SURROUNDINGS

PATHS OF THE PERUVIAN PACE HORSE

This tourist circuit, framed by valleys and mountains, will make you experience memorable moments where nature and culture will trap a traveller that has already been caught by the splendid landscapes, country life and the spectacular rides on horses with a soft and elegant gait.

The Peruvian Pace Horse is the best saddle horse in the whole world. The origin of this unique equine breed goes back to the arrival of the Spaniards to America, and reached northern Argentina from the Alto Peru (present day Bolivia) across the Inca Road that goes through the Cafayate Valley.

In Argentina, the breeding of this horse is one of Salta's dearest traditions. Parading on a Peruvian Pace Horse when paying tribute to General Miguel Martín de Güemes, every 17th of July, while commemorating the anniversary of his death occurred on 1824, is the utmost aspiration for all the local gaucho cowboys.

Its suave and aristocratic movements characterize the Peruvian Pace Horse. The breeding reserve of Salta has gained worldwide recognition by the best international specialists, like the Peruvian judges Luis Vázquez Nacarino and José Risso Matellini.

The Peruvian Horse's motion mechanics, also known as "Aires" or flaunting confers to the rider an elegant and smooth pace.

The Peruvian Pace Horse is a natural pacer. This means that it first moves its right hind leg and then its right fore leg; in the next movement it takes out its left hind leg and then its left fore leg. The structure of this motion produces a gentle stride, owing to the stability of the horse's gravity centre.

The way it elevates its forelegs, and the outward flaunting movement of its hooves, are movements that confer particular elegance and showiness, which is another distinctive characteristic of this equine breed. The Peruvian Pace Horse Breeders Argentinean National Association is to be found in Salta.

Getting to ride a Peruvian Horse and to meet with locals in their homes is, undoubtedly, a very attractive possibility. It allows the traveller to take part in the countryman's life, sharing nights around a fireplace, filled with legends, tales and zamba black mixed music and soaking it all up in Salta wines.

Since 1987, long-established sweeping of the horses has become one of the most praised spectacles in Rural Palermo. The circuit includes 14 establishments, divided in three groups:

The San Agustín-La Isla Group
The Finca La Paz Ranch, The Finca San Francisco Ranch, The Finca La Isla Ranch, The Finca El Alamo Ranch, The Finca San Agustín Ranch, The Cabaña Onda Leku Cottage, The Finca Belgrano Ranch, and The Cabaña Las Cuatro Marías Cottage.

The Valles Calchaquíes Cafayate-Molinos Group
The Finca San Miguel Ranch, The Cabaña Mi Refugio Cottage, The Finca San José de Angostura Ranch, and The Finca La Angostura Ranch.

The Valle de Lerma Valley Group
The Finca California Ranch, The Finca San Bernardo Ranch, The Estancia La Maroma and Finca Santa Anita Ranch.
Cottages present horse exhibitions, gastronomy, horse riding, archaeological visits, agro-tours and lodging in the ranch themselves.