Sun, colored landscapes and good wine in the Calchaquí valleys

The truck leaves the square of Cafayate When the sun is very high and the town sleeps their nap. After a route km, we stop for an introductory talk. “This is my conference room,” says Guide Marcelo González at the first stop. The “lounge” is nothing more than some stones under an carob where we all sit down. Luxury is in the background: the Gallery of incredible shapes and colors of the Quebrada de las Conchas, in Salta.

The guide gets excited talking about dunes, tectonic investment, geoforms and oxidations that form the colors of this 80 km scenic route of 80 kmof which we will travel approximately 50.

The ravine is just one of Cafayate’s many attractions; One of the many jewels of that great system of northwest valleys and mountains to which we call Calchaquí valleys. The tourist offer is completed with about twenty warehouses and one gastronomy which is encouraged to go beyond traditional dishes to accompany the world of wine. “Cafayate, I live again,” says the song of the Chalchaleros. And they want to pay attention to him.

The Paseo de la Quebrada has the first stop next to the National Route 68 In the Colorados, where we begin to discover the geological formations.

The look stops in the Red sandstone of iron, the yellow of sulfur, the blanco From salt and plaster … “Look at that locomotive rock … This one has a king’s face …” says the guide. “Of course, you need some imagination … or wine,” he adds.

The trip is still in the Las Conchas place, where The mountains form a large window With the base valley. Then, castles is a succession of imposing and colorful columns of sedimentary sandstones.

After passing through an old florera arrives The amphitheatera large semicircular cannon of about 70 meters deep.

There the game is to stop in the middle of the “stage” and shout, applaud or sing to experience the echo that arrives as a wave. “The mountain would be the plates of the theater,” says a traveling companion. For a while, we are all children with a new sound toy.

Perhaps the great strawberry of this dessert is the Devil’s throata geological formation of reddish sedimentary rock in which strong water falls were produced at the end of the glacial era. The first feeling is abyss, as if those rocks could come over.

After a while, with Marcelo’s help, we started climbing to gain height and landscape. “Make short trancos, with the tip of the foot,” he advises. At times, a silence, a being there, attentive to the walk and the landscape.

At a stop to recover the air, the look stops in the small: the striated form of the rock, a beam of light … When we return to the town, we have the feeling of having been left with The sun and the colors stuck in the body.

Dry climate, little rain and great thermal amplitude. Sunny days and fresh nights, and height: cafayate, 1,700 meters above sea level, and Angastaco, at 1,900. These conditions make this ground a Blessed land for wine.

The Altalaluna hotel offers the possibility of making tastings with a view to the hills and vineyards; There the visits and tastings of the Tukma winery are made.

“We have ten labels and we have 20 hectares, with which we make a production of about 220 thousand bottles per year,” says Romina Liendro, Sommelier and member of the winery team of the winery.

We start with him Torrontés Reserva 2023, emblem strain of the area. “Do you notice the fruit and aromatic? Citrus feels a lot. The grapes come from Angastaco, ”explains Romina about the production of the winery, which also has vineyards in Huacalera (Jujuy).

Then there is a more intense content, height 2670 Sauvignon Blanc de Tukma. Then a Malbec and a Tannat Reserva 2020. “This has more body, more structure. He spent eight months in barrels, ”says Liendro. Another day will be the turn of the Premium line and reserve of the winery, with Tukma Cabernet Sauvignon, Grand Court 2019, Gran Torrontés 2020 and, to crown, a sweet: Torrontés Lartío 2022.

In the hotel restaurant you can accompany those tastings with a letter that includes dishes such as Quinoa salad and Andean papines, kid croquettes, veal loin and spicy vegetables, among others.

Andean papines. Empanadas Humitas and tamales. Chivito Goat cheese And so we could continue listing the Chafayate Manjares List identifyand that he shares ingredients with the Argentine “great”. In front of the main square of the town -simply “Cafayate Plaza” -, the restaurant Pusk’no It combines the tradition of these dishes with fusion kitchen.

The chef and owner, David Miranda, went through the fires of the Sheraton Salta and through different wineries and toured Peru with his motorcycle and knives. “That’s why you will find An Inca touch in the letter”, Clarifies about his restaurant, which opened three years ago and gained prestige in the area.

Miranda’s dishes are looking for a new look at the traditional ingredients of Cafayate. For example, one of the entrances is a goat cheese carpaccio on eggplants confitted with dried tomatoes, nuts and arugula.

Instead of the traditional casserole, the chef created as the main Cabrito terrine; It is crumbled and pressed meat with a seed crust, in addition to a potato rosti.

For dessert, a great finding is the Palta ice cream “Actually, almost a semi -reddo-, pure live creaminess of the fruit. It is done with milk cream and pastry. And they also offer a drink of regional masitas and chocolate brownie with turmeric cream.

Plans on Salta land can continue. There is still a visit to the vine and wine museum. A night out to see the stars, with minced and wine. Make a picnic, take a northern cuisine class or see sunset at the Piattelli winery.

When the end of the day comes, the memory of the Fresh shadow of the parrales, of the sopor and the calm of the nap, of the first – and small – sip of a glorious wine. The memory of this valley is recorded, of this tTierra watered by the sun and blessed by wine.

With his vineyards, wineries and medanos, Cafayate is one of the many destinations proposed by the legendary National Route 40the longest in Argentina.

Very close, another of the possible stops is San Carlos, considered The oldest town in Salta And one of those who best retains the architectural influence of the colonial era, such as the San Carlos Borromeo Church. There, adventure lovers can practice kayak or fish at the Dársena dike, a three km2 water mirror that receives the tributaries from the Calchaquí River.

Always to North direction, Amasastaco It is another town that surprises with its Natural Angastaco monument, with its lunar landscape sculpted by nature and striking formations such as the Arrow ravinewith the hills as large sharp tips pointing to the sky and route 40 zigzagging in the middle.

Nearby, in Seclantás, a small town in the Molinos department, it is worth stopping at the Church Our Lady of Carmen, built between 1827 and 1835, to appreciate the pictorial decoration of its old altar and Visit the artisans people in their homes To buy ponchos, tapestry and blankets. There are also family wineries that produce Patero and Mistella wine.

A few km above is Cachi (155 km from Cafayate), at the foot of Cachi Nevado, the highest summit of the Calchaquí valleys (6,380 meters), wineries and Los Cardones National Park.

• Aerolineas Argentinas, Flybondi and Jetsmart fly directly to Salta, from $ 69,000 round trip.

• From Salta, Flechabus and the Indian go to Cafayate. The trip lasts 4 hours and costs $ 21,0000 (only one).

• Another option is to fly to San Miguel de Tucumán and there take a bus (Aconquija transport, 6 hours, $ 29,000 Ida).

• The Boutique and Spa Hotel Altalaluna, 14 km from the center, is in a house of 1892. It has broad environments and galleries, with rooms overlooking the vineyards. Double room from $ 179,906 per night with breakfast, access to spa and pool and wine tasting Bodega tukma reserve. There are 4×3 packages, three installments without interest and 10% discount for payment by credit or transfer card (www.altalaluna. Com).

• Guided tour of Bodega Finca Las Clouds, $ 13,000. Includes tasting of three labels (@fincalasnubes).

• Visit to Bodega Tukma with tasting in the vineyards, $ 14,000 with reserve line and $ 22,000 with high range (www.tukma.com). The wineries have a restaurant and can combine tasting and lunch.

• Mid -day excursion to Quebrada de las Conchas, $ 40,000 with guide and transfers (@majoviajesturismo).