Our border crossing from Bolivia to Argentina first required us to take a bus from Uyuni to the border town of Villazon.
From here we took a short taxi ride to the “frontier” and proceeded to walk across a bridge connecting the two countries. Confusingly Argentina doesn’t stamp your passport on entry to the country, so once we were reassured we didn’t require one we made our way to the nearest bus terminal in search of a bus to our first stop of Humahuaca.
The journey took around 4 hours and provided stunning views along the way of the Quebrada de las Conchas mountain range. Upon arrival to Humahuaca we quickly realised it was just as cold as Uyuni as we ventured out for dinner to a lovely restaurant called Puerta Verde. The next day we decided to spend the morning wandering around the town, heading to the monument for the heroes of the Independence up the hill, with views over the town and the surrounding valley.
We then did a spot of souvenir shopping around the central square, before finding a 4x4 to take us to the 14 coloured Hornocal mountain. Unfortunately the background in the car was all in Spanish but we got the gist, and the views were spectacular with all of the different colours really standing out. After a walk down to the Mirador (and then back up again) it was time to head back to our hostel, ending our day in Humahuaca.
The next day we were up early to continue our village hop of northern Argentina, with a short bus ride in the direction of Tilcara. To make the most of our time here we made a quick turnaround on arrival in the direction of the Garganta del Diablo, a 7 mile hike high up into the mountains. Here we were rewarded with a stunning waterfall, and incredible cavernous views of the mountain, as well as great views back over the town. The sun was still high and hot so we rewarded ourselves with a beer and some quinoa empanadas on our return to town. Dinner was another local fare (with some more delicious Argentinian wine).
The following morning we had a bit of time to wander around the local market and some local artisanal stands - you can never have too many souvenirs - before jumping back on the bus to take us further south to Salta. This bus was longer so upon arrival we headed straight out to get our first Argentinian steak at a local Parilla. The next day we ventured up the cable car for views across the city, before walking down and discovering the historic buildings and city plaza’s. It was then time to head even further south to Cafayate, Argentina’s lesser known wine region.
Although arriving on a Sunday night the town seemed lively, with people in all of the restaurants, giving the place a lovely buzz. With two full days here we signed on to a tour of the Quebrada de Las Conchas for our first afternoon. With a bit of time to spare in the morning we had time to dip into our first bodega, Bodega Vasija Secreta, going on a quick tour of the distillery (all in Spanish) before sampling one red and one white wine. This was our first taste of the Torrontes, the white wine of the region made at high altitude, and it was really tasty (although the Red wasn’t our favourite). We then had time for a quick lunch so popped into the Casa de Empanadas for their infamous platter of 12. We went for a mix, getting some of the famous saltenas, and then some with the local goats cheese and some with local salami. All were delicious!
Having eaten it was time for our tour so we jumped in the minibus to get driven to the multiple viewpoints in the mountains. Unfortunately this was again all in Spanish, but the views were incredible with more coloured mountains, an amphitheatre made entirely in rock, and another Garganta del Diablo which our guide led us through, clambering up vertical rocks towards the back. It was an amazing afternoon and great to see more of the region.
Having made Ali wait, we then spent the whole next day discovering more wines of the region. Our “self guided” tour would first take us 2 km out of town with a pleasant walk alongside vineyard’s, with a mountain backdrop. Arriving to Finca el Recreo just as a tour started (once again in Spanish), we joined along and were treated to a tour of the buildings and the basement wine vaults. Here we learnt about the use of concrete in the wine making process, but more importantly got to try a glass of both red and white.
Our walk back to town took us past another bodega, Bodega Domingo Hermanos, so we thought it best to make this our second stop. This one was just a tasting, rather than tasting and tour, and we were led outside to a beautiful seating area overlooking a small vineyard with another Argentinian couple. Thankfully they all spoke English, and we were treated to an in-depth tasting of four wines, three reds and two whites ( sharing a sweet and a dry), accompanied by a delicious cheese pairing. This was probably our favourite tasting of the day, with the star wine being the sweet Torrontes we had right at the end.
After a quick lunch break to soak up the wine, we continued our tasting at Bodega Nanni. This was the least interactive of our tastings, but we did get to enjoy our last glass in the building’s courtyard and sun trap. Our final tasting at Bodega El Transito included a tour which again took us into the distillery room and into the basement, before offering us the chance to try some of the produce. We got to try three reds and a white, with the red wine being one of our favourites of the day.
Full of wine it was time to continue our tour further south the next day, jumping on a bus back to Salta, and then a night bus to Cordoba. Arriving early we found somewhere for breakfast before joining a walking tour of the centre, learning all about the history of the town. We had two days in Cordoba so spent our second day in the the Sarmiento park, treating ourselves to a lunch ‘choripan’ - a local sandwich with a chorizo sausage and pickles.
We then spent the afternoon visiting the memory museum before stopping in a bar to try the famed fernet and coke. It’s safe to say this wasn’t for us with a strange, almost minty after taste.
This brought us to the end of our week and a bit road tripping through Northern Argentina - next we head down south to Patagonia and the lakes of Bariloche.