THE WEST ANDEAN CIRCUIT

Tourists wishing to pay a visit to the past, in Santa Rosa de Tastil, should not be surprised by encountering the Tren a las Nubes (Cloud-Bound Train) at San Antonio de los Cobres; or the glaringly white impact of the Salinas Grandes salt mines, at 3300 m.a.s.l..

These are just three examples of the interesting West Andean Circuit, a one-day trip driving across 320 kms of the Ruta Nacional Nº 51 National Route.

Travellers will go through the Campo Quijano town; admire the Quebrada del Toro Gorge; spend some time in Santa Rosa de Tastil, take a guided tour to the Museo Arqueológico Archaeological Museum, visit the church and the people of San Antonio de los Cobres, named after the famous Sierra del Cobre (Copper Mountain) there found, rich in this mineral, and they will finally find the La Polvorilla viaduct, a piece of fantastic railroad engineering work.

From this point, travellers can go back either by the same roads or taking less known roads.

Access to the Abra del Acay mountain pass (4895 m.a.s.l.) is through the Ruta Nacional Nº 40. Going further ahead is the town of La Poma, of outstanding beauty due to the fabulous design of its houses. Four-wheel drive vehicles are usually recommended for this tour.

Another very interesting road is the Salt Way (Camino de la Sal), formerly used by those trading in this commodity.

From San Antonio de los Cobres and following the Ruta Nº 40, travellers arrive to Salinas Grandes. The circuit is completed after passing by Purmamarca, in the Jujuy Province, and then going up to Humahuaca or returning to the city of Salta passing San Salvador de Jujuy.

Another option is to continue through the Ruta Nacional Nº 51, upon the Sico pass to Chile, or connect with the Ruta Provincial Nº 129 to Tolar Grande and Antofagasta de la Sierra, in Catamarca.

Travellers must remember to keep warm. The maximum altitude is 4080 ms at the Abra Blanca mountain pass.

Other spots on the West Andean Circuit:

La Poma.

Palermo.

Payogasta.

Recta del Tin Tin.

Rosario de Lerma.

La Poma
At 3015 m.a.s.l., it is a town 91 kms south of San Antonio de los Cobres, standing alongside the Río Calchaquí River, half way down the valleys of the same name, and surrounded by sheer beauty. West of the town, above the Palermo snow-capped peaks, rises the Cienaga Grande (Big Swamp) Mountain peak at 6030 ms. The name La Poma comes from the Quechua word puma, a feline also known in Spanish as mountain lion whose ferful tracks can still be found in the area. Travellers arriving on rented cars or driving their own vehicles, should remember to have enough fuel.

The Quebrada de Escoipe Gorges
It connects the Lerma and Calchaquí Valleys. The road unravels along the Río Escoipe River, and when reaching the ravine, it delivers the vision of sort of greenish rocks adopting a variety of shapes is memorable.

At the foot of the Cuesta del Obispo (Bishop's Slope) stars the hillside road, with impressive landscapes unveiling at each turn. Two kms before Piedra del Molino, with an altitude of 3,620 m.a.s.l. and the final point of the ascension, a side road takes visitors to the Valle Encantado Valley, where erosion has carved beautiful formations.

Piedra del Molino stands in the middle of an large high plain called Cachipampa. With a gentle slope towards the west, begins the 11 kms long descent ending at Tin-Tin (with a curious 13 kms long straight line running through the Ruta Provincial Nº 33), which is a lower plain famous for its varieties of cacti and the striking Amancay (Hippeastrum ambiguum) flowers, growing everywhere during the southern hemisphere's summer.

The Quebrada del Toro Gorge
The Quebrada del Toro Gorge is a gulch that has very eroded and almost perpendicular walls. Spontaneous vegetation includes trees in the lower areas, and shrubs and huge cacti in the upper zones. A practically obligatory stop on the way is the town of El Altarcito with its picturesque chapel. Through the ravine, cacti ornate the multicoloured mountain's slopes along with the leafy vegetation, the blue of the sky and the luminous atmosphere.

Recta del Tin - Tin Straight Line
It is a 13 kms straight line, running at around 3000 m.a.s.l.. It was built by the natives using bonfires as landmarks. It has a perfection equivalent to that achieved today by modern technology with its precision instruments.