Patagonia and Altiplano Expedition | #43 – Surroundings of Cafayate

Cafayate was our base camp for a few days to explore the surroundings. There are two main roads north of Cafayate, the Ruta 40 and the Ruta 68 to Salta.

(Editor’s note: we have visited this area in April 2023)

The Ruta 68 leads to the Quebrada de las Conchas.

Quebrada de las Conchas

This area is full of spectacular canyons and red rocks similar to the national park in the southwest U.S.A.

There are several distinctive rock formations along the Ruta 68. Here is a list of what can be found and the distance from Cafayate:

• Los Colorados – 18 km
• Los Castillos – 19 km
• Las Ventanas – 20 km
• El Obelisco – 22 km
• El Fraile – 32 km
• El Sapo – 34 km
• Mirador Tres Cruces – 43 km
• Garganta del Diablo and El Anfiteatro – 47 km

We explored all these places and some more on a day trip from Cafayate.

The El Obelisco is, as the name implies, a cone-shaped mountain with countless shades of red in the background.

The landscape in this valley is absolutely stunning.

The Mirador Tres Cruces gives a nice overview of the valley of the Rio las Conchas. The orange color of the sand and rocks is in perfect contrast to the green of the grass and bushes.

The Garganta del Diablo and El Anfiteatro are both spectacular narrow canyons.

At the end of the short El Anfiteatro trail, there is a huge natural hall, the amphitheater.

Since this place has a very special acoustic, you can often find musicians there playing their instruments.

As you can see from the images you will never be alone in the Quebrada de las Conchas. It’s a very well-known tourist hotspot. And it’s very easy to reach. Salta with its big airport is very close and the road from Salta to this valley is paved and in perfect condition. That’s the main drawback of the Quebrada de las Conchas. The landscape is absolutely spectacular but it feels more like being in a national park in the U.S. than in a remote wilderness in South America.

On our way back to Cafayate, the sun was already low above the horizon and the late afternoon light combined with the dark clouds was perfect for photography.

Next to the road, we found a small lake in an unbelievably intense red color.

The last sun rays of the day gave the landscape some mystic atmosphere.

After sunset and just before it was getting completely dark, everything was glowing in extremely intense red and orange tones.

At this time of the day, all the tourists were gone and we finally had the chance to feel the real magic and wilderness of this place.

Ruta 40 North of Cafayate

Next, we wanted to explore the Ruta 40 north of Cafayate on a day trip from Cafayate. There are a couple of very interesting places along this road.

Our first stop was in San Carlos where you can find the fabulous store Mitiko Artensias de Fábulas y Leyendas.

It is beautifully decorated and offers interesting stuff from lucky charms, handicrafts, and artwork to different magic accessories. It’s definitely worth a stop.

Along the way, you can often see colorful birds in the trees.

The thousands of chilies spread out on the ground for drying were an unusual sight for us.

Similarly unusual to us is the way cemeteries looked in this area.

Next to a church, we found a group of very hungry (and very friendly and cute) puppies. We gave them some food to help them to survive under these harsh desert-like conditions.

Quebrada de las Flechas

Our main destination of this day was the Quebrada de las Flechas. It is located about 70 km north of Cafayate at the Ruta 40.

The road leads directly through some of the spectacular canyons.

The landscape is just stunning there.

One of the rock formations looked like a ghost from a certain angle.

The best view of the Quebrada de las Flechas offers the Miradir El Ventisquero.

A short trail from the car park leads to the top of a small hill.

The view from there is awesome, especially in the warm and soft afternoon light.

Close to the Quebrada de las Flechas, you can find the Mirador Angastaco.

On the way back to Cafayate we stopped again at several places and enjoyed the warm evening light and colorful sunset.

Both the Quebrada de las Conchas and the Quebrada de Las Flechas are definitely highlights of our South America trip and should not be missed if you are in this area.