Cachi
White Colonial Village In The Calchaqui Valleys At About 2,280 Metres, Below The Nevado De Cachi, Reached Through Los Cardones National Park · Cachi, Salta
Cachi is a village of whitewashed adobe houses and cobbled streets in the high Calchaqui Valleys, at about 2,280 metres, with the snowy Nevado de Cachi above it. It is one of the prettiest and best-preserved small towns in the Argentine north-west, centred on a plaza with a simple white church whose altar, pews and confessional are carved from cardon cactus wood. An archaeological museum on the square holds finds from the valley's long pre-Hispanic past. Half the reason to come is the journey: from Salta the road climbs the Cuesta del Obispo in hairpins through cloud to over 3,300 metres, then crosses Los Cardones National Park on the dead-straight Recta del Tin Tin, lined with giant candelabra cactus. From Cachi the Ruta 40 runs south on gravel through Seclantas, where weavers make ponchos on backstrap looms, Molinos and the Quebrada de las Flechas to Cafayate, which makes the classic north-western loop. The village is quiet, with good guesthouses and a few restaurants; stay a night to see it after the day-trippers have left.
Plaza 9 de Julio, Cachi, Salta, Cachi, Salta, A4417, Argentina
The village is open at all times. The church and museum keep daytime hours with a midday break. The road from Salta over the Cuesta del Obispo can be cut by rain or fog in summer.