features. Admission (valid also for the archaeological museum on Plaza Prado) costs about US$1, well worth it for the panoramas that the site’s defenders were probably unable to appreciate; there is also a native-plant botanical garden.
About 10 kilometers north of Tilcara, just before the hamlet of Huacalera, a monolith on the west side of RN 9 marks the Tropic of Capricorn.
Events and Shopping
Tilcara holds a number of special events, of which the most specifically local is January’s Enero Tilcareño, a month-long celebration that encompasses many individual cultural activities, including music and sports. Both February’s Carnaval Norteño and April’s Semana Santa are observed throughout the Quebrada. The indigenous Festival de Pachamama (Mother Earth Festival) takes place in August.
Plaza Prado is sinking beneath the weight of its souvenir stands. For distinctively decorated calabashes, cross the river to the Taller Artesanal, in Quebrada Sarahuaico.
Uquía
Only a few kilometers south of Humahuaca, straddling RN 9, the hamlet of Uquía is notable for its Capilla de San Francisco de Paula, a colonial chapel dating from 1691. It’s also notable for the chapel’s series of restored Cuzco-school paintings featuring the ángeles arcabuceros, nine angels armed with 15th-century European matchlock guns, and for its Baroque altarpiece, possibly the work of a craftsman from Potosí. The church is open 10 a.m.–noon and 2–4 p.m. daily.
Alongside the church, the shiny new Hostal de Uquía (tel. 03887/490523, elportillo@cootepal.com.ar, US$11/14 s/d) has comfortable rooms with private bath and breakfast, and has a bar/restaurant.
Humahuaca and Vicinity
North of Tilcara, the higher, colder climate of Humahuaca has discouraged the influx of lowlanders that have built weekend houses in Purmamarca and Tilcara, so that the village has remained more visibly indigenous and its narrow, cobbled, adobe-lined streets more typically Andean. Though services are not so good as those in Tilcara, it’s cheaper and, therefore, a popular stop for budget travelers.
Beyond Uquía, RN 9 climbs steeply toward and then bypasses Humahuaca (population 8,010), which straddles the Río Grande to the east; in a more exposed location than Tilcara, the town sits 2,939 meters above sea level. Most but not all sights and services are west of the river; some, though, are across the bridge in the neighborhood known as La Banda. The key archaeological site of Coctaca is 10 kilometers to the northeast via the La Banda bridge.
Sights
Humahuaca’s colonial core is a sight in itself, with narrow cobbled streets that can barely accommodate automobiles, and some alleyways through which motorcycles would have problems passing. Facing the central Plaza Sargento Gómez from the west, the 17th-century Iglesia de la Candelaria y San Antonio is a national historical monument that’s needed frequent repairs because of earthquake damage, and underwent an almost total rehab between 1926 and 1938. The twin bell towers are an 1880 addition, but the rococo altarpiece dates from around 1680. The Cuzco school’s Marcos Sapaca created Los Doce Profetas (The Twelve Prophets), an 18th-century series of paintings that decorates the church’s walls.
Immediately north of the church, a broad flight of stone steps rises to Tilcara sculptor Ernesto Soto Avendaño’s pompous Monumento a la Independencia (Monument to Independence, 1950), which took 10 years to complete. Out of place in a town whose populace is largely indigenous, it’s also out of proportion to its surroundings.
On the south side of the plaza, a full-size replica of San Francisco Solano emerges from the clock tower at the Cabildo de Humahuaca, occupied by municipal offices; in theory, this happens daily at noon, but in practice it’s often earlier.
The privately run Museo Folklórico Regional (Buenos Aires 447, tel. 03887/421064) is the work of author and activist Sixto Vázquez Zuleta, also known by his Quechua name of Toqo. Hours are 8 a.m.–8 p.m. daily for guided tours only, which cost US$2 pp. Toqo himself is at the museum only irregularly because of family commitments in San Salvador de Jujuy. The museum is alongside the local youth hostel.
Across the bridge and about 10 kilometers to the north, the bench terraces of Coctaca cover about 40 acres of what once were intensively cultivated lands, irrigated by canals and sluices, on an alluvial fan. Now almost uncultivated, they suggest that the area once supported a much larger population.
Events and Shopping
Humahuaca celebrates February 2 as the Fiesta de la Virgen de Candelaria, in honor of its patron saint. February is also the month of the Carnaval Norteño, which takes place in many communities along the Quebrada.
The old train station, just west of the river, is the site of Humahuaca’s Mercado Artesanal; woolens are the pick of the crafts.
Iruya
Perched on a hillside above its namesake river, Iruya is a settlement of steep cobbled streets where a handful of automobiles can go no faster than the far more numerous burros. Its colonial Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Rosario y San Roque rises above the squat adobe houses that conserve their heat at 2,780 meters above sea level.
Iruya is also the terminus of RP 13, a stunningly scenic gravel road that passes through several hamlets to an altitude of 4,000 meters at the Abra del Cóndor. At this point, entering Salta Province, it begins a vertiginous descent through terrain that evokes the most remote Peruvian highlands, with pre-Columbian agriculture clinging to nearly sheer hillsides fast being undercut by the river.
Iruya (population 1,200) is about 100 kilometers northeast of Humahuaca via RN 9 and RP 13, which is open all year, but a couple of stream crossings can be tricky for passenger cars in the wet summer months. This would be an exhilarating mountain bike ride on arrival, as the climb from Humahuaca makes a strenuous but relatively gradual workout, but the return trip from Iruya would be exhausting, as the climb is much steeper.
Iruya has a couple of simple accommodations in the US$2–3 pp range: Hospedaje Tacacho is Spartan but clean and friendly, while the improvised Café del Hostal (tel. 03887/15-629152, which is also a restaurant) has a certain ramshackle charm.
Were it not beyond and above the village proper, the sore-thumb Hostería de Iruya (tel. 03887/15-630019) would stick out even more, as it’s larger than any other building in town. In its own right, the spacious provincial hotel boasts bright, cheerful, well-furnished rooms, a well-decorated, airy lobby and restaurant, and attentive service. Rates are US$14/21 s/d for hillside rooms (which lack views) and US$21/31 s/d for rooms with valley views. Entrees on the restaurant menu, which includes locally grown Andean tubers, run from US$3.50–6.
From Humahuaca, Transporte Mendoza has daily buses to Iruya, returning the same day.
Abra Pampa
Ninety kilometers north of Humahuaca, paved RN 9 emerges onto the altiplano at windswept Abra Pampa, a low-slung treeless town nearly 3,500 meters above sea level. Though it’s often cold and cloudy, when the sky clears and the wind drops, the vastness of the landscape can be enthralling.
Most of Abra Pampa’s 7,495 inhabitants are Quechua Indians who live off the wealth of their herds of goats, sheep, llamas (look for llama-crossing signs on the highway!) and a handful of cattle. Otherwise, there’s little to see or do here, but southbound travelers from Bolivia, especially those descending the Quebrada de Humahuaca on bicycles, may have to stay here. The best accommodations option is probably Residencial La Coyita (Gobernador Fascio 123, tel. 0388/749-1052, US$4.50/7 s/d); breakfast is US$1 extra.
La Quiaca
Where RN 9 ends at the international border, the altiplano town of La Quiaca is often an obligatory stopover for international travelers to or from Bolivia. While neither La Quiaca nor the Bolivian border town of Villazón has much to see in its own right, the nearby village of Yavi is worth at least a detour and preferably an overnight stay. During the convertibility decade, commerce nearly died in La Quiaca, but since the devaluation of the Argentine peso, Bolivians have begun to cross the border to make their purchases here, while Argentines cannot afford Bolivian products.
La Quiaca (population 13,736) is 280 kilometers north of San Salvador de Jujuy. Most of its services are west of the tracks of the inoperative Belgrano railroad, but the border crossing itself is east of the tracks via a bridge over the Río Villazón. The border is open 24 hours.
Hotel Frontera (Belgrano and Árabe Siria, tel. 03885/422269), charges US$3.50/6 s/d for shared accommodations. A better choice is Hotel Cristal (Sarmiento 539, tel. 03885/422255, US$7/11 s/d). The best, though, is the comfortable, spic-and-span Hotel de Turismo (San Martín and Arabe Siria, tel. 03885/422243, hotelmun@laquiaca.com.ar, US$11/18 s/d with private bath); rates include breakfast and access to a heated swimming pool.
La Quiaca’s few eateries are below average by Argentine standards, but try the parrilla La Taberna (Avenida España and Belgrano) or the Club Atlético Argentino (Balcarce and 25 de Mayo).
The ACA service station, east of the tracks on Sánchez de Bustamante, has provincial maps for sale, but there is no tourist office.
Correo Argentino is at San Juan and Sarmiento; the postal code is 4650. The Cooperativa Telefónica is at Avenida España and 25 de Mayo, but phone calls are more expensive here than elsewhere in the country.
The ATM at Banco de Jujuy (Árabe Siria 445) facilitates money exchange, especially for those crossing the border at odd hours.
The Bolivian Consulate (Sarmiento 529, tel. 03885/422283) charges US$20 pp for visas; hours are 9:30 a.m.–1 p.m. weekdays. Argentina has a consulate in Villazón (Avenida Cornelio Saavedra, tel. 591/2597-2011), but most foreigners do not need a visa to enter Argentina. Note that the Argentine Gendarmería (border guards) may search your person or belongings on demand, but they are usually polite and professional.
Buses south to Jujuy (US$9, four hours), Salta, and intermediate points leave from the Terminal de Ómnibus at 25 de Mayo and Avenida España.
Yavi
Only a short drive east of La Quiaca, where the Río Yavi has cut into the altiplano to create a sheltered valley, out-of-the-way Yavi has a colonial charisma that’s utterly lacking in its dowdy, neighboring border town. Southbound travelers should spend at least an afternoon here, and increasing numbers of visitors are choosing to stay a night or more.
Yavi dates from the late 17th century, when Juan Fernández Campero y Herrera married into the family of the area’s original encomendero; the settlement became the encomienda’s administrative base and, later, the base of the family’s extensive landholdings.
Sights and Events
When Juan Fernández Campero y Herrera laid the cornerstone of Yavi’s Iglesia de San Francisco in 1682, it was only a modest chapel. Today’s austere but handsome church is the result of various exterior improvements during colonial times; it’s the ornate interior, though, that makes the trip to Yavi worthwhile. From the forged ironwork of its doors to the wooden choir and the laminated gold altarpiece and pulpit, this is a colonial treasure. Ostensibly, hours are 9 a.m.–noon and 3–6 p.m. weekdays except Monday, 9 a.m.–noon Saturday, but it’s sometimes necessary to track down the custodian elsewhere in the village.
Immediately across from the church, the slowly crumbling Casa del Marqués Campero was the encomendero’s residence and is now a hybrid museum/library, though its eclectic exhibits include none of the family’s personal effects. It has no fixed hours; ask around for the custodian (who may or may not be the same as the church’s). Two blocks south of the house is a ruined molino, a water-powered flourmill.
Immediately north of town, the reddish hills known as the Cerros Colorados contain pre-Columbian rock-art sites at Las Cuevas. About five kilometers northeast via an undulating gravel road, the terrain near the village of Yavi Chico resembles a scale model cutaway of the Grand Canyon.
Toward the end of March, the Encuentro de la Comida Regional y la Música Popular offers regional cooking and live folkloric music in the campground at the riverside park. Dishes include tamales, humitas, and the like.
Monumento Natural Laguna de los Pozuelos
In the altiplano’s azure clarity, northwest of Abra Pampa and southwest of La Quiaca, Laguna de los Pozuelos is a shallow but biologically bountiful wetland that’s a breeding site for coots, ducks, geese, and three species of flamingos, along with many other migratory and resident species like plovers and avocets. Because of this rich but sensitive habitat, it’s a designated critical wetland under the international Ramsar convention; in all, there are 44 breeding bird species.
The biggest attention-getters, though, are the 25,000 flamingos, which build conical mud nests.
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