A magnificent tour is Route 68 from Salta to Cafayate, then Ruta 40, Argentina’s most famous road to Cachi, and then 33 over the mountain back to Salta. This journey takes you through outstanding landscapes and pleasant, old small towns. In addition, Cafayate is known for having the world’s highest vineyards, and there are plenty of wineries where you can take tours and do tastings.
Ruta 68 to Cafayate
From Salta, it’s initially flat and boring, but it becomes stunning as you approach Cafayate. You drive down a valley with the river on the right side, with increasingly fantastic mountain formations in all nature’s colors: red, green, gray, and blue. The mountains are not exactly granite but hard-packed sand and moraine. So water easily erodes this and creates fantastic canyons that cut inward. You feel like stopping every 200 meters to take photographs.
And it’s very rewarding to explore these narrow river valleys on foot. It’s easy to follow the dried-up creek beds into a world of fantastic, sculptural sand castles. In some places, marked trails lead you further among crags and valleys. I recommend setting aside many extra hours for this part of the journey or possibly driving a few miles back from Cafayate if you end up staying for a few days.
Cafayate attracts many tourists and has many accommodations and plenty of eateries. Besides nature, the vineyards are the big draw. There is also an archaeological museum 50 kilometers south of Cafayate where you can see excavations and remains of a pre-Columbian village.
Ruta 40 to Cachi
Route 40 stretches from Bolivia in the north to the very south of Patagonia. Most of it is paved, but from Cafayate and northward, it’s gravel. This is also considered the most scenic stretch of the route. The road is mostly good, and you can drive with a regular car. However, good ground clearance is an advantage because in many places, the road can be washed out by rain showers and is quite rugged. The road is mostly wide, but through cuttings and along cliffs, it narrows to a single lane.
We had a slightly exciting episode where we drove up a very steep hill, through a very narrow cutting, and steeply down the other side. Just over the hilltop, we suddenly see a colossal truck coming towards us. Absolutely no space to pass; the trailer honks because it can’t stop. It wouldn’t be able to start again in the loose gravel-
So we had to throw the car in reverse and reverse as fast as possible, hoping we would get enough out of the road. And we made it with a few decimeters of clearance.
Again, it’s the most fantastic mountain formations and colors surrounding us, and the journey takes probably twice as long as Google Maps suggests.
Cachi
Cachi is a wonderful little town in a complete colonial style situated at 2500 meters altitude. This helps with the temperature, which is around 25 degrees while it’s 30+ in Cafayate. Around the large square with tall, shady trees, there are several restaurants. All Argentine towns have such a large square, green and with shady trees. The squares, which are always called 9th of July Square or another famous date, attract both tourists and locals, and especially in the evening, there is a rich social life with music and performances. As always, people sit and drink mate tea from characteristic cups with built-in straws.
We had put some effort into finding a good place to stay and ended up at a hospice with a large green garden with shady seating areas and a pool, as well as a cozy restaurant. It was very nice to have the opportunity to sit outside. It wasn’t more expensive than the other places either. Hostería Tampu Cachi.
In the valley up towards the mountain east of the town, there are several hiking opportunities. And a small, intimate campground with room for perhaps 4 tents and two cars with roof tents. The place is very scenic by a river with clear water, has toilets, and costs the modest sum of 50 cents per person. Camping Comunidad Diaguita El Algarrobal, coordinates: -25.0903345,-66.247036.
Rainy weather
You have to reckon with it in the summer, which is the wet season. The good news is that it mostly only rains in the evening and at night. In the 10 days we were in the Salta region, there were often a few drops in the evening, but not enough for anyone to care. Except for one evening in Cachi where it poured and the heavens opened. As a result, there had been some small landslides in the first stretch of Route 33, but not enough to matter. But be aware that this can be a problem, especially if you continue driving north on Route 40, where it is remote and, most notably, high, up to 5000 meters. It will take time before the road is cleared here.
Ruta 33 to Salta
Route 33 starts gently with a 10 km straight stretch that even has a name, Recta del Tin Tin. On each side of the road, there are insane amounts of cacti; South America’s largest collection of such. So many that a national park has been established called Parque National los Cardones. Cardon is the name of the cactus type. Cacti grow everywhere in Salta, and the shape probably contributes to the macho culture the country is known for.
After the cacti, the road starts to climb gently to 3457 meters before it goes downhill through countless hairpin bends down to 1000 meters above sea level. The mountainsides are green, llamas lurk around, and it’s strikingly beautiful. The last part goes through a narrow river valley. The Transfagarasan in Romania is said to be the world’s most beautiful mountain pass, and I’ve driven it. But now I’m not sure if I agree. The road is wide, mostly asphalt, but with well-maintained gravel in the steepest part.
Chicoana
Is a small town without tourists, at the end of 33 and a bit south of Salta. We were going to drop off the car the day after in Salta, and coincidences brought us here. By seeking out such slightly off-the-beaten-path places for tourists, you can find gems. The gem we found was Bo Hotel De Encanto. We were assigned a huge room with access to a fantastic garden with flowering bushes and large palm trees, and a small pool. The building was in colonial style with high ceilings and venerable, old furniture. The nicest place we stayed in for 4 weeks, and only moderately expensive. So feel free to search a little off the beaten path, and you will find.
Read more about Argentina here: About Salta North, Buenos Aires, and Bariloche in Patagonia. In the Buenos Aires article, there are lots of practical tips for the trip.: category/argentina
