Humahuaca Gorge

From San Salvador de Jujuy, it can be reached this natural path leading up to the high plateau. Colorful landscapes frame this patchwork of small villages, with mud houses, historical chapels, and Pre - Hispanic ruins, where time seems to have stopped One of the most beautiful towns in this region is Purmamarca, a native little village surrounded by the Cerro de los Siete Colores (Hill of the Seven Colors), which, on its colorful strata, reflects the different geological ages.

At Maimará, there is a stretch of land called "La Paleta del Pintor" (The Painter's Palette), where mountains are "painted” with fringes of different colors. One of the main attractions in this gorge is the Pucará of Tilcara, a pre - Columbian fortified city built by the native American Omaguaca people.

Every June 21, the day of the winter solstice, people gather by the Monolith of the Tropic of Capricorn to celebrate the Inti Raymi (Sun Festival), an ancient Aymará celebration carried out to welcome the new farming cycle.

Humahuaca was founded by the Spaniards by the ends of the XVI Century. Its church and Regional Folk Museum provide a complex overview on the uses and customs of the region. 12 Km. from Humahuaca, tourists can visit the mysterious ruins of the Coctaca farming terraces, with a checkerboard pattern of pircas (stone walls). Quebrada de Humahuaca was declared Cultural Landscape of Mankind by UNESCO on July 2, 2003.

Info and Images: www.argentina.travel