TILCARA ATTRACTIONS

The Our Lady of the Rosary Church
Its construction was started in 1797, but was inaugurated only in 1865. And, likle most churches and chapels of the region, it was reconstructed several times. Its exterior walls are of adobe; inside you will find the famous painting of the Cuzco School "Six Scenes of the Virgin". This church has been named a National Historic Monument.

Main Square Plaza and Side Streets.
As in all cities of the area, the handicrafts market is located around the Main Square, where you can find local products such as local sweets, ponchos, earthenware crockery, musical instruments, and other ornaments.

The Pucará of Tilcara Fortified place (Site Museum) Pucará is an Inca language or Quechua word and its literal translation is "Fortified City". It is found 2 km from the town, after crossing a typical bridge and climbing uphill. Thus, from this aged tactical place there is a wonderful encompassing view over the access to the Gorge.

It is part of a defence chain which from above testifies to the amazing technological agricultural achievement of a people and their culture, capable to build fortresses to protect themselves from the hunting and gathering tribes further east and, maybe, to dare oppose the mighty Inca empire to which they finally succumbed towards the end of the XV century.

Pucará is one of the four fortified towns, which the original people of the Humahuaca Gorge built on top of strategic hills overlooking the Río Grande. From north to south, these villages are named: Calete, Yacoraite, Campo Morado and Tilcara. There are also other ancient towns of difficult access, but these have been constructed on open areas overlooking the side valleys.

The Pucará of Tilcara has been partially restored and partly not: the un-restored parts show what the archaeologists had to start out with.

The Pucará is built on top of a hill, which rises about 70 m above the bed of the Río Grande, occupying near 15 hectares. It was an ideal defensive position, on one side cliffs overlooking the river, on the other side steep hillsides and on the only accessible parts they had a defensive wall built. Here they built their houses, which stacked one on top of the other constituted a series of bulwarks for defence against any attacker.

Over the years archaeologists have been able to restore some areas of the dry-stone work. During their visit, the travellers will be able to discern the numerous Inca roads, real arteries connecting the different areas, carefully crafted, sustained by dry stone work or using the ones sustaining the dwellings.

For example, in the Entrance Sector or Barrio de La Entrada, you will find the first plain area units, with a room, a patio and a burial place in its centre. In the Temple Sector you will find altars, patios, burials and corrals. The place is thought to have been devoted to the ceremonial cult of the moon and the sun.

To get a full idea of how life was for the builders of the temple you must pay a visit to the Tilcara Archaeological Museum, Museo Arqueológico de Tilcara. The town itself is built in old-fashioned style, low slung and colonial, with narrow steep streets going down towards the Río Grande, surrounded by hills of various colors and scenic views.

The High Altitude Botanical Garden
At the foot of the Pucará of Tilcara, on the left bank of the Río Grande, you will find this important centre where you will see some specimens of the plantsto be found in the Puna highlands and in the Humahuaca Gorge. It can be visited every day between 09:00 AM till 07:00 PM.

Archaeological Museum
This is an important museum of its kind in all of Argentina. It opened its doors in 1968 and here you will find displayed over three thousand pieces that use to belong to the Ethnographic Museum in Buenos Aires, "Museo Etnográfico de Buenos Aires". At present there are eight exhibit halls open to the public, a library and an administrative area.

Hall 1 is dedicated to the Andean countries that border Argentina: Chile and Bolivia. Here you will find a precious mummified body that was found in San Pedro de Atacama in present day Chile.

Hall 2 is entirely dedicated to Peru, with ceramic pieces from the Nazca, Mochica and Chimú cultures.

Hall 3 exhibits pre-Hispanic pieces from northwestern Argentina.

Halls 4 and 5 show pieces from the Puna or highland area of Jujuy. There is an interesting reconstruction of a chullpa, which is a kind of Aymara burial mound.

Hall 6, named Ambrosetti, is committed to pieces from the Pucará of Tilcara.

Hall 7, or Debenedetti, holds the rest of pieces from the Quebrada de Humahuaca Gorge.

Hall 8 is reserved for temporary exhibits.

Other Museums

• The ''Ernesto Soto Avendaño" Museum holds pieces and memorabilia of the sculptor that made the Monument to Independence in Humahuaca.
• The Regional Museum of Art is called 'José Antonio Therry''.
• The University of Buenos Aires has a local museum called Museo Arqueológico Dr. Casanova, which exhibits an important collection of archaeological remnants from various periods.

The Archaeological Site of Huichairas
On top of a 100 metre high hill, on the right bank of the Río Grande, facing the Pucará of Tilcara, you will find this site formed by a dense group of stone dwellings made of in a rectangular shape. You will also find remnants of roads and fallen down walls. You can get there by a dirt trail.

The La Isla Archaeological Site
A few km north of Tilcara, on the left bank of the Río Grande, in the folds of the Cerro Negro Mountain, you will find an archaeological site called La Isla, made up of five pre- Hispanic sites. Each one has remnants of dwellings, walls, stonework and burial places, which have contributed with about 300 pieces to the town museum. Access goes through a dirt footpath.

NATURAL ATTRACTIONS

The Devil's Throat
Located 7 km from Tilcara, in the upper cause of the Río Huasamayo, from where there is a wonderful view of the Quebrada de Humahuaca Gorge and the snow-clad peak of Chañi, you will find this deep canyon, chiselled out of the living rock by the river. Access is through a dirt road and you can trek, horseback ride or drive a car there. We recommend you to take a local guide with you.

URBAN ACTIVITIES

Local Festivities
One of the most enticing tourist attractions of Tilcara is its calendar of colourful traditional festivities. Here are mentioned some of the most interesting:

The Popular January Tilcara Fiesta; the Chicha Festival and the "Bumping of the Godmother", or el Topamiento de Comadre, which takes place on the Thursday before carnival. Also, in February there is the Feast to Mother Earth - Fiesta de la Pachamama, and the Meeting of Singers - Encuentro de Copleros in the locality of Purmamarca.

On Ash Wednesdays in Easter, an image of the Virgin of Copacabana is carried on the shoulders of the faithful from Punta Corral; on Good Friday, the stations on the road to Calvary are kept in front of the so called hermitages, "ermitas", enormous banners of great artistic beauty, made up of flowers and dry fruits by the neighbours.