Ruins of Quilmes

National Historic Monument; The Largest Pre Hispanic Settlement In Argentina, Now Administered By The Quilmes Indigenous Community As The Sacred City Of Quilmes · Amaicha del Valle, Tucuman

The ruins of Quilmes are the remains of the largest pre-Hispanic town in what is now Argentina, built on a steep hillside above the Calchaqui valley, where terraces of stone houses climb towards two fortified lookouts on the ridge. At its height, in the centuries before the Spanish, it may have housed several thousand people, farming the valley with irrigation. The Quilmes resisted Spanish conquest for more than a century, among the longest resistances in the Americas, and when they were finally defeated in the 1660s the survivors were marched roughly a thousand kilometres to a reduction near Buenos Aires; the city of Quilmes on the capital's edge, and the beer, carry their name. The walls you see were partly rebuilt in the 1970s, and for years the site was run with a hotel built on it; after long disputes, the indigenous community now administers it as the Sacred City of Quilmes, with local guides telling the story from their side. Climb to the lookouts for the view over the whole settlement and the valley. It sits on Ruta 40, an hour from Cafayate.

Ruta Nacional 40, Quilmes, Tucuman, Amaicha del Valle, Tucuman, T4137, Argentina

Open daily in daylight hours; confirm times, as management and opening have changed with the community's administration. Guided visits with community guides are offered at the entrance.

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