Iruya

Iruya belongs to Salta but is reached through Jujuy, by a road that leaves the Quebrada near Humahuaca, crosses a pass at four thousand metres and drops for hours into a deep valley. The village clings to the slope at the bottom, with stone streets that go up and down, a blue and white church and a Kolla community that lives much as it did before the road arrived.

Two nights are needed: the drive takes a day, and the place asks for slowness. The classic walk goes up the riverbed to San Isidro, a smaller village eight kilometres away, two and a half to three hours each way, crossing the river several times. Other walks climb to viewpoints over the village and the valleys. Iruya fits in the middle of a journey through the Quebrada, between Tilcara or Humahuaca and the road back south.

April to November is the season, when the river crossings on the road are dry. Summer rain can cut the road for days.