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Sun 24 Jan: Cafayate to Tilcara
The route from Cafayate to Salta is along RN 68 heading north, which takes you through the Río Calchaquíes Valley and on to the Quebrada del Río de las Conchas (Canyon of the River of Shells). Cafayate to Salta is 194 km. The road is paved and the route is quick. Takes 4 to 5 leisurely hours to complete the drive, with time spent at the various spots along the way.
Just outside Cafayate, the limestone hills morph into the Quebrada de Cafayate—a spectacular swirl of ochre coloured arches and canyons. Along with these natural wonders lies multicolored rock hills, red rock canyons, cacti and a winding river and several picturesque river valleys. We took several hours to get from Cafayate to Cabra Corral with many stops and (little) walks along the stunning road through the Quebrada de Cafayate.
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Incredible route...the canyon demonstrates the power of water, wind and millions of years with its distinctive rock formations and rich colours. The 50 km passage is like going through a painter's palette with deep reds, browns, and greens. As it follows the river, you will see a series of special formations. Gravity and reality defying rock formations (which are all indicated by road signs ) such as
One might say that the names are given to enhance the tourist potential of the route, but the names were really irrelevant, it was just mile after mile of stunning scenery. You can see below the scale of the place, as Chris is dwarfed by a chunk of eroded rock
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Once through the canyon area, we came to the big reservoir at Cabra Corral, where many of the rich from the surrounding cities have country houses.
Once we got to Salta there was a choice of two routes north to Tilcara. We learnt afterwards that what is the much shorter route on the map, in fact takes considerably longer. Salta to Purmamarca 3h 30m through the road 9 or 2h 30m through 9, 43, 66, 9 roads. We took the shorter, slower route. It is a narrow, one track road (in other words when a car comes the other way, you have to pull onto the gravel verge, and with a bit of luck there is enough room to pass). It runes through the Yungas (rain forest), and is very sinuous. The rain forest tended to mean that there were not many open views to enjoy!
Tilcara is small town, more a village really, with few paved streets and few tourists except for the backpackers who have discovered it.
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Our hotel, Hotel Las Terrazas on TripAdvisor and hotels own web site and boutique hotels. Built on the side of a hill on the edge of the town. We had had a long day, and although the hotel did not have a restaurant, they did a pleasant cold meat platter in the room.