Patagonia and Altiplano Expedition | #44 – Cachi

From Cafayate, we continued along the Ruta 40. Our next destination was Cachi, 160 km north of Cafayate.

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

Cachi

In Cachi, we rented an apartment for 3 nights to explore the village and its surroundings.

Cachi is a small but beautiful village with lots of cute little shops and restaurants.

Cachi has a very calm and relaxed vibe. It felt very safe to walk around, even at night.

In the El Bistró de Cachi, we tried some of the local specialties.

We also used Cachi as our base camp to explore the surroundings.

Molinos

50 km south of Cachi you can find the picturesque village Molinos.

Colomé

From Molinos, an 18 km offroad track leads to the famous vineyard Colomé.

To visit the vineyard registration in advance at www.bodegacolome.com is obligatory.

The vineyard with its buildings is very impressive.

In the middle of nowhere, there is a very luxurious bodega. Very unexpected in this area and feeling a bit out of this world.

Of course, we joined a wine tasting at Colomé. During that, we learned a lot about the different types of wine and also about the history of Colomé. One of the vineyards in the neighborhood that also belongs to Colomé is located at an altitude of 3100m. It’s the highest elevation for a vineyard in the world. The wine is called Altura Máxima.

After the presentation, we had somewhat mixed feelings about Colomé. From 1831 until 2001 this traditional vineyard was owned by an Argentinian family for many generations, including the huge real estate of 40,000 hectares (about 400 km²). Due to the economic crisis in Argentina, they were forced to sell the bodega and vineyard in 2001 to the Swiss Hess family. It was a hard decision for them, but they had no choice.

The story was kind of sad to hear. And it felt a bit unfair that some foreign people could just come and buy one of the oldest and largest vineyards in the world including 40,000 hectares of ground.

On the other hand, how the Hess family has developed this vineyard is very impressive. The bodega is extremely beautiful and fits perfectly in the surrounding landscape.

In 2009, they built an art museum next to the bodega. It features a James Turrell exhibition and was our main reason to visit Colomé. James Turrell is an American artist who primarily works with light and space. We had already visited several of his light installations in Hobart, Tasmania in the past and were amazed by his works of art. You can find some examples of his work in our MONA report.

Sadly, photography was not allowed in the James Turrell exhibition at Colomé. The entrance fee for the combination of wine tasting and the exhibition was around 40€ per person. Not cheap, but for us it was worth the money. They also offer even more expensive packages including a gourmet lunch or dinner.

The 18 km drive from Molinos to Colomé and back leads through a very beautiful landscape. On the way back we stopped several times for photography and some short walks.

Payogasta

11 km north of Cachi you can find Payogasta. Another cute little village, worth a short stop.

Parque Nacional Los Cardones

Next, we visited the Parque Nacional Los Cordones, which is located east of Cachi at the Ruta 33.

This national park is famous for its huge fields of cardon grande cactus (also known as Argentine saguaro).

In addition, you can find lots of wildlife and beautiful birds in this national park (wildlife images were again shot by Linnéa).

Los Colorados

Another highlight in this area is a place called Los Colorados. It is located at Ruta 42 east of Cachi.

The hills there are colored in different shades of yellow, orange, red, and brown.

The geological formations at Los Colorados were absolutely stunning, especially in the beautiful light at sunset.

After sunset, the landscape was still glowing in a soft and warm light.

Cachi and its surroundings were another highlight for us and should not be missed if you are in the northwest of Argentina.