The northwestern corner of Argentina is not a forgotten part of the map but it is often skipped over in favor of more famous places nearby like the Atacama desert in Chile or the Uyuni Salt Flats in Bolivia. La Quebrada de Humahuaca in the province of Jujuy is this gorgeous, colorful, otherworldly mountain valley which has been inhabited by people for about ten ten thousand years. Filled with unique landscapes, cultural heritage, and raw mysticism, this place had been high on my bucket list for a while.
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| Purmamarca, Jujuy, Argentina |
Using the province capital, San Salvador de Jujuy, as my initial base, I booked a day tour that took me through Purmamarca, the first of many notable villages lining the valley floor of the Quebrada de Humahuaca.
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Purmamarca, Jujuy, Argentina
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From here, we turned west and went to the salt flats Las Salinas Grandes where we got to play around and feel very small (also a nice appetizer for what was to come in Bolivia (post incoming)).
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| Las Salinas Grandes (salt flats), Jujuy, Argentina |
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Las Salinas Grandes (salt flats), Jujuy, Argentina
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| Pucará de Tilcara, Jujuy, Argentina |
Next stop was the village of Tilcara where some national tourists (from Buenos Aires and Rosario) I met at my hostel were going on a small, guided tour up the western side of the valley, and invited me to join.
Tilcara, Jujuy, Argentina
Our guide was a local spiritual leader whose family was native to the area. As we were making our way up the mountain, we would take many breaks sitting on the ground in a circle where he would tell us about the natural philosophy and practices of the local people. I felt very lucky to be able to have such an intimate experience where my Spanish language skills, I had picked up as an exchange student ten years earlier, made this possible.
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| Hiking near Tilcara, Jujuy, Argentina |
Part of the hike involved entering various caves (hence the helmets in the upcoming photo), the native people use as a place to meditate. Our guide led us through a couple of these traditional meditations in pitch black darkness.
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Hiking near Tilcara, Jujuy, Argentina
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Hiking near Tilcara, Jujuy, Argentina
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From Tilcara, I hitchhiked to Humahuaca, the next big village up the valley. Not because busses weren't very cheap and too unreliable. But because I wanted some adventure. Which I got. It was surprisingly hard to hitchhike in this region (and with that I mean I had to wait more than an hour for a ride which I'm not used to as someone who has mainly hitchhiked with a female partner). Still, people were very kind, many signaling that they were only driving around the area and therefore not an option.
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| Campsite in Humahuaca, Jujuy, Argentina |
Despite this small challenge, I managed to make it to Humahuaca in two rides (the second one easier to catch as I was waiting next to a smaller village on a more deserted road (pity is a strong motivation behind picking up a hitchhiker)). Here, I seemed to be a lonely camper as I came in summer, also known as the rainy season.
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| Serranía de Hornocal, Humahuaca, Jujuy, Argentina |
Luckily, a French couple traveling around the continent in a car joined me under a shelter as the evening rain came down, and we shared dinner, coffee, wine, and stories. The following day, they gave me a ride to Serranía de Hornocal, a characteristic mountain range known for its vibrant earthy colors.
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| Campsite in Iruya, Salta, Argentina |
Next stop was the small village of Iruya in the province of Salta (right next to Jujuy) which I reached with a small bus going around narrow corners and clinging on to the smallest edges as the mountain side just dropped below. One of those death roads you hear about in South America. But the other passengers, mainly locals, seemed very relaxed.
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Iruya, Salta, Argentina
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| Friends in Iruya, Salta, Argentina |
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| Hiking near Iruya, Salta, Argentina |
I only had a single night in this village, but that was enough to go on an afternoon hike. I was only supposed to go on a short one to a known look out spot but once I got to the top, paths kept going on along the side of the mountain. Empty of signage, these paths are mainly created and used by shepherds, and they were too tempting to miss out on.
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| Hiking near Iruya, Salta, Argentina |
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| Meeting another friend while hiking near Iruya, Salta, Argentina |
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| Hiking near Iruya, Salta, Argentina |
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| Hitchhiking in Jujuy, Argentina |
Leaving Iruya, I caught a bus back to Humahuaca and stretched out my thumb once again to hitch a ride to La Quiaca, the final village in the valley, bordering Bolivia, and also where you find the beginning (or end depending on how you want to define it) of Route 40, the iconic road my dad and I had driven a good chunk of on motorcycles a few weeks earlier. That felt like a good symbolic ending to the Argentinian part of my journey.
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| La Quiaca, Jujuy, Argentina (border town to Bolivia) |
