Between Mendoza and Salta lies the Argentina that hardly anyone crosses: the high valleys of San Juan under the Mercedario, the Triassic badlands of Ischigualasto and the red canyon of Talampaya, the vineyards of Famatina where wine is still trodden by foot, the largest Inca ruins in the country, and then the Calchaquí valleys and the Quebrada de Humahuaca. Two weeks and some 2,000 km along the eastern foot of the Andes, much of it on the Ruta 40, from one great wine city to the other.
Day 1 · Mendoza
Highlight · Arrival in Mendoza and a first briefing on the region.
Arrival in Mendoza, a short briefing on the region, and the car.
Night · Mendoza
Day 2 · Mendoza
Highlight · The wineries around a garden city at the foot of the Andes.
A free day for the city, a garden oasis at the foot of the Andes, and its wineries.
Night · Mendoza
Day 3 · Over the pre-Andes to Barreal
Highlight · El Alcázar at Calingasta, then the Mercedario massif over the valley of Barreal.
Drive · 250 km · 4 h
Across the pre-Andean range on a winding road with long views of the mountains. Before arriving, a stop at Calingasta for El Alcázar, a strange, many-coloured rock formation. Barreal is a quiet green valley facing the Mercedario massif and the high central Andes, and the base for exploring them: the night is in Barreal.
Night · Barreal
Day 4 · Across the desert to Valle Fértil
Highlight · The Ullum dam and its gorge on the way across the San Juan desert.
Drive · 450 km · 6 h · paved
Across the San Juan desert, with a detour to the Ullum dam and its gorge, to San Agustín de Valle Fértil, the gateway to Ischigualasto.
Night · Ischigualasto & Talampaya
Day 5 · Ischigualasto and Talampaya
Highlight · Every layer of rock laid bare in the Valle de la Luna and the canyon of Talampaya.
A full day in the two parks, both on the UNESCO World Heritage list and among the few places on earth where every layer of rock, and the movement of the plates, lies exposed. Ischigualasto and its Valle de la Luna are 97 km from Valle Fértil; the canyon of Talampaya 70 km further on; Villa Unión another 70 km north, all on tarmac.
Night · Ischigualasto & Talampaya
Day 6 · Villa Unión
Highlight · A return to the parks, or the drive up to Laguna Brava.
A day to rest or to return to the park not fully seen the day before, or to drive up to Laguna Brava.
Night · Ischigualasto & Talampaya
Day 7 · Cuesta de Miranda, Famatina and Shincal
Highlight · El Shincal, the largest Inca ruins in Argentina, beside the Ruta 40.
Drive · 119 km gravel, then paved
A full day on the road. Over the Cuesta de Miranda to Chilecito, with La Mexicana mine and its long cable car, then north under the snowy Famatina, past vineyards where wine is still made by treading the grapes and outcrops of rhodochrosite, Argentina's pink stone. On the Ruta 40, El Shincal, the largest Inca ruins in Argentina. The night is in Belén, in Catamarca.
Night · Belén
Day 8 · Belén to Cafayate
Highlight · The citadel of Quilmes, whose people held out for decades against the Spanish.
Drive · 261 km · 3 h · 80 km gravel
A morning among the weavers of Belén, famous for llama and vicuña ponchos, and its potters. Then north through the Hualfín valley, where the old Inca trail runs between desert and green valleys past historic chapels, and the Santa María valley, rich in archaeological sites. A stop at the ruins of Quilmes, the citadel of a people who held out for decades against the Spanish, before Cafayate and a Torrontés winery.
Night · Cafayate
Day 9 · Quebrada de las Conchas
Highlight · The Dunes, the Castles and the Devil's Throat, with a stop at every one.
A free day for the Quebrada de las Conchas and its wind-carved forms, the Dunes, the Castles, the Obelisk, the Monk, the Toad, the Amphitheatre and the Devil's Throat, with stops at every one.
Night · Cafayate
Day 10 · Ruta 40 to Cachi
Highlight · The twenty-metre white blades of the Quebrada de las Flechas.
Drive · 162 km
North through the twenty-metre white blades of the Quebrada de las Flechas, past Angastaco to Molinos. From there, the Churcal road through the farms rejoins the Ruta 40 near Seclantás, where a detour across the river visits the weavers of red-and-black ponchos. 30 km more to Cachi.
Night · Cachi
Day 11 · Los Cardones and the Cuesta del Obispo to Salta
Highlight · The Recta del Tin Tin and the Piedra del Molino, around 3,600 m.
Drive · 157 km · 2 h 30
Past Payogasta and through the Los Cardones national park with its giant candelabra cactus, along the Recta del Tin Tin and up to the Piedra del Molino, around 3,600 m, then down the Cuesta del Obispo and the Quebrada de Escoipe to Salta.
Night · Salta
Day 12 · Salta
Highlight · Salta's historic streets, its food market and its squares.
A free day in Salta: its historic streets, shops, food market and squares.
Night · Salta
Day 13 · North to Purmamarca
Highlight · The 400 bends of the old Ruta 9 through the hanging cloud forest.
Drive · 180 km · 2 h
Ideally on the old Ruta 9 and its 400 bends through the hanging cloud forest, then into the Quebrada de Humahuaca to Purmamarca.
Night · Purmamarca
Day 14 · Tilcara, Uquía and back to Salta
Highlight · One of the oldest churches of the Quebrada, and its potters, before the road to the airport.
North first, to Tilcara and its indigenous ruins, and to Uquía, with one of the oldest churches of the Quebrada and its potters, before the drive back to Salta airport, where the car is returned.
