Cafayate, Southern Salta Province

After our day in Salta, we were picked up at 7:15 a.m. by our guide Armando, to go see the area in the southern part of the Salta province and the winery town of Cafayate. We thought we would be in a small group, but it turned out to be a private tour for just the two of us for about the same price as a tour group of 16 taken in huge trucks. Que suerte! Armando, born and raised in Salta with Bolivian parents, took us all around Cafayate and gave us some tips for our upcoming trip to Bolivia. He drove us through fields of tobacco until we got out of the Lerma Valley and entered the Quebrada de Cafayate and the Calchaqui Valley. This is the start of a huge gorge located about 1600m above sea level. The area is full of sandstone landforms shown in some of the pictures below.

Tobacco hung out to dry

La Garganta de Diablo (the Devil's Throat), so called because of it's narrow entrance, carved from a waterfall many thousands of years ago

Armando and Jeff

El Anfiteatro (The Amphitheater), a naturally formed "theater" known for it's amazing acoustics

We were serenaded by some locals. The sound effects really were great.

La Quebrada de Cafayate

crazy psychedelic green plant

Titanic shaped formation

Some local kids coming home from school. Lots of children wear lab coats instead of uniforms. They must feel so professional.

Cazuela de Cabra (Goat stew) actually very yummy

Locro, a dish local to NW Argentina and Bolivia