1. Cachi

It is a very small town in the northern part of the Valles Calchaquíes in Salta. To get to Cachi have to take a bus line that will take a few hours to make the undulating and narrow path up the hill, with sublime to their velvety green hillside views. You can also go on a complete tour package to Salta from Buenos Aires including apart of the excursion to Cachi, others to Jujuy, Humahuaca, Salinas Grandes and San Antonio de Los Cobres with the accommodation, flights and transfers.

The “Cuesta del Obispo” is an area of ​​ride you will not reach your eyes to absorb all its beauty. Not to mention the peace of that place in the lung of a hill hundreds of meters high and pure air that fills the lungs.
Getting to Cachi is to see the summit of Nevado de Cachi and walk the cobblestone streets looking at his church, Main Square and painted white to highlight more with the pristine blue sky houses. For photos, climb to the lookout, near the cemetery itself.
At night, roast kid on a plank eat in the middle of an alley as a singer encourages the evening with his guitar under the starry sky. What else can I ask this people of Northern Argentina?

2. Iruya

On the first trip I could not get to Iruya because the road was flooded by rain, which is very common in summer is the rainy season in northern Argentina. The funny thing is that to reach Iruya, a town of Salta, we must start from Humahuaca, which is in Jujuy. Just the second trip, the weather allowed us to take a trip.
The road, cornice and gravel, communicates only with this exclusive village and passes through narrow passages as preferred or look out of the window of collective giving vertigo. Do not stick your down but not stop for a second to look outside: the places passed, increasingly to more and more height- are a paradise of mountains and snowy peaks.
While the driver took us by zigzags route, passengers inside amused ourselves with an impromptu guitar playing had initiated a group of travelers. As soon as you get to Iruya, locals hope to offer a room to stay for very reasonable prices (no big deal hotels, so play it safe).
Iruya is a village perched on the mountain with steep streets so you you think twice before starting, and where there are very few sites that are not in -in front slope to the Church and football-tennis. If you go with time and weather permitting, I suggest you go well prepared for the walk of your life to a town called San Isidro which is farther from the hills, where there is no electricity and you have to stay with the locals.
This town is something hard to believe: live here, so far from everything and having to make such an intricate way to communicate with others it is hard to see in this globalized society. Iruya is a must, believe me.

3. Cafayate

It is truly a city but his quiet soul and its environment hills make it feel like a cozy little village. It is the heart of Salta wine and wineries make him famous but when you’re there, it’s walking the streets and feel their culture.
For example, be walking and find a craftsman who makes wicker baskets and invite you into their house and you stay talking about your garden and your life. Going for a bike ride double Cafayate and go to a landscape of ancient vineyards with mountains in the background. Going to see diaguitas land and walk inside the hill and wander through the trails (hence, try to go with a guide, are locals who know how to arrive and charge very little). Laze on the square and while having some mates, watch a show at the cap.

4. Purmamarca

If you go from Salta to Jujuy, as I did, Purmamarca is the gateway to the bellísimaQuebrada of Humahuaca, a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is a short trip and when the bus comes, right there, we receive the Cerro de los Siete Colores, differing from the rest almost humbly, as if his veins in terracotta colors were a common sight to see.
In Purmamarca the obligatory walk is along the Camino de los Colorados, a set of intense brick colored hills surrounding the Cerro de los Siete Colores behind. Walk in between these moles, climb out, meet some of the cacti (cactus typical place that grow from certain altitude only) is superb.
What I remember most of these trips is to sit to take some mates in town squares as evening fell. On the first trip, for example, one of those tardecitas coincided with a group of fellow travelers who were dancing and playing music folklore.

In the middle of the square, as in all the Quebrada-you’ll see many stalls with crafts of all kinds, sweets, blankets, tools. Colorful products make the cutest postcard, and prices cause you to want to shop around.

5. Tilcara

He could have said Humahuaca also because all the Quebrada is captivating. But Tilcarapasé longer and excursions to are too good to miss them. For example, go to the Garganta del Diablo and enjoy the scenery of the mountain that opens for a given immense happiness.
To get there, walk down a path of gravel to bordecito of a precipice for a little over an hour (you can drive the other way, but what fun would it?) It reaches the riverbed and, following it, is reach the waterfall by which the place got its name. A tour if waste.
You can also find cave paintings in the caves of Wayra or visit a lagoon in the middle of the hill. The Pucara (Fortress) is the historic site you must visit to understand how the native people lived in prehistoric times and how they defended the Conquest. All enTilcara is an excuse for an adventure.
One thing I am sure I will return to Northern Argentina and engrosaré this list of 5 captive peoples. It’s something that I can not avoid.