Quebrada de Humahuaca

Introducing Quebrada de Humahuaca

North of Jujuy, the memorable Quebrada de Humahuaca snakes its way upward toward Bolivia. It’s a harsh but vivid landscape, a dry but river-scoured canyon overlooked by mountainsides whose sedimentary strata have been eroded into spectacular scalloped formations that reveal a spectrum colors in undulating waves. The palette of this Unesco World Heritage-listed valley changes constantly, from shades of creamy white to rich, deep reds; the rock formations in places recall a necklace of sharks’ teeth, in others the knobbly backbone of some unspeakable beast. The canyon’s southern stretches are overlooked by cardón cactus sentinels, but these peter out beyond Humahuaca as the road rises.

Dotting the valley are dusty, picturesque, indigenous towns that have a fine variety of places to stay; pretty, historic adobe churches; and homely restaurants serving warming locro (a spicy stew of maize, beans, beef, pork and sausage) and llama fillets. The region has experienced a tourism boom in recent years, and gets very full in summer.

There are many interesting stops along this colonial post route between Potosí (Bolivia) and Buenos Aires; buses along the road run every 40 minutes or so, so it’s quite easy to jump off and on as required. The only spot to hire a car hereabouts is in Jujuy, or, further south, in Salta. The Quebrada de Humahuaca itself shows its best side early in the morning, when the colors are more vivid and the wind hasn’t got up.

Look out for Xuri, a great little magazine published bimonthly with articles on regional culture and events.

Last updated: Mar 2, 2009