CALCHAQUIES VALLEYS CIRCUIT

With a 200 kms length and covering an extension of a little over 17000 square kms, the Valle Calchaquí Valley is westward of of Salta. It forms a fringe that runs from north to south along the homonymous river, at the foot of the sub-Andean sierras, and constitutes the so-called puna or haighlands, border.

If the traveller chooses to undertake this circuit, he should know that the valley has a 70 kms average width, and does not keep the same north-south steepness along its entire course. From 3,000 ms high (La Poma), it descends down to 1,600 at Cafayate, which stands beside the Valle de Santa María Valley, in the Catamarca zone.

The Calchaquí valleys form a geographical unit characterized by the geological depression, that extends through the Salta, Catamarca and Tucumán Provinces; The circuit of its tour includes the La Poma, Cachi, Molinos, San Carlos and Cafayate Departments as well.

Numerous rivers of variable water affluence feed the Río Calchaquí River. They are tributaries that form small transversal creeks through its course. Among them are the Angastaco, Amaicha, Luracatao, Brealitos, Cachi, Palermo, Salado, and the Peñas Blancas.

Crystalline streams are also frequent in this valley, meandering down from the western hills to add up to the Calchaquí's flow, which joins the Santa María River south of Cafayate to continue through the Guachipas Gorge or Las Conchas, from which point it takes this name to end up flowing into the General Belgrano's dam (Cabra Corral), in the Pasaje or Juramento River. And then, after a 3,000 kms journey, it finally arrives in the Atlantic Ocean.

The weather at the Valles Calchaquíes Valleys is that of a semi-deserted area, with a high solar radiation index, scarce rains (200 to 400 mm a year) and snow precipitations at the higher summits. Temperatures are differentiated according to the altitude and the latitude, and usually oscillate between 20 and 25º C, with maximums of 35º C during the summer and minimums of 5º C for the south; these measurements are lower towards the north of the valley.

The temperature contrast between days and nights, offers the valley the privileged luminosity of its sky and the clarity of its atmosphere. This healthy environment is rich in ultraviolet irradiations. The winds are dry and intense, as they predominantly come from the west or northwest, and the moisture evaporating from the Calchaquí River only interrupts the dryness of the ambiance.

Travellers can start the circuit from the City of Salta, going south through the Nº 68 National Route that runs across diverse towns of the Valle de Lerma Valley, to finally arrive at the Cabra Corral dam.

Further ahead, the Las Conchas Gorge unfolds a series of capricious clay-coloured geological formations. This road takes the visitor to Cafayate, the main town in the valleys.

Going through the Ruta Nº 40, the trip continues across the towns of Animaná, San Carlos, Angastaco, Molinos and Seclantás, before arriving to Cachi.

The circuit is completed when taking the Ruta Nº 33, that crosses the Cuesta del Obispo (Bishop's Slope) and the Escoipe Gorge, where travellers can find landscapes of imposing beauty.

At El Carril, travellers take the Nº 68 Route to return to Salta. This traditional circuit, located in the middle of the Province of Salta, offers as attractions its different sceneries and the architecture of its towns.

It is a stunning sierra region with unbelievable natural attractions that displays amid its fertile and warm valleys an unmatchable sequence of nature, customs and history.