La Quebrada de Humahuaca—Tilcara

We had been hearing about “La Quebrada de Humahuaca” since Mendoza, when we started heading into Northern Argentina. Quebrada means broken, and the Quebrada is actually a long and very dramatic canyon that runs north and south for about sixty miles in Jujuy Province. Jujuy is the far north of Argentina, bordering with Bolivia. From the border down to the very south is more that 3000 miles.

The road follows the river at the bottom of the canyon, and the mountains rise up on each side. There are three main villages that are nestled in the Quebrada, north of Jujuy city. Purmamarca is the first. It´s a teensy little village that is at the base of La montaña de siete colores. Layers, strata, of different colored rock shine in the morning and evening light. Tour buses come just so people can gaze at the colors. The next two villages, Tilcara and Humahuaca, are also at the base of impressive mountains.

We stayed in Tilcara for three daysin a beautiful spacious hostel.

Our room is to the right, and yes, that is a hammock.

I took advantage of the grounds to juggle in the late afternoon light.

Tilcara is about 7500 feet in elevation, and the mountains are everywhere. They are what makes the quebrada a quebrada.

Most of the buildings in town are made of mud and bricks. The people make the bricks from the earth, and they can build a house pretty quickly. They are durable and beautiful.

We arrived in Tilkara at the beginning of Carnaval. Unbeknownst to us, the entire quebrada has a tradition of being a Carnaval hot spot for people from all over Argentina. As few as ten years ago, it still was a sleepy town, but within these past few years, Tilcara and the other towns have become a destination at this time of year. We arrived on Wednesday, and on Thursday, the town filled up with Porteños and people from all over the country. The restaurants were full, and this being Argentina, the asados were full steam ahead.

We left Tilkara, bound for Bolivia. A new country, a new culture. We bid farewell to Argentina, the immense country. Here´s Monica at the bus station, waiting for the bus that will take us northward.