A few months ago, I was on my way to my home country, Argentina. Finally, after 2 years I was going to see my parents, my little sister, my family and friends. This time I was taking one of my friends Rory with me. Since we got back, we haven’t had a chance to meet up so that I could write the post about his experience but I can assure you he had an amazing time, ate lots of meat, tried traditional food and drinks, went to visit the best Football Stadium, Boca Juniors of course, and went clubbing.
But while I was there, I didn’t just catch up with friends and family. I also went on a trip up north to Salta and Jujuy with my mum, Monica, and Rory. None of us had been there before so it was a great experience.
Three days after we arrived, we had to go to the airport, again. This time the domestic flight airport, to take a plane to San Salvador de Jujuy, where our trip will began. My mum was in charge of all the booking and planning. She is in university, for the third time (I know she is amazing, I’m so proud of her), getting a degree in tourism, so she was excited to show us all she had learnt during her classes.
We took a flight with Aerolíneas Argentinas, 2:30 hours on a plane, a really adorable box with snacks, no delay and BOOM! We were there! We rented a car and started our 4 day road trip.
Our first stop was Purmamarca, best known for the Cerro de los Siete Colores (The Seven Coloured Hill) and the town’s handicraft market. I don’t know if you remember but, in a previous post, I talked about this Cerro, or hill, that has many colours. Its unique colour range is the product of a geological history including marine sediments, lake and river movements. Nature never fails to amaze me.
As soon as we arrived we dropped everything in the hotel and went to get something to eat, it was the afternoon and the only snack we had all day was what they gave us on the plane. We ended up in a small restaurant and we ordered some empanadas, a stuffed pastry, popular in Latin American countries. There are many different types of empanadas, but it was the first time I had the option of charqui (dried salted meat) of llama. Yes you read it right, up here people eat llama meat. I was a bit dubious but intrigued at the same time, so we ordered just one charqui llama empanada and we shared it between the three of us. I didn’t really like it but I think it was because it was charqui, llama may taste better if cooked in a different way. That first night we went to bed early, we had a big day ahead of us.
On day two, we had a driver waiting for us. We were going to Salinas Grandes, a salt flat with an area of 212 km, between Salta and Jujuy provinces, and it is at approximately 3450 mamsl.
Salinas Grandes is 126km from where we were and the way there has lots of turns, driving on the edge of the mountains and not to mention the altitude. So just in case she wasn’t feeling well, my mum decided that is was smart to hire a driver that was used to the route and to the altitude.
And off we went, with the amazing landscape around us, the mountains, the colours, everything so dry, with not much vegetation. National Route 52 reaches 4170msnm and from here people stop to take a picture with the sign and to enjoy the magnificent view.
When we reached the highest point I wasn’t feeling well to be honest, my head was killing me and it felt like someone was squeezing my head, I wasn’t adjusting to the altitude. But then we arrived and I forgot about the pain, well at least for the most part. We had this gigantic salt desert, this dried white land and it was just impressive.
The origin of Salinas Grandes in Jujuy and Salta date to a period between 5 and 10 million years ago. They say that there used to be a sea here with a big concentration of salt. With time the sea evaporated and this breathtaking salt flat was born.
There was a souvenir shop, now closed, all made of salt, the building, the tables, the benches, everything!! Just amazing.
After that we jumped back on the car and drove back, passed Purmamarca and went all the way up the Quebrada de Humauaca. Quebrada literally means broken but in this case it refers to a deep valley, it’s a landform narrower than a canyon. It was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 2 July 2003.
200km later, we arrived to the city of Humahuaca, located in the colourful valley of the Quebrada with the same name. In the centre of this place there is a church tower which can be seen from the main square with a clock that chimes at 12 pm, after which a small door opens and a figure of Saint Francis Solano comes out and makes the sign of the cross. Didn’t get to see it but this is what they told me.
In front of the main square, at the top of the stairs you have a Monument to the Heroes of Independence. From the highest point it provides you with a spectacular sight of the town. We also walked around the market and enjoyed lunch in a small local restaurant.
After some shopping, we got back in the car and started driving back. We did one more stop before heading back to the hotel but I think I already told you A LOT today. So let’s just leave it here and I’ll tell you more on the next one.
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See you xx